The LAMAS (London and Middlesex Archaeology Society) annual archaeological conference is back this year in person at the Museum of London Docklands, as well as being available online via zoom. The conference takes place on Saturday 23rd March, and tickets are now available here.
The conference combines an overview of recent work in and around London (with our own Kathy Davidson presenting the recent excavations at Newgate Street), with a series of talks on a theme, which this year will be “The DUA and DGLA, 50 and 40 years on”.
The former GPO site at Newgate Street was one of the stand-out excavations within the City of London by the DUA in the 1970s. This important site revealed late Iron Age and early Roman buildings within early Londinium, some late Saxon buildings and traces of medieval occupation, alongside remains of the church of St Nicholas Shambles, dating from the 12th century, with an associated cemetery.
The building constructed after the 1970s work was recently extended and its basement enlarged. Our team, led by Kathy Davidson, excavated the surviving archaeology over a trench measuring 25m by 4.5m. Despite expectations, the complete absence of medieval burials was notable, suggesting they may have been removed during 19th-century development; we did however discover human remains in an unexpected location!
We found good sequences of medieval rubbish pits, extensive Roman buildings and earlier AD 1st century quarries. The Roman phases also showed a strong indication for smiths working either on-site or nearby – this will be a focus for further investigation for publication.
