PCA recently joined Galliford Try and Big Yellow Self Storage at Hermitage Primary School in Wapping, where around 90 Year 5 and 6 pupils learnt about the archaeology uncovered ahead of the new Big Yellow Self Storage development at The Highway, Shadwell.
Ahead of construction, PCA carried out a six-week excavation that revealed evidence of late Roman activity alongside post-medieval remains. The site lies around 200m west of earlier PCA excavations at Tobacco Dock and the former Babe Ruth Restaurant, where a late Roman settlement and bathhouse were uncovered.
Chris Mayo and Richard Ward visited the school to talk about the excavation, giving pupils an insight into the role archaeology plays in construction projects and the discoveries made before development begins. Pupils also had the opportunity to examine a selection of finds recovered from the site.
Selected archaeological finds from the excavation were also included in a Time Capsule alongside items chosen by the pupils to represent life in 2026, before being buried beneath the new Big Yellow building for future generations to discover.
