CITY OF LONDON (Londinium)
(1) 4a and 4b Frederick's Place, City of London EC2 (TQ 32512 81205): evaluation of two trenches and a watching brief on three geotechnical trial pits revealed Roman deposits at the west and south of the site. On the western side these deposits consisted of a thick brick-earth surface overlaying a dark charcoal-stained deposit and overlain by a possible demolition deposit related to a building with clay walls and floors. On the southern side, there was a layer of Roman demolition. The extent of the Roman stratigraphy suggests that Roman features are likely to be found extensively across the entire area.Footnote 87
(2) 6–8 Bishopsgate/150 Leadenhall Street, City of London EC3 (TQ 33080 81160): excavation undertaken for a new attenuation tank found natural brick-earth at 11.94 m OD. It had been terraced to create a platform at c. 11.60 m OD where a series of Roman clay and timber buildings was constructed. Several phases of clay floors and walls were found along with domestic hearths. One phase had evidence of being destroyed in a fire. To the west this sequence of buildings had been cut by a robber cut deeper than 10.7 m OD (formation level). The upper fill of this robber cut was mainly mortar with wall-plaster fragments and tesserae, possibly indicating that a building or cellar had been robbed out.Footnote 88
(3) Arthur Street EC4: hoard of 23 nummi of c. a.d. 355–64 found by Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in a bulk soil sample during post-excavation processing. They are largely poorly preserved and mostly illegible, but nine have traces of the ‘fallen horseman’ reverse, of which they are small module copies (c. 9–12 mm diameter). Deposited c. a.d. 355–64 or later.Footnote 89
HACKNEY
(1) Shoreditch Village East, Holywell Lane EC2 (TQ 33426 82339): excavation confirmed that alterations and land management along the eastern bank/edge of a recut natural feature took place during the Roman period. Another feature in the form of a field ditch, located in the north-western corner of the site, truncated earlier Roman deposits. Dating evidence recovered from the lower fill of the ditch consists of Roman pottery, building material and a coin thought to be a Roman denarius. Running parallel with and to the east of the field-boundary ditch was a shallow linear feature containing articulated human remains. It was interpreted as a Roman burial due to its north–south alignment.Footnote 90
HAVERING
(1) 90 New Road, Rainham RM13 (TQ 50876 82769): excavation revealed a field system at the eastern end of the site. It had been established in the first and early second centuries a.d. and consisted of animal-enclosure networks and ditches. Possible domestic refuse and gravel-extraction pits and post-holes were also observed in the eastern part of the site, pertaining to the early Roman period. The period of highest activity on site spanned the late second and third centuries a.d.Footnote 91
HOUNSLOW
(1) Hayes (Quattro), land west of Southall Lane UB2 (TQ 10754 78357): evaluation revealed Late Iron Age/early Roman activity, represented by ditches forming field boundaries indicating agricultural land use. The features were concentrated in the western part of the study area. Further evidence of Late Iron Age/early Roman activity, including pits and post-holes, was identified across the site.Footnote 92
SOUTHWARK
(1) Suffolk House, 127–9 and 131 Great Suffolk Street SE1 (TQ 32207 79681): excavation of a Roman cemetery revealed 64 inhumations and several possible urned and unurned Roman cremations were also recorded in the northern portion of the site. An east–west orientated Roman ditch located alongside the northern limit of excavation was truncated by further Roman burials. The majority of the graves recorded evidence for wooden coffins in the form of iron nails found at the bases of the graves. Of note are the grave goods recovered from some of the burials, which include a third-/fourth-century glass bottle with ‘dolphin handles’ and several complete vessels. One chalk-lined burial was found, whilst another grave was lined with large sherds of amphora. In one of the burials, a severed head was placed next to the legs or underneath the torso; another three individuals were interred with their hands tied behind their backs.Footnote 93
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
For supplementary material for this article please visit https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X21000404.
