New archive deposits at the LAARC
Archaeological contractors working in the greater London area deposit new archaeological archives at the LAARC on a regular basis.
This page will be regularly updated with information about new archive deposits, and one archive will be selected and described in further detail in the 'Feature Archive' section below.
New archive deposits
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Feature archive
CYD96: Cooper's Yard (Tobacco Dock factory shops phase II new building)
Evaluation, Pre-Construct Archaeology
Summary:
Natural sands and gravels were revealed, showing a slope down to the river, south of the site. The earliest anthropogenic evidence noted was to the south where prehistoric worked and burnt flints were recovered from alluvial deposits. Roman pottery was recovered dating from 1st-4th century AD along with some building material fragments. In trench 3 fragments of a structure were found. The known Roman signal station nearby (to the east of Wapping Lane, excavated by LAMAS in 1974) adds further credence to this being a site with Roman occupation. In addition to the Roman pot a fairly large post-medieval assemblage was recovered dated to between 1680-1780.
The 1997 excavations uncovered two large east-west ditches to the west of the site one of which may have been associated with a timber palisade. They appear to represent the earliest Roman activity on this site and may indicate the site of an early invasion period fort, probably associated with the Roman occupation evidence recorded during the 1974 excavations. There then followed a period of abandonment until c. 270 AD, when the site appears to have been landscaped prior to a phase of domestic occupation, evidenced by a timber building and domestic debris. By the early 5th c Roman occupation had suddenly ended, with Roman demolition material sealing occupation layers. The site appears to have been abandoned until the early post-medieval period when dumping seems to have taken place probably as a result of tipping off the Ratcliffe Highway, a road noted in historical sources.
The archaeological evidence confirmed cartographic records that from the 1st half of the 18th century the site was largely used for domestic occupation. In the 20th century the site was levelled and redeveloped with commercial premises; these have now been demolished and it is currently a car park.
Records:
Site Archive: various field records, photographic records (including x-ray plates), finds records, environmental records and two evaluation reports (Phase 1 and Phase 2).
Media: hard copy, microfiche and selected digital records
Finds:
40 finds boxes