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. One hundred and twenty-three archives have been deposited since January 2008 alone. Download new archive deposits, January - July 2008 (PDF 123kb, opens in a new window) for details.
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
Feature archive
MRL98, MOOR HOUSE, LONDON WALL, EC2, CITY OF LONDON
Watching brief and excavation by Pre-Construct Archaeology
SUMMARY:
'London Archaeologist Round-up 1998 and 2002': Four struck flints probably Neolithic or Bronze Age and some burnt flint were recovered residually from later deposits. Natural brickearth lay above gravel, the latter cut by possible stream channels, some of which contained Late Iron Age or early Roman pottery. The Roman period was characterized by 2nd-c quarry pits and ditches, structural features and 1st-2nd c AD gravel surfaces. The partial remains of a human skeleton, apparently within a cut, together with a quantity of human bone recovered residually, could be evidence of a Roman cemetery. Above these features a probable marsh deposit had built up. In the southern part of the site waterlaid fills containing Roman, Saxon and possibly medieval artefacts were found, and are likely to have been part of the medieval City Ditch, a section of which was also revealed, including several phases of re-cutting. A network of drainage ditches cut the marsh deposits: two large E-W ditches in the N and S of the site, and at least 6 smaller N-S ditches in between, at regular intervals. The fill of the southern ditch contained several timber barrel staves; these may have been reused in a fence along the ditch which later collapsed into it. Evidence of a much larger N-S ditch was revealed along the E side of the site; this ditch, originally revetted, continued beyond the southern ditch towards the City ditch. Its latest phase is dated to the late 16th - early 17th c. A large rectangular pit was found containing a number of antlers. A series of barrel- and brick-lined wells, brick-lined and timber-lined cesspits and rubbish pits was recorded which belonged to the first buildings constructed on the former marsh in the second half of the 17th c. One of the barrel wells was backfilled with a large quantity of early 17th c pottery wasters, suggesting the presence of pottery kilns nearby. The final phase of activity recorded was a large 19th-c brick culvert.
Archives received
Project Planning Archive: project brief
Site Archive: various field records, photographic records, finds records, environmental records, watching brief reports, excavation reports, publication
Media: hard copy, digital, microfiche
Finds deposited previously