I recently visited an exhibition on the ‘Archaeology of Crossrail’. Crossrail is the building of a new railway line in London which goes from the east to the west through central London. It will be known as the Elizabeth line when it is completed and opens in 2018-9. During the construction of the line, a number of archaeological sites have been excavated by the full-time archaeology team attached to the project. This exhibition shows some of the finds.
Mammoth Tusk
Mesolithic Flints
Roman writing Stylii
Bone ice-skate. records as early as 12th-century record people strapping pieces of bone to shoes and skating on frozen marshland. Found at Moorfield Marsh.
Tombstone from New Churchyard (1570-1740). 1665 was the year of the great plague in London. Testing remains from this cemetery has revealed the first identification of the 1665 plague pathogen enabling scientists to formally link it to the Bubonic plague of the 14th century, known as the Black Death.
Food manufacturers Crosse and Blackwell were founded in 1830 and moved to a site near Charing Cross Road in 1838. Archaeologists found over 13000 pieces of ceramics on this site.
Bison bone – dating reveals it to be 68000 years old.
The earth removed from the tunnels has been used to create a new RSPB nature reserve in Essex at Wallasea Marsh.
The exhibition runs until September 2017 at the Museum of London Docklands, West India Quay.
