It’s been a busy start to March at the Archaeological Archive. Or rather, we’ve been busy taking the archive collections out of the stores and back to where they were first discovered.

Our Unearthing Bromley project is revisiting the archaeology that was dug up in Keston and bringing it back to its borough. We started our roadshow with a pop-up stand at The Glades shopping centre and had a fantastic weekend chatting to shoppers.

“I had no idea there was this much stuff in Bromley”

The excavations revealed a history going back to the early Iron Age running right through to the Saxons with three centuries of Roman occupation in between. Whilst the dig itself uncovered the history of the site, our events at the Glades uncovered the connections to the past that people still have today

“I remember this. I remember when the first dig was going on in the 60s. I took my girlfriend down there to see what was going on!”

“I live right near Jackass Lane (where the excavations took place). And you’re telling me that all these things are Roman? Really? That’s fantastic.”

Our team of Archaeological Ambassadors chatted to over 2000 people, sharing the history of the area and encouraging shoppers to touch the past.

“To get my hands on something almost 2000 years old… Wow…”

However, this was more than just your standard piece of outreach. Our guys were actively encouraging people to join in with the kind of collections care work that usually only takes place behind the scenes, back at the archive. Shoppers suddenly became absorbed in repacking pieces of Roman pottery. It’s a simple process transferring a sherd of pottery from an old to a new bag and writing out a museum label.  Yet, this simple method is an important and effective way of preserving the past.

“There you go. We’ve become part of the Museum of London” (Mum to daughter after packing bags of pottery)

This type of event is known as Public Archaeology and it pretty much does what it says; sharing archaeology with members of the public, getting people involved with their local heritage. Some visitors knew lots about the area already, some none. Our oldest visitor remembered the site being dug up, our youngest couldn’t even speak yet.

Ultimately though, it’s about giving people some enjoyment out of the past. And judging by one girl’s response below, we like to think we nailed this. Over to Grace:

“On 8\3\13 my mum and I stayed at the Museum of London stand in the Glades, Bromley for 2 hours as we were so fascinated by the wonderful artefacts that had been found in Keston. I was lucky enough to hold and pack real Roman pottery! My favourite piece was part of a handle which was quite rough and lumpy because it had been made with crushed oyster shells! I cannot wait to go to the Archives of the Museum of London and see more pieces of history”

#UnearthingBromley continues on Wednesdays at the Bromley Museum and Fridays at Tesco Extra, Orpington, throughout March, culminating with a celebration of local history at the Bromley Museum on Saturday 6 April : www.museumoflondon.org.uk/bromley

The Roman Forum. The centre of public life. The nucleus of commercial affairs. Whether you lived in ancient Rome, ancient Lugdunum (modern Lyon to you and me) or our very own Londinium, the Forum was the place to meet your mates, find out about all the latest trends, fashions and social news and of course, shop.

So what would be today’s equivalent of a Forum? I’d like to put forward, the Shopping Mall.

Like the Roman Forum it has shops and market stalls, it has places to meet your friends, it has places to find out the latest trends/fashion and (at least in the commercial sense) news. And soon one shopping centre will also have Roman archaeology.

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What better place to take artefacts from Keston Roman villa than to Bromley’s Glades Shopping Centre.

What did residents in Bromley eat 2000 years ago? Why did a dish made in France end up in Roman Bromley? And why were dead dogs important?

You can find the answers to these questions and more from Sat 2nd March at The Glades, in the heart of Bromley’s town centre.

But why stop there? This is Public Archaeology and we want you to get up close and take a unique look at Bromley’s history; to touch the pots that were made and used in the area two millennia ago; to sniff them should you wish (we draw a line at tasting). These artefacts are London’s history, London’s heritage and whilst the Museum of London looks after them, they are yours to enjoy.

So come see them – Friday 8th, Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th March at Bromley’s ‘Modern Forum’. Meet our archaeology ambassadors and ask them how you can get involved in preserving Bromley’s ancient past.

The link between Bromley & Ancient Rome

In 43AD the Roman army crossed the Channel and began their conquest of Britain. Within a decade the area around the Thames had transformed into a city which would grow, be attacked, be fortified, be burnt, be rebuilt, expand and evolve. However, this isn’t the story I’m here to tell (that’s what we have the Roman Gallery for). This blog is interested in the lives beyond the city.

The outer boroughs of London have some amazing archaeological remains that shed light on what was going on in Roman Britain whilst London was developing. Roads led out in all directions such as the Westward one we’re hoping to find this summer in Hounslow (want to get involved? Find out more here: Excavate Syon). As you get further away from the city, you start to come across impressive temples (like the one in Greenwich) pottery production centres (such as Haringey’s Highgate pottery) and in the South-East, villa complexes. Our previous volunteer projects have looked at the finds from the roman villa at Beddington in Sutton but our current focus is a bit further East, exploring the London borough of Bromley.

Bromley is London’s largest borough. In 1967 excavations began at a site in Keston at an area know as Lower Warbank, where archaeologists from the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit discovered the remains of a Romano-British farmstead. It was one of the largest excavations to take place in the South East, and involved over 500 volunteers.

Their findings were incredible: Iron Age settlers had been living in the area since around 600BC and gradually evolved the site into a small farmstead. As Londinium became an established city, the site embraced roman influences and slowly transformed into a villa complex with three large wooden buildings surrounding a rectangular courtyard, later to be replaced by a masonry building of about 10 rooms. The estate seems to have lasted until about AD 400, with farming and industry providing grain and pottery that was traded with Londinium and the wider empire. Following the Romans, Saxon settlers set up home, the last to occupy the site up until around AD 550.

There were some pretty special artefacts discovered such as ceramic wheels used to decorate pottery, jewellery that would have adorned those that lived here and complete animal skeletons seemingly buried as part of a religious custom. All these objects and more are stored at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive, however, since they were found over 40 years ago our methods of storage have advanced and these objects are in need of some attention. So that’s just what we’re going to do and we’re doing it in two ways.

First, we’re aiming to get your attention fixed on these objects. Throughout March, we’re taking  2000 year old pottery back to Bromley and will be sharing these items with today’s residents. You can get up close and touch the clay that was shaped into a roman cooking pot. You can run your fingers over 2000 year old fingerprints left behind on a special mixing bowl. If you really want to you can sniff the objects too (lots of people like doing this – I’m not sure why.)

Second, you can help us out and join our team of volunteers as they show you how together we can transform the way these objects are stored and make sure they’re preserved for years to come.

Come along and find out more at the Glades Shopping Centre from Friday 8th – Sunday 10th March; Tesco Extra, Orpington on Friday 15th & Friday 22nd March; and every Wednesday at the Bromley Museum, 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th March.

LAARC VIP11 – The Conclusion

It’s been a busy few months. 18 new volunteers joined us with various backgrounds, life experiences and indeed archaeological knowledge. We threw them altogether, united them via collections care work and 10 weeks later the London Archaeological Archive & Research Centre has vastly improved archives, nicely packed and accessible material, lots of extra shelf space due to the effective reboxing and best of all, a new team of friends whose passion for the history of the London is stronger than ever.

Job Done.

Although of course, our job is never done. The archive is big – officially the largest archaeological archive in the world – so there will always be more collections work that needs doing, more space that needs creating, more artefacts that will be rediscovered and more enjoyment to be had sharing our work with as many people that are interested.

Our plans for 2013 are to continue the work modeled by this year’s fabulous University of the 3rd Age. The 7 strong team, having learnt the necessary skills in their weeks based at the archive, went on to share their knowledge and experience with visitors to the Museum of London. The response was brilliant, with many visitors learning themselves how to pack and preserve archaeology as well as discover new information about the artefacts they were able to hold in their hands.

We want to take this model, combining archaeology, public participation &  learning experiences and start to pop up in various locations across Greater London, to share London’s heritage.  Because London is great, its people are great and its history is great. Who knows what we’ll discover and learn from each other. Exciting times.

Whatever happens you can bet we’ll come across amazing objects, like the four finalists in the Object of VIP11 competition:

There was a record amount of votes and a huge thanks to everyone who participated. And your winner was…

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THE SAXON COMB FROM PUDDING LANE!!!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to making our 10th anniversary year fantastic. And it’s not over yet. My colleague Glynn still has a couple of posts left in his excellent History of London in 10 Archaeological Objects. Share with the world people, it’s well worth a read.

Object of VIP11 – The Grand Final

All this week, the 16 most interesting artefacts that we’ve come across during our current Volunteer Inclusion Programme have been competing for your votes. We’ve had objects spanning London’s history from Bronze Age hammerheads to Victorian plaster mouldings. The cream of the crop now get to battle it out, in what’s looking to be a very Grand Final indeed:

Monday’s winner was the Decorative Plaster from Alderman’s House, EC2. Audited by Friday volunteer James during week 6, this moulding of a horse’s head forms part of an assemblage of decorative plaster found in a post-medieval rubbish pit. Although quite the find, there is little mention of the objects in the site’s archive records. One sentence describes the plaster as “not nearly so interesting as originally thought”! We didn’t think this fair and clearly you didn’t think so too.

Tuesday’s winner was the Clay Tobacco Pipe from Brentford High Street, TW8. Repacked by Tuesday volunteer Alice during week 5, this early 20^th Century pipe depicts ‘mon petit quinquin’ or ‘little child’, the protagonist of a popular lullaby written in Picard language. The small child is pulling quite a strained face, perhaps because he is having difficulty atop his potty? An 18^th Century pipe kiln was discovered on the site along with hundreds of contemporary pipes. However, this one is unique amongst the assemblage as it is both an import (a few other Dutch pipes were also unearthed) and clearly much later in date, as is obvious from its style. A separate stem would have been inserted into the pipe bowl and as such this pipe would not have been as disposable as its earlier counterparts. How and why it ended up in the early stratigraphy of this site remains a mystery.

Wednesday’s winner was the Roman Slide Key that was audited by Tuesday volunteer Aris during week 3.  It was discovered in 1981 at Pudding Lane, EC3 and is evidence of security conscious Roman Londoners. It would have fitted into a complicated lock mechanism, probably for doors or heavy duty furniture such as chests – although few examples of actual locks survive. Complicated slide keys had different shaped teeth, although the one here seems to be of a more simple design (a ‘Slide’ Type 1). The key would also have been attachable to a belt via the hole in the handle. A wide variety of keys have been unearthed from Roman London of which slide keys are one of the most common types.

And yesterday’s winner….

Was the Antler Comb from Pudding Lane, EC3 that was packed during week 2 by Tuesday volunteer Kim. An unusually long example, it dates to the Late Saxon period (C10^th). Single-sided and composite (riveted), it originally had 92 teeth. Standard decoration has been applied to the connecting plates in the form of a saltire – a heraldic symbol: the form of a diagonal cross. Horizontal lines worn across the teeth may be due to contact with a comb-case. In the later medieval period horn is replaced by wood as a more common material for combs, although ivory is also popular throughout.

So now all that’s left to do is decide which of these should be crowned THE OBJECT OF LAARC VIP11. To choose your winner, click on the word VOTE below:

VOTE

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED

Voting will remain open until noon Wed 12th Dec, with the winner announced on these pages on Thursday 13th December.

If you’ve enjoyed voting for your favourite objects, please share this page with others and feel free to leave a comment telling us why the object you went for got your vote.

Object of LAARC VIP11 – Round 4

We’ve had a record amount of votes over the competition so far and I hope you’ve all been enjoying selecting your favourite objects from our daily contests. Our finalists so far are the Plaster Horse Head from Monday, the Clay Tobacco Pipe from Tuesday and yesterday’s winner:

There’s some amazing objects to choose from today, but which will get enough votes to become the final finalist. It’s time for Round 4:

To start, one of the oldest objects in this competition, an Antler Mattock from Beddington Sewage Farm. Audited by Thursday volunteers Josephine & Emily during week 9, this prehistoric objects dates to the Early Bronze Age (c.3500 BC). To the specialists out there that study such things it is known as a base-axe type 1. Antler was a common (and easily acquired) material used to make tools by Prehistoric peoples. Most well-known are those used as ‘soft’ hammers in flint knapping, to produce a range of sharpened tools – the most common surviving material from prehistory. Our antler mattock was found in a ditch, (was it originally used to excavate it?) and accounts for the interpretation of this early London landscape as a managed field system.

Second today is a Roman Probe, also from Beddington, though an earlier excavation. Its either a scoop-probe (cyathiscomele) or spatula-probe (spathomele) and functioned as both a medical and cosmetic instrument. One end is missing – the potential spoon or scoop – used to extract cosmetics from containers, whilst the probe on the opposite end would have been used to apply them. Alternatively it could also act as a small cautery. Although these objects are reasonably common across Britain, it raises interesting questions about identity and ‘Romanisation’ at this outer Londinium villa site. The object was audited by Friday volunteer Zey, during week 8.

The next object was packed during week 2 by Tuesday volunteer Kim. This Antler Comb from Pudding Lane, EC3.  is an unusually long example dating to the Late Saxon period (C10^th). Single-sided and composite (riveted), it originally had 92 teeth. Standard decoration has been applied to the connecting plates in the form of a saltire – a heraldic symbol: the form of a diagonal cross. Horizontal lines worn across the teeth may be due to contact with a comb-case. In the later medieval period horn is replaced by wood as a more common material for combs, although ivory is also popular throughout.

The last object was audited by Tuesday volunteers Sunny & Sue during week 7. From High Street Brentford, this ‘Griffin’ Bottle Seal is a decorative piece of glass with the seal (or ‘prunt’) dating it as a post-medieval (1650-1850) wine bottle. Seals are fairly common – the pad of glass was imprinted with a device when hot, and reveals the owner of a tavern through initials or tavern sign. This one has been interpreted as a griffin – perhaps the Griffin pub was a ‘local’ in Brentford, or maybe the wine came from further afield. Unfortunately no encyclopaedic catalogue exits for London bottle seals, so no comparative example has been discovered.

And that’s your lot. Which would you like to see return tomorrow to compete in the Grand Final? Click on the word VOTE below to make your selection:

VOTE

Voting has now closed. Click here to vote in the Grand Final.

Object of LAARC VIP11 – Round 2

Yesterday, we kicked off our competition to decide which object is the best from the current Volunteer Inclusion Programme. Loads of you voted in Round 1 and it certainly wasn’t a one horse race… but that being said your first winner is…

THE PLASTER HORSE FROM ALDERMAN’S HOUSE

And so we have our first finalist for Friday’s Grand Final. Today’s contenders then:

First we have another bit of plaster, though this time Roman and excavated at Cornhill, EC3 in 1981. Repacked in week 6 by Tuesday volunteer Harry, this chunk comprises of a border and panel section. Wall plaster can be decorated in a large variety of colours and a paint ‘splash’ effect can be seen on the bottom half that attempts to imitate more expensive marble veneer. The plaster was found beneath a later metalled Roman road, perhaps used as ballast from a nearby demolished building – a very busy area of Londinium as it was located adjacent to the basilica.

Next we’ve a Stone Hammerhead from Beddington excavations in 1981. Audited by Friday volunteer Susannah during week 9, this perforated tool is unusual as although a Bronze Age object, it was actually found in a Roman context included in the villa’s ‘yard’ surface. Prehistoric objects were sometimes curated by the later Romans perhaps for ‘ritual’ purposes, such as the placing of flint axes – believed to be Jupiter’s thunderbolts – in villa rafters as anti-lightening devices (an example of which was found at this site). Unfortunately our hammerhead doesn’t appear have any such reuse attached to it, but is a prime example of how objects without their ‘archaeological context’ can be misleading.

Third up is a Wooden ‘Paddle’ that was audited by Thursday volunteer Imran during week 5. It comes from Baynard’s Castle, EC4 and is somewhat of a mystery post-medieval object, having been loosely identified as a ‘paddle’. It is also a rare survival, being made of wood. The site’s archive records do not assist and on the original context sheet this object is recorded as an ‘oar’. However, its size suggests it was probably not used for propelling a waterborne vessel. Perhaps a different type of paddle was meant? Suggestions on a postcard to LAARC please…

Lastly, is a Clay Tobacco Pipe from Brentford High Street, TW8. Repacked by Tuesday volunteer Alice during week 5, this early 20^th Century pipe depicts ‘mon petit quinquin’ or ‘little child’, the protagonist of a popular French lullaby. The small child is pulling quite a strained face, perhaps because he is having difficulty atop his potty? An 18^th Century pipe kiln was discovered on the site along with hundreds of contemporary pipes. However, this one is unique amongst the assemblage as it is both an import (a few other Dutch pipes were also unearthed) and clearly much later in date, as is obvious from its style. A separate stem would have been inserted into the pipe bowl and as such this pipe would not have been as disposable as its earlier counterparts. How and why it ended up in the early stratigraphy of this site is a mystery.

So which do you think is the best of these four and deserves a place in Friday’s Grand Final? Click on the word VOTE below to have your say:

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED.

Thanks for joining in and feel free to leave a comment below as to why you chose the object you went for.

Voting will end at noon tomorrow when voting will open for Round 3.

Object of LAARC VIP11 – Round 1

One of the favourite aspects of our Volunteer Inclusion Programme is that we come across loads of beautiful artefacts spanning London’s history. And during our current project we’ve encountered some beauties. What we then like to do is get them battling it out, with you, The Great Blog Reading Public, helping to decide which is the very best. No real reason to do this apart from fun. So let’s get started:

First up is this Decorative Plaster from Alderman’s House, EC2. Audited by Friday volunteer James during week 6, this moulding of a horse’s head forms part of an assemblage of decorative plaster found in a post-medieval rubbish pit. Although quite the find, there is little mention of the objects in the site’s archive records. One sentence describes the plaster as “not nearly so interesting as originally thought”! We don’t know what type of building this originally adorned in the area, but we think it’s incredibly interesting, especially as an archaeological survival!

The next contender is a Roman Coin from Pudding Lane EC3. Made from copper this is known as an as, one of the lowest denomination in the Roman Empire. This one has actually been cast (versus struck) and as such is a contemporary copy. Coin forgery was punishable by death in the Roman period, but copies of Claudian asses (which this is) may have been ‘semi-official’ as there was a lack of small change during the latter part of his reign.  Copying of these coins has been associated with the Roman army with large groups having been excavated from Roman Southwark. This object was audited by Thursday volunteer Elaine during week 3.

The third choice is again from Pudding Lane and is a Roman Brick that was audited by Thursday volunteer Lance during week 2. This type of brick is known as a pila – stacked to form ‘pillars’ used to create hypocaust systems – the equivalent of modern ‘under-floor heating’. The tile is stamped P(rocuratores) P(provinciae) Br(itanniae) LON(dini) which translates as: ‘Procurators of the Province of  Britain at London’. Procurators acted as imperial administrators for the emperor and would be responsible for public finances & property. Although hundreds of these have been found in London, what’s unusual for this site is that the bricks date to the 2^nd Century but have been reused in a late 4^th Century bath building. A case of late Roman recycling where they may have been taken from the old Roman Governor’s Palace nearby.

The final option is another roman object, though this Annular Bead was discovered at Beddington Sewage Farm in 1985. It is dark blue (Roman glass’ natural colour is blue-green) with yellow linear spiral decoration. Although Roman, it has been suggested that it shows pre-Roman influence, that is, indigenous British influence. As such this little bead is probably early in date and perhaps an example of Roman acculturation by indigenous Iron Age Britons. It was packed & recorded by Friday volunteers Viv & Kiyoko during week 7

So which one do you think is the best from today’s crop? To cast your vote click here:

VOTE

Voting for Round 1 has now ended.

Voting closes at noon tomorrow when Round 1’s winner will be announced and you can get to decide on Round 2’s objects.

LAARC VIP11 – Week 9

Some archaeological sites have names that have me thanking my lucky stars I’m not a digger anymore. The one we’ve been working on at the archive this week is pretty off-putting – Beddington Sewage Farm, down in the deep south of London in Sutton. Clearly I’m in the wrong though because the archaeologists started there in 1981, went back in 1982 and then continued to do so from 1984-87. Why? Because it’s only one of the best sites ever investigated in London!

The evidence from the dig revealed that people have been living there since the 3rd Century BCE and whilst going through its archive, we’ve been privileged to handle and pack Bronze Age items such as this mattock made of antler:

This stone hammer head:

And this copper awl using for piercing holes:

The Romans then built a large villa complex there and we start to come across amazing objects from everyday 2nd Century life. Incredible copper brooches with enamel decoration:

Handles with moustached men (a final nod to Movember):

And what about this ceramic lamp:

Amazingly, unlike many Roman sites, the area seems to have had no further activity after the 5th Century until the modern era. For a full report of what was found, check out MOLA’s publication.

It always saddens me when we get close to the end of each Volunteer Inclusion Project at LAARC. Our volunteers do so much to help create more accessible archives and extra storage space. Our University of the 3rd Age team has also been brilliant as they continue to share their new found knowledge with museum visitors:

Their final afternoon will be the coming Wednesday from 1-4pm so if you get the chance pop along to the Museum of London foyer to meet them.

And if you can’t make it to the museum, don’t worry because next week you can interact with our project from the comfort of your own home. Each week we’ve been rediscovering some of the treasures that have been dug up in the early 1980s, many of which we’ve been posting on these blogs. But next week the top 16 will be fighting it out to try and win your vote to decide which has been the best from the project. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s on its way:

The OBJECT OF VIP11 Competition!

Every day next week they’ll be a new competition so be sure to visit these pages and join in. There’s some amazing artefacts to look forward to…

LAARC VIP11 – Week 8

I can deal with most of the history of London; I get that it wasn’t so long ago that Victorians lived here without electricity; I understand how and why a great fire could break out and cause such devastation in 1666; I fully believe that the Norman conquest took place 600 years earlier and I would happily assure you that roman Londoners were the first to inhabit an actual city called Londinium almost 2000 years ago.

But when it comes to prehistory, my brain gets a little bit frazzled. Suddenly we have these massive margins as we deal with tools that date to around 8 – 10 THOUSAND years ago (and some thousands of years older than this!). I suddenly find myself thinking that that’s a pretty long time span and how, over all those years of habitation, the main bit of evidence we have for ‘human’ activity is… flint.

But having attended this week’s VIP flint workshop from lithic specialist Jon Cotton I soon realised that there are many shades to these stone tools. For instance some were made out of stone that was incredible difficult to get hold of – flint that comes from amazingly inaccessible places which our neolithic man must have had quite the challenge to obtain.

Some tools would have taken around 10,000 hours to have been formed, worked and then polished, only to be deposited in a riverbed, never to have been used. Others would have been shaped to top spears used to defend territories. Others would have simply been a useful utensil to cut open that night’s dinner of deer.

Perhaps my favourite aspect of flint knapping and prehistory is the evidence for community activity that the archaeology hints at. From several sites dug up in the past 30 years, archaeologists have found scatters of flint waste in v shaped piles, all in close proximity to each other and all forming circular shapes that surround a central hearth. It isn’t hard to imagine individuals gathering round the fire, chatting away, sharing stories, making their tools.

Gathering around, sharing stories was pretty much our philosophy this week when our fabulous U3A team took to the museum’s foyer. It was simple really. The volunteers were working on the collections in front of visitors. The visitors were free to go up and chat to the U3A about their work. They shared stories of their archive experience and showed the visitors what they were doing and the visitors left happy and with an enhanced museum experience. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Part of our volunteers’ public engagement was to show our visitors how to carry out simple collections care work, encouraging them to have a go at packing a find for themselves. In a bizarrely brilliant scenario, visitors were helping our volunteers preserve London’s archaeology and then thanking the volunteers for letting them do so. You don’t get that in many other museums! And if you want to be that visitor, come along to the foyer next Wed 28th  Nov from 1-4pm and have a go yourself.

Our daily teams continued to make excellent progress with objects from Brentford & Beddington but to end this blog, it’s one of the objects that was audited this week as they tackled material from Roman Rd, E3: a spectacularly apt artefact if ever there was one for this month:

According to the glass specialists, this is a late 19th glass oil burner. The burner would have featured as part of a cosmetic set along with melting wax; melting wax that potentially would have been used to style gentleman’s moustaches! Perhaps I should get one for my #Movember effort…

Follow our progress on Twitter #LAARCVIP #VIP11