The working life of Museum of London

Each year the Museum provides the opportunity for groups and individuals to experience a week of hands-on archaeology as we explore a site in London of historical  importance.
The site of this year’s dig is Burgess Park , Southwark, South London which research has shown was once occupied by terraces of Victorian houses, many of which were destroyed during World War II.

In preparation for the first of our school groups arriving on-site Monday (spaces are still available to attend the week-long adult training digs  in July – see our website for details)  Tom, one of our senior archeologists, spent a morning on-site clearing away the top soil back to the “demolition layer” a few inches below the grass turf.

We have been surprised by the amount of brickwork found so near to the surface as this demolition waste is normally moved off-site or more often it is piled together and covered in turf – which could explain that little hill you have in the garden of you flat or house…

One of our key jobs in advance of Monday is to record what is  currently visible on-site which will help our archaeologists plan dig locations for our first visitors Monday.

The results of our upcoming work on-site and the thoughts of those involved will be the subject of updates here on our blog and on our twitter pages.

Kate and Jackie ,who are coordinating the dig, were recently welcomed by the owners of one of the remaining Victorian houses in the terrace which used to stretch to include the site we are now investigating to have a look around allowing them to gain an insight into the scale and design of the homes that used to be on the site of our dig. They were both keen to explore the basement but unfortunately this had been renovated by the local council in the 1980s making the work that will be supported over the forthcoming weeks that more important…