National Grid Ref.

TQ3278080700 

Organisation

DUA 

Type of fieldwork

excavation, watching brief 

Archaeological periods

Roman, Medieval, Post-Medieval 

Summary

This excavation was undertaken by arrangement with the Fishmongers' Company. It comprised a N-S trench 26m x 3m with a 14m x 1m extension to the N; the N end lay 1m S of the S side of Upper Thames Street. Subsequently in 1976 a watching brief was undertaken on the whole site. A 1m wide section of a Roman waterfront was recorded in the trench, but not excavated below the upper timbers, which included horizontal beams from a quay floor or possibly a building on the quayside. The waterfront was dated by dendrochronology to ad171+, and early 3rd-c material lay around it. Subsequent analysis and comparison of the structure with those recorded at Swan Lane to the E (SWA81) suggest that three separate Roman structures were recorded at Seal House (Brigham 1990, 107).Excavations also located three successive medieval revetments (dated by dendrochronology to c 1140, c 1170 and c 1210) (Waterfronts I-III) and several periods of medieval buildings (Buildings A-G). In one of them was a damaged in situ floor of decorated medieval floor tiles, of late 13th-c or early 14th-c date. After the Great Fire a row of late 17th-c houses (Buildings H and J) occupied the site; these are also known from a plan in the Fishmongers' Company archives. The watching brief on the site in 1976 (coded SH76) recorded more of the Roman quay and further medieval revetments to the S of the 1974 trench (Waterfronts IV-VIII).

Source: Schofield, John with Maloney, Cath (eds.) (1998). Archaeology in the City of London, 1907-1991: a guide to records of excavations by the Museum of London and its predecessors. The Archaeological Gazetteer Series, Volume 1. London: Museum of London. ISBN 0-904818-81-0. 

Related sites:

None linked 

No. of Related publications:

6 publication(s).

The Late Roman waterfront in London Britannia Vol:21 (1990). Brigham, T. (Site codes: TR74; PEN79; PDN81; ILA79; TST78; LYD88; UTA87; TEX88; VRY89; BIG82; BWB83; SH74; SH76; SWA81; CUS73; BMK85; NFW74; FRE78; DGH86; BC75, journal article).
London Waterfront Tenements 1100-1750: 1, excavations at Seal House and Swan Lane, Upper Thames Street (2009). Schofield, J; Dyson, T; Blackmore, L (Site codes: SH74, SWA81, archive report).
London Waterfront Tenements (2002). Schofield, John (Site Code: NFW74; SH74; SWA81; BIG82; BWB83, archive report). Published by Museum of London
The London Waterfront 1200-1750 [An archaeological assessment of four excavations in Thames Street, 1974-83 Part 1: the potential of the evidence (1999). Schofield, John with contributions by Trevor Brigham, Lyn Blackmore, Tony Dyson and Bill White (Site codes: NFW74, SH74, SWA81, BIG82, archive report). Published by Museum of London draft
The Bridgehead and Billingsgate to 1200
Aspects of Saxo-Norman London 3; London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Special Paper 14 (1992). Steedman, Ken; Dyson, Tony; Schofield, John (Site codes: NFW74; SH74; SWA81; BIG82; BWB83;, book). Published by London: London and Middlesex Archaeological Society
Medieval and post-medieval Spanish pottery from the City of London in Current research in ceramics: Thin-section studies; The British Museum Seminar 1980 Occasional Paper No 32Vince, A (Site code: ACW74; AL74, SH74; SM75; FRE78; PEN79, journal article). Published by British Museum

Total Registered Find records in database

970

Total Bulk Find records in database

881

Deposited Archive Contents:

Site, Post-ex
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