Archaeology of the Jubilee Line extension: prehistoric and Roman activity at Stratford Market Depot, West Ham, London, 1991-3

Abstract

• Excavation ahead of redevelopment by London Underground Limited uncovered flint tools and debitage characteristic of the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and Early Bronze Age. Activity resumed in the Late Bronze Age. A neonate skeleton of Early Iron Age date was recovered from a rubbish pit near a probable roundhouse. Two ‘crouched’ adult inhumations are atypically early Roman. Two horse burials and a dog skeleton are also of Roman date. Thereafter, occupation ceased until post-medieval times. Overall, the work provides invaluable information relating to the development of the landscape beneath the suburbs of modern east London. A full digital resource of excavated samples from Medieval Monastic Cemeteries of Britain (1050-1600) is available for researchers via Archaeology Data Service.