A Roman drainage culvert, Great Fire destruction debris and other evidence from hillside sites north-east of London Bridge

Abstract

• Two 1998 excavations provide important new evidence of Roman and later development on the terraced ground north of the Thames and south of Cornhill. Early Roman quarrying at Monument House was followed by timber buildings. A 3rd-century AD stone building included a subterranean drainage culvert which carried dirty water south from Cornhill to the Thames. At 13–21 Eastcheap early buildings were sealed by Hadrianic fire debris. Rebuilding included timber drains and fragmentary masonry buildings. Later reoccupation at Monument House included a 10th-century AD sunken-floored building and medieval properties. A large 15th-century tenement east of Botolph Lane and north of Cat Lane was remodelled before destruction in the Great Fire. The finds assemblage includes rare ironwork, an ornate fireplace and decorated tiles. At 13–21 Eastcheap isolated medieval pits contained animal bone possibly related to Eastcheap’s role as a centre of butchery.