Crossrail: Archaeological Investigations Conducted in Advance of Construction of the Elizabeth Line
Crossrail: Archaeological Investigations Conducted in Advance of Construction of the Elizabeth Line
Crossrail: Archaeological Investigations Conducted in Advance of Construction of the Elizabeth Line
The construction of Crossrail through the heart of London has resulted in one of the most extensive archaeological programmes ever undertaken in the UK. The project has given archaeologists an exceptional opportunity to record important parts of London’s history.
The Generic Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) was prepared in consultation with English Heritage and relevant County and local authority archaeologists to ensure a consistent approach across the route and throughout the life of the project.
One of the core objectives of the Crossrail archaeology programme was the dissemination of archaeology information to the wider archaeological community, together with a focused education and outreach programme for local communities.
Years of research have been carried out to understand the impact that construction will have on the archaeology along the route. Moreover, Crossrail’s archaeological team will be producing detailed reports on their findings. All the significant artefacts will be provided to the Museum of London and the Natural History Museum.
Collection Details
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Item type:Dataset, City Wall at Old Broad Street (Crossrail XSZ11)(2019)MOLAArchaeological watching brief on Crossrail utility diversions at Old Broad Street in the predicted location of the City Wall (Scheduled Monument LO26N). A trench (19.00m long x 0.60 to 1.00m wide) was dug to install new utility ducts, and was between 0.45 to 0.80m deep. The trench was located at the south end of Old Broad Street, at the junction with London Wall. Although within the area of the City Wall, no archaeological remains were encountered in this area at this depth. An archaeological watching brief on three gas main trial trenches in London Wall (between the junctions with Coleman Street and Blomfield Street). This followed a previous phase involving a watching brief on a utility trench in Old Broad Street (molas1-117511). The trenches on London Wall revealed truncated sections of circa 17th to 19th-century brick walls and floors between 0.30 and 3.90m below the existing road surface. These features were not fully exposed but were possibly the remnants of backfilled cellars or culverts. Although the monitoring was carried out to prevent damage to the City Wall (Scheduled Monument (LO26N and LO26P)), no remains relating to the City Wall were encountered. The area was found to have been extensively disturbed by numerous modern utilities. A small section of The London wall (LO26P) was exposed, recorded and surveyed- the earliest deposit identified. The 0.38m by 0.2m fragment been heavily truncated by 19th-20th century utilities, and only survived as an isolated feature slightly to the north of the junction between Blomfield Street and London Wall. A larger section of wall was also exposed to the south-east, which had been previously exposed during earlier Crossrail works, also monitored by MOLA (MOLA 2010). The anticipated postern (gate) that had also been previously recorded by Compass to the north of the traffic island (southern end of Blomfield Street) did not survive within the narrow utilities trench. MOLA's fieldwork helped to more accurately record and locate these surviving parts of the wall, adding to the wider database of the predicted east-west wall alignment along London Wall. No archaeologically significant deposits were exposed in the trial hole adjacent to 41/42 London wall.2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Eleanor Street Shaft (Crossrail XTJ13)(2019)MOLAThis archive presents the results of an archaeological evaluation carried out by Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) on the site of the Eleanor Street Shaft, within the area known as the Bow Triangle, London E3, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Overlying the natural terrace gravels in evaluation Trench 1 (area of the temporary shaft) was a layer of reworked brickearth, probably as a result of cultivation, dated by clay tobacco pipe to 1700-1770. Above this was a buried soil which was interpreted as a horticultural horizon. Overlying this were 19th-century building remains, sealed by modern overburden. Underlying the modern made ground on the site was a layer covering the entire shaft area. This has been dated to c.1480-1800/1900 and interpreted as a post-medieval cultivation soil. Historic mapping illustrates that the site remained undeveloped through the post medieval period until the mid-19th century, when urban development around the site accelerated and construction of railways in this part of London began. On Gascoigne's 1703 map the site was open ground, the later maps of Rocque in 1746 and Horwood in 1799 show the area was in use as fields and Stanford's map of 1862 depicts the area surrounding Eleanor Street comprising of market gardens. These are all consistent with the archaeological evidence. Underlying the layer were natural terrace gravels. The archaeological fieldwork has demonstrated that remains relating to the Prehistoric, Roman or medieval period have not survived to the modern era, if they were once present on site.2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Tottenham Court Road (Crossrail TCG09)(2019)MOLAThe Tottenham Court Road archive includes data from both field evaluation and building recording. A group of non-Listed buildings located to the south of the Astoria Theatre were recorded in December 2009 prior to demolition. The earliest building was formally a 19th-century brick-built warehouse (constructed 1877-85 by R L Roumieu and A Aitchison, completed by R A Roumieu) belonging to the Crosse and Blackwell Company who produced pickles and sauces in a factory in Soho Square. This building, 12 Sutton Row, is known to have been linked by a walkway over the street to the Astoria to the north, itself formerly a warehouse and part of the food factory. Its appearance had been much altered; the original Gothic arched loops and windows were replaced and the whole fa�ade onto Charing Cross Road re-rendered, although the proportions of the original fa�ade remained as did a turret with a spire in the NE corner of the building. Crosse and Blackwell left the Soho area in the 1920s and the warehouse was converted to showrooms and offices in 1925. It formerly extended further to the SW. The other buildings included one fronting Charing Cross Road that was built as a dance school in 1905, with retail units on the ground floor. The third building was built on the site of the demolished portion of the Crosse and Blackwell warehouse complex. The buildings on the site formed an entire block, whilst the 2nd and 3rd buildings were linked together in a recent phase of refurbishment to form 12 Goslett Yard. Eight evaluation trenches were excavated between July 2009 and February 2010. These revealed no sign of natural brickearth, the quarrying of which may have resulted in such widespread truncation. Trenches to the south revealed a water-lain deposit which may have been a pre-17th-century land surface, overlain by dumped layers containing material dated 1650-1700. Trenches in the SW and northern parts of the site revealed 17th-century structural remains consistent with the first development of Bow Road (now Goslett Yard) in the 1670s. The northern trench revealed 18th-19th-century additions, while a trench to the east had a large subsurface vaulted chamber of probable 18th-century date. However, it was filled - almost to the roof - with late 19th/early 20th-century pot and glass associated with Crosse and Blackwell's occupation of the site. A trench in the NW corner of the site revealed a timber warehouse floor overlain by a similar deposit of this material. A trench in the NE corner exposed an 19th/20th-century brick structure whose function and extent could not be determined within the confines of the trench.2 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Custom House Station, Victoria Dock Road (Crossrail XTI13)(2019)MOLA4 trial trenches and two window samples exposed former wood peat (intrepreted to be the former backswamp area of the Thames Floodplain) overlying late Pleistocene Shepperton Gravels. Above the peat was estuarine influenced alluvial clay.4 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Ham and Wick Sewer Protection (Crossrail XTH12)(2019)MOLAMonitoring of works for two sewer diversion shafts revealed only truncated natural London Clay(in the Wick sewer access chamber, near the cutting for the Blackwall Tunnel approach road and truncated natural gravels(in the Ham sewer access chamber west of Wick Lane. No archaeological remains were observed on either site and modern material and services sealed the truncated natural deposits.3 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Farringdon Station, Minor Works and Utility Diversions, Hayne Street (Crossrail XSF10)(2019)MOLACombined general and targeted watching briefs were carried out at the site of Crossrail Farringdon Eastern ticket Hall by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). Natural gravels were not exposed at Formation level (15.10m OD) . Disarticulated human remains (probably associated with the medieval burial ground in Charterhouse Square) were recovered within a later levelling deposit dated1480-1600. Suggesting that the burial ground may have extended further west then expsected. A series of post medieval dumps and a pit, as well as garden soil horizons are consistent with the low levels of human activiyty in the area after the formation of Charterhouse square gardens in the 16th century. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Blomfield Street Phase 2 Mitigation, 11-12 Blomfield Street (Crossrail XTB12)(2019)MOLAThe archaeological work on site consisted of three separate interventions: an excavation in the area of the grout box, a targeted watching brief on the area of the Main box, and a general watching brief during ground reduction of the rest of the site. The excavation of the grout shaft area was done in two phases in order to get a full east-west section across the shaft. The intention of this excavation was to explore the results seen in the evaluation that uncovered the eastern edge of the main channel of the Walbrook. During this phase the channel was successfully recorded across the width of the trench. Natural sand and gravels were seen at the base (5.90m OD) followed by a succession of flood deposits, marshy peat, and a Roman dump layer which contained a number of pieces of pottery and ceramic building material dating between 50 and 400 AD. The targeted watching brief in the southern portion of the site recorded a probable continuation of the Walbrook Channel with Roman dumping layers and a north-south running ditch. In the south-east corner of the site the targeted watching brief recorded natural terrace gravels at a much higher level (8.33m OD) than in the grout shaft, suggesting this would have been dryer ground near the edge of the Walbrook. An east-west running ditch cut into the subsoil and underlying natural terrace gravels dated to the 12th century by pottery found within the fills. This was in turn cut by a north-south running ditch. These may represent medieval attempts to drain the higher ground to the east into the Walbrook. The general watching brief on ground reduction across the rest of the site revealed late 19th/early 20th century brickwork and rail ines in the northern portion of the site, probably related to Metropolitan Line. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Finsbury Circus, Liverpool Street (Crossrail XRZ10)(2019)MOLATwo phases of archaeological excavation (two general watching briefs and one evaluation with one trench) were carried out at the site of Crossrail Finsbury Circus Shaft by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), between 11/03/11 to 01/04/11. 19th-century garden soil horizons overlying post-medieval dumps were recoreded at a maximum depth of 9.86 OD. These were related to the reclimanation of land overlying Moorfields Marsh. Medieval marsh deposits sealed Roman cut features at 8.6 OD. These included a possible quarry pit and intercutting ditch and pit. Natural Gravels and sand were truncated to a maximum depth of 7.92 OD. Combined general and targeted watching briefs were carried out at the site of Crossrail Finsbury Circus Shaft by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). Natural Gravels and sand were truncated to a maximum depth of 7.95m OD. A channel exposed in the western area of the shaft footprint may have been the route of the Early Holocene Walbrook River. Medieval marsh deposits sealed Roman cut features at 8.73m OD. These included two [rubbish] pits dated to the second century AD. Post-medieval dumps relating to the reclaimation of land overlying Moorfields Marsh were recorded at a maximum depth of 9.86m OD. A robust, well preserved NE-SW aligned culvert dated 1666-1800 was also recorded immediatly beneath the foundations of a recently demolished Victorian building. 19th-century and later garden soil horizons associated with sites current use as a park/bowling green filled the shaft to ground level. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Liverpool Street Worksite, Liverpool Street (Crossrail XSM10)(2019)MOLAThis archive presents the results of an archaeological investigation by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) at the site of the Crossrail Central Broadgate Ticket Hall, Liverpool Street, London EC2M, City of London (Museum of London (MoL) sitecode XSM10). The fieldwork comprised a series of watching briefs (targeted and general), evaluations and excavations, conducted between 20/02/11 and 09/10/15. These were undertaken in response to the redevelopment of the site as part of the Crossrail station at Liverpool Street: excavation of the site area to a depth of 25 metres below street level was necessary to provide below-ground concourses and booking halls and escalator access to the platforms. Documents in this archive also incorporate the results of archaeological investigation by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) at the Crossrail 11-12 Blomfield Street site, EC2, in the City of London (sitecodes XSL10/XTB12). These investigations comprised a series of watching briefs (Targeted and General), evaluations and excavations conducted between 24/05/2011 and 23/01/2014. The site lay 120m north of the Roman town boundary in a landscape dominated by a tributary of the Walbrook stream, which ran along the west edge of the site. The earliest Roman activity focused on draining the site sufficiently to allow burial and road building in the area. Extensive remains of an early 2nd- to 3rd-century AD west-east metalled road were traced across the site, along with several phases of roadside ditches. The road ran west from the main Roman road to the north (later Ermine Street) and may have led to the fort in the north-west corner of Londinium (built in stone after c AD 120). To the south of the road, seven 2nd-century AD inhumation burials, including three decapitations, and one cremation burial formed part of a burial ground in this waterlogged area. Following on earlier such finds, the large assemblage of accompanying disarticulated human bone remains one of the most intriguing aspects of the Walbrook valley. The recovery of horse remains, hipposandals and archaeological evidence for pasture nearby suggests that the general area may have been used for horse pasture and/or stabling during the Roman period. The post-Roman to medieval sequence is largely characterised by a series of marsh deposits, during which time the sites appear to have been unused. Reclamation of the marsh occurred during the 12th-early 15th centuries, a period characterised by a canalisation of the Walbrook channel and a series of large boundary/drainage ditches. Archaeological and documentary evidence shows that the XSM10 and LSS85 sites were used as gardens in the early post-medieval period. The burial ground documented as the 'New Churchyard', (also known as variously as the Old Bedlam or Bethlem burial/burying ground/place) was in use 1569-1739. The archaeological investigations at XSM10 and LSS85 involved the excavation of c 3750 skeletons, as well as boundary walls and burial structures associated with the burial ground. The sites became increasingly developed from the mid-18th century following the closure of the burial ground. In the 1770s, the lands of the burial ground were converted into gardens or yards for the use of Broad Street Buildings (built in 1737) and No.1 Brokers Row. Greater changes occurred in the 19th century, including the construction of a new road called 'Liverpool Street' in 1823-24, then the near complete redevelopment of the sites in the 1860s and 70s, which followed the construction of Broad Street Station and Liverpool Street Stations.4 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Dataset, Plumstead Portal (Crossrail XSW11)(2019)MOLAThis archive describes the archaeological evaluation and watching brief work carried out at the Plumstead Portal site by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). The North Woolwich portal is located within the existing railway corridor of the former North London Line (NLL), between Factory Road and Albert Road, in the London Borough of Newham, National Grid Reference 542700 180000. All fieldwork was conducted between 11/04/12 and 09/06/14 and supervised by Portia Askew (MOLA Supervisor), Virgil Yendell (MOLA Senior Geoarchaeologist) and Jason Stewart (MOLA Geoarchaeologist), and included the following: The two evaluation trenches showed natural sands and gravels overlain by peats and alluvial clays. The surface of the Pleistocene\Early Holocene deposits indicated a series of braided river channels within a low-lying area on the western margins of a main channel. A borehole survey showed this channel to be over 200m wide and c.3m deep. This feature would have formed a major part of the floodplain landscape from the Early Holocene and probably became a major drainage feature when the other Holocene channels to the west became abandoned. It is possible that the channel forms an abandoned arm of a former course of the Great Breach Dyke, which existed from the Early Holocene period into the Bronze Age. A Mesolithic land surface was identified with rising sea levels leading to widespread peat formation by the early Neolithic into the Bronze Age, Within the peat deposits were worked timbers which may have formed parts of a structure, possibly a trackway constructed to access or traverse the wetlands. The overlying alluvial silts and clays are likely to be of Iron Age, medieval and historic date representing an inundation of the floodplain. The upper 1.20m comprised dumps which represent making up and levelling of the site prior to the construction of the railway and associated buildings in the vicinity. The foundations of a chimney of the adjacent Listed power station were also recorded. Three window samples afforded opportunities to sample the alluvial sequence above Shepperton Pleistocene Thames gravel. A variable sequence was recorded across the site. The sequence within the windows samples on the site shows gravels and sands overlain by clays and sands then peats and sealed by alluvial clays. The elevation of the surface of the Pleistocene/Early Holocene confirms the previous deposit model of a series of braided river channels (LZ3) within a low lying area of the floodplain and separated or fringed by channel bars to later wetlands (LZ2). The northern, eastern and western extent of the channel has been refined by the variously sourced borehole and trench data. The channel is still estimated to be more than 200m wide and up c 3m deep. This feature formed a major part of the floodplain landscape from the Early Holocene, and probably became a major route of drainage and transport. It is possible that the channel forms an abandoned arm of a former course of the Great Breach Dyke, which existed from the Early Holocene into the Bronze Age period.3
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