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Current Archaeology 162
Current Archaeology
162 was published in May 1999
Our cover photo shows the excavations at
Low Hall Manor, Walthamstow, destroyed by a flying bomb on 18th
August 1944. At the bottom of the photo, centre are the foundations
of the Great Hall; to the left are the kitchens; to the right were
the private apartments, or solar, later extended to form an
additional wing. Across the courtyard can be seen the moat, and the
footings for the bridge that crossed it.
In the background, the modern housing estate creeps up . . .
A magnificent photo by Maggie Cox of the Museum of London Archaeology
Services photographic section.
This issue forms the second
part of our survey of archaeology in London. In CA158 we
looked at Roman and Saxon London, so in this issue we look at
medieval and later London.
In recent years, much development has concentrated just outside
the City where the comparatively cheap houses of the East End are
being replaced by huge office blocks. This was the area favoured
by monasteries in the middle ages and so these form the subject of
our first major article. Some of these were very rich.
The Priory of St John Clerkenwell, head of the Knights Hospitaller
in England, was more like a palace than a monastery with an
accountants’ enclave attached; others were more
modest, but most of them were built on a magnificent scale.
The monasteries were surrounded by cemeteries, and a team of
osteologists is examining the bones and drawing some surprising
conclusions about the diet of the monks. And why were around 2% of
the graves in the monastic area those of women?
Perhaps the richest of all the monasteries was that at
Westminster, which was originally on an island, Thorney Island.
Here a new underground station is being constructed as part of the
Jubilee Line Extension Project- which supported the archaeology on
several of these sites. How far did they reveal new evidence
about the origins of the Abbey - and about the layout of the
Palace in the Middle Ages?
On 18th August 1944, a flying bomb came down at Walthamstow and
scored a direct hit on Low Hall Manor. The site has now been
investigated - even the remains of the flying bomb were found -
and it proves to be a very fine example of a moated manor house:
what was life like in one of these medieval manor houses?
The low lying marshy fields just west of Westminster, known as
Tothill Fields, were used in the 15th and 16th centuries as a
horse cemetery. Over a hundred horses were found buried here
and also a number of dogs. But why were such numbers of
horses buried in this way - and by whom?
Finally, we take a look at MoLAS, the Museum of London
Archaeology Service to whom our thanks are due for this issue.
Taryn Nixon, the Head of the Service, talks of her own background
in Hong Kong, and her desire on returning to England to work in
what she describes as the best of all the units in the best of all
cities.
This issue is accompanied by a new supplement called "Touching
the Past", listing numerous opportunities to take part in
excavations and other projects where it is possible to reach out and
"Touch the Past". If you wish to take part in more active
archaeology - good luck!
And of course there are the
usual Diary, Letters, Books and John Musty's Science
Diary.
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Revised: 31st May 1999 |
