‘Incredibly Rare’ Roman Mausoleum Unearthed Near London Bridge Station

Archaeologists report discovering an “incredibly rare” and featured preserved floors and walls Roman mausoleum near London Bridge Station, UK.

Archaeologists discovered big Roman mosaics at the same location last year, which led scientists to believe something much larger might be buried beneath the surface.

Excavations conducted by MOLA archaeologists on behalf of Landsec, Transport for London (TfL), which owns the site, and Southwark Council have yielded extraordinary results.

Archaeologists say they have unearthed the remains of a Roman mausoleum “with an astonishing level of preservation.”

The Museum of London Archaeology(MOLA) believes the quality of preservation makes it the most intact Roman mausoleum ever to be discovered in Britain.

Scientists have “unearthed the walls, entrance steps and interior floors of the tomb. The mosaic at the center is surrounded by a raised platform on which the burials were placed.

There’s evidence of a second mosaic directly beneath the first, indicating that it was raised during its lifetime. The two mosaics are similar, with a central flower surrounded by concentric circles.

The tomb itself was a two-storey building likely to have been used by a wealthy Roman family. It doesn’t now contain any coffins or burial remains, with MOLA suggesting that these were likely removed in medieval times.

However, the surrounding area is rich in traces of its ancient inhabitants, with over 80 burial sites and artifacts such as pottery, jewelry, coins, and glass beads.

Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a “microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London” and provides “a fascinating window” into the life of its settlers.

Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a “microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London” and provides “a fascinating window” into the life of its settlers.

Archaeologists from MOLA hope to pinpoint the age of the mausoleum and have provided a three-dimensional model of the site. There are plans for the future public display of the mausoleum.

Retiree Uncovers Wooden Artifact 2,000 Years Older than Stonehenge

A piece of decoratively carved wood found during a construction project has been declared the oldest in Britain.

The 6,000-year-old piece of oak, found in Boxford, Berkshire, is only the second wood carving to be found from the Mesolithic period.

It was discovered preserved in peat at the bottom of a trench.

The wood is being conserved by Historic England at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, and will eventually go on display at West Berkshire Museum in Newbury.

Landowner Derek Fawcett has been working with Historic England and the Boxford History Project since finding the timber four years ago.

He said: “It was clearly very old and appeared well preserved in peat. After hosing it down, we saw that it had markings that appeared unnatural and possibly man-made.”

The timber has been carbon dated to between 4640 BC and 4605 BC, making it around 2,000 years older than Stonehenge, and 500 years older than the only other known piece of carved Mesolithic timber, which was found near Maerdy in Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2012.

Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson said: “This exciting find has helped to shine new light on our distant past and we’re grateful to the landowner for recognising its significance.

“Amazing discoveries like these remind us of the power of archaeology to uncover the hidden narratives that connect us to our roots.”

The waterlogged carved oak is one metre long, 0.42 metres wide and 0.2 metres thick.

It was found about 1.5 metres (5ft) below the surface not far from the present course of the River Lambourn in a layer of peat.

Mr Fawcett has donated the timber to the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury where it will eventually go on display.

The museum is also working with the Boxford History Project to arrange for the timber to go on loan to the Boxford village heritage centre.

Excavations Near Stonehenge Uncover Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery

The Cotswold Archeology team excavating at the site of a planned housing development near Salisbury, England, has unearthed a giant barrow cemetery that could be between 3,500 and 4,000 years old.

Wiltshire is well known for its Bronze Age barrows, particularly those found within the World Heritage site of Stonehenge and on the chalklands of Cranborne Chase. In contrast, little is known about similar sites near the medieval city of Salisbury.

These barrows were installed 1,000 years or more after the monuments at Stonehenge were built on the Salisbury Plain just 10 miles (16 km) to the north. The archaeologists discovered enough evidence to conclude that these barrows had been made during the latter period.

However, Vistry’s construction of a new residential housing development on the outskirts of Harnham, a southern Salisbury suburb, has provided the opportunity to unearth some of the remains of a major round barrow cemetery and its landscape setting.

Round barrows were first constructed in the Neolithic period, although most were built during the Beaker and Early Bronze Age (2400 – 1500 BC), and usually consist of a central burial, a mound, and an enclosing ditch.

The size of round barrows can range from under 10 meters in diameter to up to 50 meters, although the majority tend to average between 20 and 30 meters. Additionally, the earthworks associated with barrows can vary.

Some have large central mounds (‘bell barrows’), others small central mounds and outer banks (‘disc barrows’), and some have central hollows (‘pond barrows’).

Their ditches would have provided material for the barrow mound, which would have been constructed of chalk, topsoil, and turf. Barrows are typically associated with burials; some contain only a single individual, while others contain a series of burials and, on rare occasions, multiple burials.

“Our cemetery is made up of about twenty or more barrows that spread from the very edge of Harnham on the Nadder valley floor, up and across the adjacent chalk hillside on what is the northern edge of the landscape of Cranborne Chase,” the Netherhampton site discoverers wrote in a Cotswold Archaeology press release. 

“The cemetery is arranged in small clusters of barrows—either pairs or groups of six or so—and we’ve so far excavated just five.”

The Cotswold archaeologists have discovered 10 burials as well as three piles of buried cremation ash inside the five ditches they have already excavated.

A further indication of how well-liked this burial ground must have been with the people who lived in the area around Salisbury 4,000 years ago and beyond are the signs that two of the site’s barrows have undergone significant expansion at some point.

Excavations also uncovered Saxon remains, including a possible sunken-featured building, preserved timbers, iron knife blades, and ceramics, as well as a cultivation terrace (‘lynchet’) of probable late Iron Age date and Bronze and Iron Age pits.

Remains of Child Mill Workers Examined in Northern England

Scientists have uncovered the first direct evidence of the harrowing lives of children known as “pauper apprentices” who were forced into labour during industrialization in England.

A team of experts analyzed the skeletal remains of more than 150 individuals from a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire.

Most of the remains belonged to young people aged between eight and 20.

Results showed evidence of stunted growth and malnutrition in the children, as well as signs of diseases associated with hazardous labour.

The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Plos One, shed light on these forgotten children who were transported from workhouses in London and forced to work long hours in the mills of the north of England.

Lead author Rebecca Gowland, a professor in the Department of Archaeology, at Durham University, said: “This is the first bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in the past and it unequivocally highlights the toll placed on their developing bodies.

“To see direct evidence, written in the bones, of the hardships these children had faced was very moving.

“It was important to the scientists and the local community that these findings could provide a testimony of their short lives.”

While the use of children as a cheap source of labour during industrialisation in 18th and 19th century England is well-documented, there is little direct evidence of their struggles.

For the study, the experts performed a chemical analysis of the teeth remains.

They were able to identify the sex of the children as well as determine that they were not local to the area and were probably from London.

Examination of the bones and teeth also highlighted the conditions that affected the children, including tuberculosis, respiratory disease, rickets and delayed growth.

It was important to us to find out about the children who worked in the mills. They were overlooked in life and treated as a commodity – but we hope we have done them some justice by telling their stories and creating a lasting commemoration

Sally Robinson, Washburn Heritage Centre

Professor Michelle Alexander, from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, who was a senior author of the study, said: “We undertook a chemical analysis of the bones to study diet and found that the apprentices had a lack of animal protein in the diet compared to the locals, more on a level with the victims of the Great Irish Famine.”

The remains have since been reburied in a ceremony that involved contributions from the local community.

Sally Robinson, from the Washburn Heritage Centre, Yorkshire, who led the team of local volunteers, said: “It’s easy to forget that the Washburn valley had an industrial past given the beauty of the reservoirs that visitors see today.

“It was important to us to find out about the children who worked in the mills.

“They were overlooked in life and treated as a commodity – but we hope we have done them some justice by telling their stories and creating a lasting commemoration.”

The excavation was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Roman Incense Container Unearthed in Northern England

Archaeologists working on a Cockermouth site uncovered some “particularly spectacular finds” in the final days of their nine-week project.

The nine-strong team of experts has been working in riverside fields off Low Road and behind the Lakes Home Centre.

The Ecus team, from Barnard Castle, was called in by landowner Bob Slack who is keen to put some flood defences in the area.

In the first few weeks they discovered evidence of a Roman foundry, marching camp and small village, said Mr Slack.

They later discovered a bust, steelyard weight, coins, pottery and also the foundations of a building and flagged floors.

In the final week, they came across a copper-alloy incense container, which Ecus project officer Julie Shoemark described as “an exceptionally rare find”.

“The site has produced a wealth of information about the Roman inhabitants of the vicus and last week revealed some particularly spectacular finds,” she said.

“Firstly, we have a highly polished tiny stone figurine which has unfortunately not survived intact. What remains depicts a naked male rendered in typically ‘Romano-British’ style with simply carved large almond eyes and a distinctive spiked hairstyle.

“Secondly, a stone sculpture of a seated female figure was recovered from a rubble deposit. She has unfortunately lost her head, however, enough remains to tell us who she is.

“She wears a pattered mantle and carries a patera (a shallow bowl used for libations) in her right hand and a cornucopia containing an ear of wheat in her left. These attributes identify her as the goddess Fortuna, the goddess of luck, but also closely associated with the harvest in agricultural communities.”

The most striking find was a copper-alloy balsamarium (incense container).

“This is an exceptionally rare find, being one of only a handful excavated in Britain to date,” said Ms Shoemark.

“It is in the form of a bust of the youthful Bacchus, the god of wine, although the features appear to have been modelled after depictions of Antinous, the lover of Emperor Hadrian.

“In addition to being exceptionally rare, this artefact is in superb condition, missing only the lid which would have sat atop the head.”

The only other example of a balsamarium of similar design was recovered from the River Eden, Carlisle and is on display at Tullie House.

Bacchus is most widely known as the god of winemaking but is also associated with agriculture, particularly orchards, and fertility.

“We previously had an exquisite steelyard weight depicting Silenus, the satyr companion of Bacchus, so we now have a nice group of finds carrying the running theme of agriculture and fertility, which would have been central to the lives of this community,” said Ms Shoemark.

“Together these and the other artefacts from the excavation are allowing us to build a picture of the history of the site and its inhabitants.

“We look forward to sharing the full results following specialist research and assessment of the assemblage in due course.”

The land, which will be covered with soil and reseeded, is in a flood zone so cannot be developed. Mr Slack has planning permission for 27 homes adjacent to the Lovells development on Low Road.

Archaeologists discover medieval a tableman gaming piece in Bedfordshire, England

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire, England, have made an intriguing discovery: a tableman gaming piece was discovered at a medieval site.

Cotswold Archaeology excavated in preparation for a Taylor Wimpey housing development at Bidwell West, near Houghton Regis and Dunstable.

In addition to the tableman, the archaeological team discovered a medieval timber-framed building and a series of medieval enclosure ditches.

The gaming piece, which has a diameter of nearly 6cm, is made from a cattle mandible – a large, sturdy bone, which serves as the lower jawbone of a cow, according to a press release. Its face has been decorated with concentric circles and a ring-and-dot design, which is attractive although not unusual.

Tablemen were used to play a variety of board games in which two players rolled dice and moved their pieces across rows of markings.

The term ‘tables’ is derived from the Latin tabula, which originally meant “board” or “plank” and was introduced to Britain during the Roman period.

One of the more popular table games among the Romans was Ludus duodecim scriptorium. It was a dice game with three cubic dice, and each player had 15 pieces to move.

The game of tabula was most likely refined from Ludus duodecim scriptorium, and it grew in popularity during the medieval period. Tabula, like Backgammon, has two rows of twenty-four points.

The tableman found at Bidwell West has a diameter of nearly 6cm (2.36 in) and similar examples in both size and decoration style have been recovered at other sites, including an example from Winchester, Hampshire which was made in the medieval period (11th-13th centuries).

As Cotswolds Archeology also wrote in its description:: “It is not always possible to identify which game the gaming pieces recovered from archaeological excavations would have belonged to, because there is often no surviving board.

However, due to the association with the medieval site, the style of decoration, and the size, it is likely that the gaming piece was used to play tabula during the medieval period.

Chelmsford: Roman Apollo ring with links to Snettisham hoard found

A silver ring unearthed in an Essex field may be connected to a famous Roman jeweller’s hoard found in Norfolk in 1985, a historian has said. The ring is inset with a carnelian carving of the god Apollo. It was found by a metal detectorist near Chelmsford.

Its 2nd Century wearer would have hoped for the god’s protection, Essex finds liaison officer Lori Rogerson said.

The ring seemed to be from the same workshop as the Snettisham hoard of carved gemstones, she added.

The large hoard was found buried in a pot during building work and included 110 unmounted gemstone intaglios – carved gemstones used as seals – silver jewellery and ingots, 110 coins, and tools, Its contents are now at the British Museum.

Miss Rogerson said the way it had been carved using long strokes and the fact it dated from AD125 to 175 suggested a connection to the Norfolk hoard.

The ring would have been used as a seal to sign documents by “literate men and women in wider Romano-British society which grew around military towns… leaving an impression of the engraved image in wax”, she added.

But it would also have been a “very personal” object.

“We know these people would have had a very close personal relationship with their gods and goddesses,” she said.

“Apollo, being the god of healing and prophecy, would hopefully have protected the wearer from harm or illness.

“It’s also really interesting because it’s evidence of a pagan religion that has its roots in Ancient Greece being worshipped by Romano-British society.”

Another ring unearthed at Upper Winchendon, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 2018 is also believed to have links to the Snettisham workshop.

The Essex ring was declared treasure by a coroner and Chelmsford Museum hopes to acquire it.

Bronze Age and Roman-era settlements unearthed in Newquay

Archaeologists from the Cornwall Archaeological have uncovered ancient dwellings from the Bronze Age and a Roman period settlement in Newquay, England.

The discovery was made at the site of a new housing development in Newquay.

The excavations team found three Bronze Age roundhouses and a Roman-period settlement – consisting of an oval house, a large processing area (thought to be used for cereals), and two rectangular buildings (probably former barns).

The discovered dwellings, on the site of a new housing development in Newquay, include large quantities of Bronze Age Trevisker ware pottery, Roman-period imported pottery, and worked stone tools from both periods.

According to the researchers, Bronze Age structures have been found at various sites across Cornwall over the past 30 years, however, the discovery of a cluster of roundhouses in such a small area is still a rare find.

Sean Taylor, Senior Archaeologist at the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, said: “Although quite a few of these Bronze Age structures have been found at various sites around the county over the last 30 or so years starting with Trethellan at Newquay in 1987, it’s still rare to find so much in one small area.

“The Roman house is similar to buildings found at Trethurgy Round near St Austell in the 1970s and are of a type unique to Cornwall. The rectangular agricultural buildings on the other hand are fairly common throughout Roman Britain but this is the first time that they have been discovered in Cornwall.\“It’s starting to look like this part of Newquay, alongside the River Gannel, was a very important and densely populated area from the Neolithic (c 4000BC) onwards. The estuary undoubtedly formed an important link with the outside world throughout prehistory.”

The Cornwall Archaeological Unit completed their work at the end of March. The site will now be handed over to the developer, Treveth.

Many of the finds, which include large quantities of Bronze Age Trevisker ware pottery, Roman-period imported pottery, and worked stone tools from both periods, are expected to be housed in a local museum.