LONDON ARCHAEOLOGIST 1985 vol 5.6

CITY OF LONDON: Excavations by Department of Urban Archaeology, Museum of London.

7-12 Aldersgate Street TQ 3216 8151 (G. Egan).

A watching brief on the remainder of this extra-mural site partially excavated in 1984 (see last year's Round-up). As last year, all work was generously funded by Rush & Tompkins plc. The largest ditch along the E side of the site was found to be of Saxo-Norman date. The fill of this presumably defensive feature produced a pattern-welded knife and Saxo-Norman pottery. This is apparently the first time a substantial ditch of this date has been recorded immediately outside the City wall. Two 14th c jugs, one of which was complete, were recovered from the fills of a medieval well. From the fills of a second chalk-lined well, which had been deepened with an addition to the shaft in brick in the post-medieval period, came an assemblage of finds datable to the mid 17th century. The group includes a plain pewter bowl of unusual form. The latter well is thought to be the one depicted on a detailed plan of 1610 by the surveyor Ralph Treswell, where it is shown in a courtyard, and was presumably shared by two households.

10 Arthur Street TQ 3280 8078 (P. Bethell).
Excavations were funded] by London and Edinburgh plc for 3 weeks in April 1985. A Roman building with two successive floors of opus signinum, an external area and a ditch were recorded. A second building off the site to the N. from its demolition debris, had much painted wall-plaster. The first building was demolished and further occupation attested by an alignment of stakeholes, Medieval pits and post-medieval features were also recorded.

4, 6 and 8 Creechurch Lane TQ 3340 8 11 6 (S. Riviere).
A watching brief consisting of four test pits revealed 0.8m (21/2ft) of Roman dumps, make-ups and brickearth surfaces into which were cut three groups of medieval rubbish pits and a disturbed burial all of which were sealed by extensive make-up for the standing building.

6-7 Crescent TQ 3361 8082 (A. Westman).
Excavations took place in April-July 1985 immediately E of. and outside. the city wall N of the Tower. funded by the site developer, Arundell House Securities Ltd. The Roman wall, the face of which survived up to 2.45m (8ft) in height, was associated with two successive ditches cut a short distance in front of it. The earlier, V-shaped in profile, was severely truncated by the later, flat-bottomed ditch. The backfill of the latter included debris which had tumbled from the wall. The berm in front of the wall was then reduced to the level to which most of the second ditch had been backfilled by the cutting of a third, more extensive flat-bottomed ditch which ran up to the face of the wall and initially exposed the upper courses of the foundations. The first deposits in this ditch were dated to the late 12th-13th c and suggested that the wall was reconstructed at that date. Later dumps of relatively clean gravel may have been upcast from cutting a fourth, much deeper ditch further E, the earliest fill of which was dated to 13th-mid 14th c. The city wall, including its upper medieval construction, survived to an overall height of nearly l1m (36ft). Its disuse as a defence was implied by the cutting of two successive pits in the backfill of the latest ditch. They were lined with horn cores. perhaps for an industrial purpose, and were constructed and back-filled in the late 17th c. The wall then served as support for structures such as a furnace built in brick against its face. A cellar floor, other brick foundations and a brick-lined well were probably associated with the latest building on the site, known to have been built in 1767-70 as part of an elegant redevelopment designed by George Dance the younger.

Fenchurch Street Station TQ 3345 8092 (S. P. O'Connor-Thompson).
Between September 1984 and March 1985 a watching brief (funded by Norwich Union) was undertaken at this site. The redevelopment involved the sinking of 25 massive encaissoned concrete piles - up to 3m (10ft) in diameter and over 30m (100ft) deep - the shafts of which had to be hand dug. In the first six caissons it was possible to carry out some recording of the sections, but subsequently the introduction of different shoring techniques made that impossible. Excavation of the caissons was carried out 24 hours a day. Archaeologically it was shown that the pre-station alignment of streets and properties, as exemplified by French Ordinary Court which crosses the site, was in existence by at least the 15th c, and that activity in the area was minimal until the 18th c: perhaps by way of explanation it seems that at least the S fringes of the site were actually over the recently identified ancient valley in this part of the City. Certainly the quantity of water encountered in four adjacent caissons indicates that there is still a stream flowing underground.

37-40 Fish St Hill 16-20 Monument Street TQ 3292 8074 (N. Bateman).
Between July and September 1985 an excavation was carried out in advance of redevelopment of the site by Speyhawk, who generously sponsored all archaeological investigation. The site comprised the remaining quarter of a block which had produced dramatic evidence for London's early Roman waterfront. excavated in 1981 (PDN 81). The area of excavation was c 20 x 15m (66 x 49ft) and lay immediately adjacent to the expected alignment of the approach roads to both Roman and medieval London Bridge. In the early 1st c. the hillside leading down to the Thames (+4.80m. 15ft 9in. OD at the N; +3.0m. 9ft 10in, OD at the S) was sealed by a series of dumped deposits to create a terrace upon which a substantial building was constructed. The W wall and the SW corner of this building were of masonry, but at least part of the S wall was probably timber framed. Internal brickearth surfaces in several large rooms and a corridor area along the W frontage were about 1.0m (3ft) higher than the contemporary external ground level to the S.
After a fire in the mid 1st c. possibly associated with the Boudiccan revolt, the building was reconstructed to a similar plan but with timber walls replaced by masonry. Later the SW corner was rebuilt, the S wall was strengthened and a deep E-W foundation, possibly reflecting the roof ridge alignment, was built across the site. In its latest form, the building was c 14.5m (47.5ft) wide E-W with a 7.2m (23.5ft) gap separating the S wall and the central bisecting E-W foundation. To the W of the building series of compacted gravel surfaces and of intercutting drains and gullies which led off to the S were found. The highest of these was backfilled with redeposited fire debris of the early to mid 2nd c. The development of the site after this date is not known in detail, since the horizontal sequence was truncated by a modern concrete slab. However, many cut features were recorded. Evidence of the two late Saxon/early medieval cellared buildings was found, cut through the underlying Roman deposits. One used earth-fast posts regularly spaced around the edge of a rectangular cut; the other had N and E walls of mortared rubble and an E wall represented by a probable robbed timber sill. Inside both buildings was a series of brickearth and beaten-earth floors.
A group of c 30 pits, ranging in date from mid 10th to early 13th c, was found along the E side of the site. The concentration is presumed to reflect the close packing of properties along the early medieval predecessor of Fish St. Hill. A complete 17th c cellar, probably burnt in the Great Fire of 1666, was exposed, as well as a number of 17th, 18th and 19th c wells, cess-pits and wall foundations, which show the gradual evolution of the property boundaries until early 1985.

91-100 Gracechurch St, 1-6 Leadenhall St, 2-12 Whittington Ave (Leadenhall Court) TQ 3340 81 10 (S. P . O'Connor-Thompson).
Between September 1984 and February 1985 investigations were undertaken in advance of major archaeological excavations and subsequent redevelopment. All work was generously funded by Legal and General Assurance Society Ltd. The investigations revealed over 4m (13ft) of Roman stratigraphy in an area which overlies the NE corner of the early 2nd c basilica. The earliest activity was brickearth quarrying succeeded by both industrial and domestic building deposits. They were superceded by the basilica of which at least three opus signinum floors were recorded. After it went out of use, the roof collapsed and was sealed by the fallen S wall of the nave. Activity in the area appears to have ceased until the 10th c.
Also recorded was the 14m (45 ft) high W wall of the mid 15th c. Leadenhall. The foundations comprised a series of relieving arches, which themselves are partially founded on the Roman foundations of the basilica. WC.

36-37 King Street (TQ 3246 8120) (P. Rowsome).
The excavations took place from January to June 1985 before the demolition of buildings on the site. All the work was funded by the Mercers' Company.
Two areas of excavation forming a total area of 20 x 10m (66 x 33ft) were located just to the N of Roman Cheapside and to the E of the Cheapside baths. Two Roman roads crossed the excavated areas, one running NW-SE and the other NE-SW. The roads met to form a T junction or crossroads c 50-65 AD and were probably integral parts of the initial planning of that western part of the Roman town which lay on the high ground to the N of Roman Cheapside and to the W of Walbrook stream.
The alignment of the two roads, which differed from that of other roads nearby, may have been influenced by the presence of a western tributary of the Walbrook. Evidence of a silt-filled streambed was found to the S of the road junction. The road aligned NW-SE may have converged with Roman Cheapside to form an early bridgehead at the Walbrook.
The earliest road metallings were associated with shallow road-side drains bordered by simple domestic timber buildings. These buildings were destroyed by a fire perhaps associated with the Boudiccan rebellion. The road seems to have fallen out of use for a short period at this time.
Occupation was quickly re-established on the same alignments with timber and brickearth silled buildings and newly dug timber box drains lining remetalled road surfaces. The new buildings were more substantial, one Flavian building containing at least four rooms with plaster faced sills and an opus signinum floor.
All of the roadside properties saw modification and rebuilding until the crowded timber structures were destroyed in the Hadrianic fire (c AD 125). The tendency towards more substantial buildings was continued after the fire by a large structure with brickearth slabs and sills in one room containing a red tessellated floor measuring 5 x 5m (16 x 16ft). This Antonine building was also destroyed by fire and was part of the last recorded phase of roadside occupation.
Throughout the 1st and 2nd c the road alignments and widths (3.5 - 4m, 11.5 - 13ft) remained fairly constant with little roadside encroachment even though ground surfaces rose substantially and forced road levels to keep pace by regular resurfacing and drain replacement.
The permanent and perhaps sudden abandonment of the two roads was evidenced by the site-wide deposit of dark earth.
Within the dark earth directly over the NW-SE road was a structural slot and brickearth slab of a building on a different alignment and dated to the late 3rd or early 4th c.
Two late Saxon sunken buildings were recorded, one a small hut measuring 3 x 3m (10 x l0ft and the other a much larger structure at least 10m (33ft) long. Both were cut into dark earth deposits and were situated in part over the buried NW-SE Roman road. Fragments of chalk foundations recorded may be related to medieval buildings fronting onto either Cheapside or Lawrence Lane.

6 Laurence Pountney Hill TQ 3274 8082 (M. O'Shea).
Excavations funded by Miller Buckley Ltd took place during November-December 1985 within a standing building and measuring 30m (100ft) E-W by 6-10m (20-30ft) N-S. The site lies immediately S of Cannon St on a relatively steep gravel slope down to the Thames, and its main importance is its location on or near the sites of the church of St Laurence Pountney and the early 14th c collegiate chapel of Corpus Christi, attached to the church in 1333/4. The site yielded evidence of Roman (N-S flint footings with a possible E-W return of a substantial building, a drain and sewer sequence and large pits, one possibly originally a well), medieval (chalk foundations, an area of burials and square pits) and post-medieval (foundations, walls and surfaces) periods.

Leadenhall Street, 32-40 Mitre Street TQ 3348 8114 (R. Lea).
Recording of the above ground remains of Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate (here referred to as the Arch) continued during 1985 following excavation in 1984. The fabric, which is protected as a listed building, is to be incorporated in the new development. The medieval work is to be stabilised and where possible stripped of later brickwork. The DUA has advised on the interpretation of the remains and liased with the developers, Speyhawk and the GLC Historic Buildings Division who have the responsibility for protecting the structure.
The Arch, originally part of the S choir aisle wall, gave access to a rectangular chapel to the S, traces of which were found during the excavation. As a pointed arch of two orders moulded in greensand with plain hollow chamfers which die into the jambs without capitals, it would appear to date from the 14th or 15th c. It was inserted into an earlier, probably 12th c arch, traces of which survive in the core observed in the N face of the E side of the Arch. Also observed in the mortar of the core were the impressions of diagonal vault ribs and the point from which they spring. Ashlar work below this springing point and contemporary with the earlier arch forms a return in which the broken off stems of a nook shaft are set in alternating courses. These broken-off stems also appear in the N face of the W jamb of the Arch and again in the bay to the E. The associated floor level at 14.52m (47ft 7in) OD, N of the Arch. is indicated by tiles set immediately below the lowest course of ashlar in the N face of the E jamb of the Arch. Although damaged, this stone probably represents a plinth. The courses of ashlar associated with the nook shafts vary between 120 and 220mm (5 and 9in) in height, but the pattern of variation is consistent across the two bays, strongly suggesting that the two bays are of one build. Traces of a window in the wall E of the Arch and a spiral staircase in the S face of the wall to the E of the Arch have also been observed. Recent work on antiquarian drawings from about 1800 has also provided the form of the vaults in the adjoining bays together with the capitals of the nook shafts. It is hoped that consolidation work on the Arch will involve reconstruction incorporating these discoveries.

Broad St Station, Liverpool St (Broadgate development) TQ 3304 8167 (D. Malt).
A series of excavations, cutting and drawing of sections and inspections of test-pits have been generously funded by Rosehaugh Stanhope plc. The earliest deposits were of a stream-bed, one of the channels of the upper Walbrook, seen as a naturally eroded surface of sands and gravels occupying a shallow, broad channel running NE-SW across the site. Within this main channel were series of smaller stream channels interspersed with washouts of pea gravel and fine waterlain silts. Brickearth and clay dumping during the Roman period on the E and W banks of the stream complement wooden revetments seen on other Walbrook sites to the S, implying control of the upper water course in the Roman period. Thereafter marsh and peat deposits up to 1.3m (4ft) thick within the Walbrook valley indicate part of the large marsh which accumulated in the area (later Moorfields) from the late Roman to the medieval period. A large 13th-14th c N-S linear feature, probably a ditch, corresponds with a ditch shown on the Copperplate Map (c 1558) and one previously recorded nearer the city wall to the S. Wooden revetments running E-W were recorded near the assumed line of the precinct of St Mary Bethlem hospital. Excavation is currently taking place of a burial ground in the SW corner of the site. Over 200 burials, some in coffins, have been recorded; the number of infants is notable. Pottery evidence from the graveyard suggests use in the 16th to 18th c, and documentary evidence suggests that it is part of the New Church Yard founded in 1569 in ground enclosed and donated by Sir Thomas Roe as a supplementary burial ground. It is possible that some burials are from the nearby post-medieval Bethlem Hospital. WC.

44 London Wall TQ 3272 8153 (C. Maloney).
Excavations were undertaken to locate and examine the W side of a Roman road first discovered in 1981 some 40m (130ft) to the S. The NNE-SSW orientated road was laid over the natural ground and was bordered by a timber-revetted drainage ditch. No construction date was obtained from this site but it had previously been dated to the late 1st-early 2nd century. The ditch had silted up and became waterlogged towards the 2nd half of the 3rd c but the road remained in use until at least the end of the century. Surfaces were relaid above dumped deposits which continuously raised the ground level, possibly as a measure against a rising water table. The disuse of the road was marked by a sequence of undated brickearth floors and occupation deposits above the latest surface.

7 Ludgate Broadway TQ 3174 8108 (J. Hill).
The excavation, sponsored by Guardian Exchange, took place between 19 June and 25 August 1985. The site lies between 28m and 43m (90 and 140ft) outside the Roman city wall. This wall line was followed until the later 13th c when it was demolished to make way for the Dominican Blackfriars. Reconstructions of the friary made from observed walls and documentary evidence suggested that the NW corner of the nave should lie within the area of the site. The site had been terraced by the insertion of post medieval cellars to a level at least 1.50m (5ft) below that of pre-Roman natural. The W edge of a substantial cut feature running N-S was recorded in three sections. There was little dating evidence from the backfill, but an absence of medieval finds, the size of the cut and the distance of the W edge from the line of the city wall (c 37m, 120ft) all suggested that it was the late Roman city ditch, recorded at other London sites. The backfilled ditch was overlain by the substantial masonry foundations of the NW corner of the nave of the Dominican Friary. The Lady Chapel suggested by Alfred Clapham in 1912 was not evident. Measurements from foundations observed during a watching brief in 1983 (APO 81) to those found at Ludgate Broadway indicate that dimensions quoted in a survey of 1551, hitherto regarded as external specifications, are in fact internal. The church is consequently larger than reconstructions to date have shown. A sequence of badly truncated late 17th/early 18th c brick and tile cellar floors and walls overlay the friary. Portions of foundations reusing moulded stone from the superstructure of the friary were incorporated within these brick features and are probably earlier, though reuse destroyed any dating evidence. Of particular interest were a large quantity of carved bone, ivory and tortoiseshell fan pieces of the late 17thlearly 18th c found within material backfilling a cellar to the S of the site, and an extremely deep (3.2m, 10.5ft), vaulted cesspit. Also from this feature was a large assemblage of mid 17th/mid 18th c pottery and glass and a number of oyster shells used as paint palettes. This also showed evidence that its earliest phase was of stone robbed from the friary.

Newgate Street, outside entrance to Central Criminal Court TQ 3182 8139 (S. Riviere).
A watching brief in an LEB trench uncovered three fragments of the S half of Newgate. A 2m (6.5ft) length with a finished E face was constructed of chalk and ragstone and very heavily disturbed by later brick walls. The masonry can be fitted onto a plan of the known fragments of Roman and medieval Newgate. but the date of this fragment could not be established.

Mansion House, Poultry TQ 3267 8109 (D. Bentley).
A watching brief was carried out during August 1985 within trial trenches beneath the Mansion House. Natural gravels sloped down to the W, into the Walbrook valley. On the E side seven metalled surfaces representing a yard or street were sealed by late Roman debris. This dump was overlain by a chalk-mortar make-up which may have been associated with St Mary Woolchurch Haw which occupied part of the site in the medieval period. Further down the hill to the W a large accumulation of alluvial deposits overlay the natural gravels, containing undated industrial and domestic rubbish. These waterlogged levels were sealed by substantial clayey dumps. A Roman masonry structure in the immediate area is inferred from large fragments of semi-articulated building debris, which appeared to have collapsed or have been dumped over the sealing layers. This material may have derived from a Roman building recorded only 3m (l0ft) to the S during earlier underpinning work in 1917. There was no dating associated with this material..

1-3 St. Paul's Churchyard, 1-9 Ludgate Hill, 15 Creed Lane and 40 Carter Lane TQ 3188 8110 (B. Pye).
During June-December 1985. a six week excavation inside standing buildings. followed by a watching brief during demolition and ground works, were funded by UK Providence. The excavation consisted of two areas. In the NW of the site, fronting onto Ludgate Hill (Area A), the truncated natural ground surface was directly beneath the concrete floor slab at 12.00m (39ft 4in) OD. However, above the slumped late 1st c backfill of a quarry pit was a much altered Roman timber post and clay sill constructed building of the early 2nd c. It was destroyed in the Hadrianic period (although there was no evidence of it being burnt down) and replaced by a building of similar construction in the mid 2nd c which was covered by a dump of 3rd c date. Other features recorded in this area include late Saxon to post-medieval pits and a 17th c brick-lined well. Fronting onto Creed Lane was the second area of excavation (B). Here the natural ground surface at 11.2m (36ft 9in) OD had been covered by a redeposited brickearth slab before a timber post and clay sill building was constructed in the late 1st c. This building was aligned N-S with a gravel "yard" to the S. It appeared to have been burnt down and replaced by a building of similar construction in the early 2nd c. When this building went out of use it was covered by a dump of 3rd c material.
In the watching brief the major feature recorded was a large ditch c 5m (16ft) deep and at least 15m (49ft) wide (truncated to the E), running N-S from the St. Paul's Churchyard frontage. It cut into a late 1st c quarry and was backfilled with Roman and medieval material. Other features recorded by section drawings include parts of Roman timber buildings with associated gravel "yards" and a small E-W running lane, and large pits of medieval to 19th c date. In the S part of the site, fronting onto Carter Lane. deep 19th c basements had destroyed all archaeological deposits except pits.

167-77 Queen Victoria Street (TQ 3168 8091) (K. Steedman).
At the confluence of the Fleet and Thames in the late 13th or early 14th c, a substantial E-W wall was erected on the foreshore. During or shortly after the construction of this wall large amounts of mixed deposits were dumped behind it to reclaim the land. Stairs were probably constructed to the top of the wall from the new ground level. At the front of the wall, beaches of compacted gravel were deliberately laid, presumably to facilitate the beaching or mooring of boats, and several mooring timbers were found. This deposition began soon after or during the construction of the wall, and continued until the 1st half of the 17th c when a set of wooden stairs was constructed from the top of the wall down to the foreshore. During this period, the area to the N of the wall yielded only traces of dumping and possible external activity from the 14th and 15th c. The stairs to the S of the wall appear to have had a relatively short life. They were dismantled and riverlain deposits sealed them. The foreshore area appears to have been used less intensively after this and the area was itself reclaimed in the 2nd half of the 17th c, probably as part of the general redevelopment of this part of the City following the Great Fire of London in 1666. A sequence of brick cellars was constructed on this reclaimed land and use of the latest one dates from the mid to late 18th c. To the N of the wall the earlier dumping was sealed by, and perhaps partly truncated by, activity associated with a setting for probable ladder access to the wall. This, and the layers which sealed it, were of 18th c date. A brick cellar post-dated them. Modern activity truncated the sequence on both sides of the wall.

St Stephen's Walbrook (TQ 3265 8103) (A. Westman).
Groundworks during partial underpinning and refurbishment of the Church of St Stephen, Walbrook, were monitored in March-April 1985 by arrangement with the architects, Brandt Potter and Partners. Inside the church, beneath the floor, only brick burial vaults and brick rubble were observed. Outside, the chalk foundations of the medieval church were recorded up to 1.50m (5ft) E of the E face of the foundations and superstructure built by Wren.

LAARC Archive

Carthusian Street, junction with Aldersgate Street, EC2 TQ 32090 81910 (D Bentley)
A trench revealed a sequence of horizontal gravel bands c1m thick, which presumably represented earlier, probably medieval, street surfaces.

Billingsgate Market, Lower Thames Street, EC3 TQ 33095 80630 (T Brigham)
A one-day investigation was conducted in a contractor’s trench immediately E of the former Billingsgate Fishmarket building during works associated with its refurbishment. This involved the digging by machine of a trench about 50m in length, alongside the E facade of the building. This was 3m deep with a further 6m sondage at the N end against Thames Street, 4m x 3m in plan. The main portion of the trench was filled with modern rubble to a depth of 3m. Within the deeper excavation at the N end, the remains of a substantial but badly eroded ragstone and mortar wall, thought to be part of the Roman riverside city wall, were recorded. The N face of this wall, which ran E-W, was intact, but the S side was eroded.

W side of Coleman Street, near Woolgate House, EC2 TQ 32630 81440 (C Maloney)
Observations were made in an electricity trench. The earliest recorded deposit, over 0.5m thick, was a dark silty clay, apparently medieval or post-medieval in date. The N edge of the trench revealed a section through the road metallings: these were recorded to a depth of 2.3m below ground level. W-E aligned brick arches were probably the remains of sewer tunnels. Modern services had caused much disturbance to the archaeological sequence.

94–97 Fenchurch Street, EC3 TQ 33450 81100 (S Rivière)
Excavation took place here between October and December 1985. The earliest feature on the site was a 26m long Roman ditch, partly with the ‘ankle-breaking’ profile suggestive of a military function. It had a fairly short life and was backfilled and levelled over at one time, with the first indications of several flimsy timber structures sealing the levelling. These structures, and a large domestic oven were themselves sealed by a further levelling up for the first of the more substantial buildings. These buildings, Building 1 and 2, were single storey, with wattle and daub walls supported by clay sills and roofed with thatch, and were confined to the E half of the site. To the W was an extensive external gravel area, possibly a courtyard, which covered an area at least 17m by 16m. The two buildings were completely destroyed by a major fire, probably Boudican. The new buildings and streets were deliberately laid out on a new alignment, at 45° to the preceding buildings, employing slightly different building techniques but producing basically timber, with wattle and daub, walls and thatched floors. Each was subdivided into several rooms and was altered internally during its lifetime. They formed in plan the shape of a fairly typical strip building and appeared to front onto the street running to the S and E. To the W of these buildings lay a street composed of bands of gravel heavily compacted to form a smooth surface with a slight camber in the middle. The sides were revetted with timber, and a succession of roadside ditches ran along both sides. The street was resurfaced at least three times and was in use well into the 2nd c AD. This street must have met the street on which the buildings were fronting at an angle of less than 90°, suggesting that the street found on the excavation may have been only a side street.
Any later Roman activity that may have existed across the site was destroyed by a large number of 12th c and later rubbish pits, wells and three chalk-lined pits.

6–9 Kinghorn Street, EC1 TQ 31200 81740 (D Bentley and D Lakin)
The site lay immediately E of the E end of St Bartholomew’s Priory church. The earliest features recorded were a series of auxiliary buildings close to the church. Two substantial masonry E-W walls to the E of the Lady Chapel continued the line of the chapel: it was not clear whether these represented an earlier building or an unfinished part of the chapel. The E wall of the 15th c Lady Chapel was exposed and recorded; it was found to have cut through the E end of some graves. Near the NE corner of the Chapel was a chalk-lined well which contained a single block of reused greensand on which survived the image of a painted face. It appeared to be a fragment of medieval fresco wall painting and, since it was found in association with the remains of brick buildings of late 16th or early 17th c, it may have derived from a nearby priory building, perhaps the Prior’s Lodgings, during rebuilding after the Dissolution. Brick structures and walls represent the remains of 16th and 17th c domestic buildings; a cellar of 17th c date was found to have been reused in the construction of a 19th c building.

Little Somerset Street, E1 TQ 33740 81150 (P McCulloch)
A trench for sewer or water works revealed a grey silty or brickearth layer, sealed by an opus signinum floor. It was overlaid by a thick deposit of dark earth with modern make-up above.

61 Queen Street, EC4 TQ 32455 80845 (M Burch)
Excavation here, funded by Greycoat Estates, was inside a building constructed in 1957 (for the excavation observed then, see GM155 above). A N-S trench 10m by 7m was excavated. The S edge of the trench was approximately 10m N of the 1st - 2nd c Roman waterfront structures recorded nearby in 1978 (TST78 above).
Natural brickearth sloped down to the S with a marked (man-made?) step in the S third of the trench. Dumps raised the ground surface and cut into these was a timber-lined pit 1m square and surviving 1.3m deep. It was subsequently filled with mixed silts and building material of late 2nd c date. N of the pit was a building with a masonry foundation. The main Roman period of occupation then followed: a large terrace wall to the S, at least 5.6m E-W, with a protruding pier base of courses of tile at the E end. A similar pier had been recorded in 1957, 1.8m to the W. N of this was a second building, also on stone foundations. The small amount of dating evidence suggests a 3rd c date. Later dump layers indicating decay included fifteen examples of tiles stamped PP BR LON or variations; none were found in the surviving structure of the building.
In the N third of the trench was a sunken building cut into the Roman levels, and itself dated to 1000-1150. Part of the S wall and the SW corner were recorded. There was also one pit of 11th or early 12th c date. The church of St Martin Vintry, recorded in 1957, now lies largely under the N carriageway of Upper Thames Street, but the present site included the edge of the N graveyard. Eight badly disturbed graves were recorded, and one footing of probably early medieval date. Post-medieval brick foundations also crossed the site.
Perring (1991) has suggested that this building is a warehouse, but the presence of tesserae, painted wall-plaster and hypocaust box-flue tile in a dump of debris over the building indicates a residential use.

St Martins-le-Grand, junction with Newgate Street, EC2 TQ 32120 81290 (C Harding)
Human bones in the spoil from the NE end of a gas trench were noted; they were disarticulated, mainly long bones and were considered to be redeposited.