Stone Age 'camp' unearthed in London: Evidence of fires, animal bones and a rare flint tool dating back 700,000 years found
comments
From the mysterious decapitated heads of 'gladiators' unearthed in the City to human remains from the infamous 'Bedlam' psychiatric hospital, recent construction projects re-shaping London's skyline have revealed some unusual historical treasures.
And now prehistoric remains that suggest the presence of a campsite for cavemen have been discovered on the building site of the new U.S. Embassy in Vauxhall, South London.
A Palaeolithic flint tool pulled from the site could be one of the earliest objects found in London, dating from anywhere between 700,000BC and 10,000BC.
A Palaeolithic flint tool (pictured) pulled from the construction site of the new U.S. Embassy could be one of the earliest objects found in London, dating from anywhere between 700,000 and 10,000BC
DISCOVERIES AT THE SITE
A Palaeolithic flint tool could be one of the earliest objects found in London, dating from anywhere between 700,000 and 10,000BC. It could be a tool or a flake from a larger tool.
Charred remains suggest campfires, which could have been used at temporary sites ideally based for hunting and fishing.
A fish trap was found measuring 39ft (12metres) long.
Archaeologists discovered tools from the Mesolithic - 10,000 to 4,000BC – and Bronze Age, between 4,000 and 2,600 years ago.
Charred remains suggesting campfires, animal bones and a fish trap were also identified.
Archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) also discovered tools from the Mesolithic -10,000BC to 4,000BC – and Bronze Age, between 4,000 and 2,600 years ago.
The site in South London, which is being developed to make way for the embassy as well as a whole host of new flats and buildings, was once a river consisting of smaller channels with sandy and gravelly islands in between.
Some of the islands were large enough and dry enough for prehistoric people to settle on. The fertile, marshy banks provided access to rich food sources and were a perfect hunting ground for prehistoric communities.
Charred remains suggest campfires, which could have been used at temporary sites ideally based for hunting and fishing. These wooden posts might have been part of a fish trap used to catch dinner 11,000 years ago
Prehistoric remains that suggest the presence of a campsite for cavemen have been discovered on the building site of the new U.S. Embassy in Vauxhall, south London (marked on this map)
WHERE DID LONDON GET ITS NAME?
The etymology of London is uncertain but it is thought that it is Roman in origin, despite evidence of prehistoric settlements stretching back thousands more years.
The first recording of the name Londinium dates from the second century.
There was a theory that it originated from a 'King Lud' but this has been discarded.
Historians in the 17th Century maintained that the city's name is Celtic and means 'place belonging to a man called Londinos,' but again, this theory has been thrown out.
In 1998 Richard Coates suggested that London is pre-Celtic for (p)lowonida - 'river too wide to ford' - suggesting that it is named after the River Thames. It could have a Welsh and Roman origin.
Until 1889 the name 'London' only applied to the City of London, which was the Roman part of the city, but it now applies to the county and Greater London.
The flint itself could be a tool in its own right or a 'flake' from a larger tool and was probably swept away by water, making it difficult for experts to date the find precisely, Live Science reported.
Other discoveries on the site include a prehistoric fish trap, approximately 39ft (12metres) long, and evidence of camp fires, demonstrated by scorched patches of earth and burned bones.
'We think that [the fires] are potentially marking a spot that people were coming back to seasonally,' Kasia Olchowska, a senior archaeologist at Mola.
She believes that the ancient site was probably too wet to be a permanent settlement for ancient people, but the open space might have proved a good camp site from which to hunt and go fishing for food.
'What we have found may be the earliest archaeological evidence currently known from London,'
'It will be interesting to see how this evidence relates to other prehistoric structures on the nearby Thames foreshore.
'We hope to be able to reconstruct and have a better understanding of the prehistoric landscape of a much wider area than at present.'
The flint tools are a rare discovery in London as the city has seen so much development that fleeting glimpses of prehistoric people rarely survive. Dr Olchowska thinks they were made between 100,000 and 12,000 years ago.
Experts will analyse the tools to establish firm dates and work out what they may have been used for, to paint a picture of life in London over 12,000 years ago.
Prehistoric remains that suggest the presence of a campsite for cavemen have been discovered on the building site of the new U.S. Embassy in Vauxhall, south London. This visualisation shows where the modern building (pictured towards the bottom right in a grass circle) will sit among the new development
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment