Crossrail finishes UK’s largest archaeology dig

A Roman skull found during work for Liverpool Street ticket hall

An archaeological study of more than 3,000 skeletons retrieved in recent years from the site of the new Elizabeth line station at Liverpool Street has shown that many belonged to people who migrated to the capital from rural areas but died in their late teens or as young adults.

The study, to be published this month by the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola), paints a bleak picture of a polluted and increasingly overcrowded London where “newcomers were more susceptible to diseases that were rife in the city”.

The Great Plague is covered in the last and final books of the Crossrail archaeology series and brings to an end to the largest archaeology programme ever undertaken in the UK.

The Crossrail archaeology series comprises 10 books by Oxford Archaeology and MOLA that explore a wide range of periods and locations, including: historic buildings along the route; railway heritage; the development of Soho and the West End; the Crosse & Blackwell factory at Tottenham Court Road; the investigations at Charterhouse Square at Farringdon; Pre-historic East London; and the Roman and Post-Medieval remains at Liverpool Street.

The books are available to purchase through Crossrail’s website at: www.crossrail.co.uk/news/publications.

A mass burial site of victims of The Great Plague was also discovered at Liverpool Street

The construction of the Elizabeth line gave archaeologists a unique opportunity to excavate normally inaccessible sites from almost every significant period of London’s history. The analysis of tens of thousands of artefacts unearthed from more than 40 sites across the capital has painted an extraordinarily detailed picture of London’s development and the lives of people who lived and worked here.

The findings explored in the three new publications include:

• An incredibly rare snapshot of human activity 10,000 years ago, from evidence of stone tool making in the Lower Thames floodplain;
• London’s original infrastructure project, a Roman road encircling Londinium, and the mystery of the skulls and people buried next to it;
• The bleak fortunes of London’s poor and migrant communities between the 16th and 18th century, during a time of civil war, fire and plague.

Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive, said: “The Crossrail project has given archaeologists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study historically significant parts of London.

“We’ve uncovered tens of thousands of artefacts and items spanning 55 million years and pieced them together to tell the story of this vibrant city and the people who have lived and worked here for 8,000 years.”