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Public archaeolgy in action (and me – my curiosity only just survived)

For most people in this area, those that don’t yet know about the marvels and wonders of the Prescot Street website, the white hoardings around the site could hide all manner of things… The rumblings and grindings and arrival and departure of plant give the impression that something huge and impressive is under construction behind the white boards, all to be revealed at a later date… Some local residents that grew up in the area, or those that study or work close by, can perhaps remember the previous incarnations of the site as housing, bomb-damaged site or car park.

But what about the archaeology? Would anyone consider that?

And doesn’t it make them curious? What else is going on?

Using information boards is one of the principal methods of communicating the past to the general public. The content of this type of communicative text is hugely significant – for most observers, this will be the only information they recieve about the history and archaeology of the Prescot Street site. A website is all well and good (very good I think), but your average internet attention span is low – and not everyone has internet access. So for all local residents, office workers, passers by, lorry drivers, rear view mirrorites, hotel visitors, lost folk looking for Tower Hill Tube Station, church goers, drinkers, curry aficionados and school-drop parents I give you….

The Prescot Street Dig information boards.

Design by Paula Carvalho

Text and images created by Guy and myself.

With the kind support of Grange Hotels

Feel free to drop by and have a nosy.

burial, 140 Photos

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Burial (2120) Context (2104) Burial (2106) Context (1930) The far North East end of site Zone 4 Far East end of site Context (1930) Remains of heavily truncated skeleton (1918) Anies defining the cut of tomb foundation (1839) Anies & Tomasz and tomb burial (1839) (1812) GeoPhoto Burial (1812) Burial 1810 (legs only) Burial (1810) Inhumation (1751) Grave cut [1750] Context (1747) Grave cut [1734] Cremation urn (1745) Grave cut [1727] Adrian excavating grave cut [1727] Liz planning grave cut [1720] Grave cut [1720] Fergal posing with his shovel Adrian and Liz Large pit Large pit Greg Skeleton (1723) Skull of (1723) Skull & vertebrae of (1723) Skeleton (1723) Skeleton (1723) Skeleton (1723) excavated by Ruth Flexed prone skeleton (1723) Skeleton (1733), excavated by Will & Tomasz Skeleton (1733) with votive Samian vase (1736) at feet Grave cut [1711] of Ruth's skeleton (1723) Disarticulated skeleton (1728), excavated by Adrian Skeleton (1728) (1719) geophoto Skeleton (1719) Adrian's grave cut (1727) Will & Tomasz excavating (1733) Adrian excavating skeleton (1728) Liz recording grave cut (1720) Ruth, Tomasz and Will recording Context (1720) Anies & Adrian looking for a grave cut Fergal and (1698) Fergal doesn't want to leave Ruth's skeleton Across site looking North East Working shot looking North Ruth, Will and Fergal at work A somewhat busy corner of site Ruth, Will and Fergal Ruth working on the ribs Ruth excavating skeleton Votive (?) vessel (1707) (1666) Skeleton (1708) Skeleton (1708) Ruth and skeleton Dave and skeleton (1708) Liz and skeleton Ceri and skeleton (L - R) David, Skeleton (1698) Fergal and Anies Anies interviews Fergal for a future feature Ruth doing a spot of trowelling Fergal's skeleton (1698) (1698) geophoto Skull of (1698) Skeleton (1698) Fergal excavating the pelvic area of (1698) Close up of (1698) Ruth & Will packing up skeleton (1665) Skeleton (1698) Fergal excavating skeleton (1698) (1665) geophoto Skeleton (1665) Skeleton (1665) from above Fergal excavating a grave Tomasz digging grave cut of 1668, with Dave's cremation pit (1675) in foreground Jon & Ruth Cremation (1675) Tomasz and 1668 Tomasz Will cleaning the top of a skeleton 1665 Tomasz working on a skeleton - no context number yet Tomasz, our newest member of staff (1617) geophoto [1271] being geophotographed [1271] a large pit with three skulls at the west end [1275] ready to be geophotographed Context [1275] a heavily truncated but well preserved inhumation Adrian working on [1275] Will Clarke, our newest member of staff Adrian working on [1275] Adrian working on [1275] Liz Liz excavating a cremation burial Cremation burial (1051) being excavated by Paula Paula's cremation (1051) ready for its geo-photo Close up of Paula's cremation (1051) Lukasz at work David sampling a possible cremation Site shot west south west The site office The side of my head Inhumation (1083) with the head resting on a tile Inhumation (1083) (1083) Ashley working on (1083) Tom's poorly preserved Roman burial with only long bones present Gary's inhumation waiting to be geo-photographed Votive deposit (1083) with flagon and black burnished platter Liz's inhumation (1006) Lukasz's inhumation (1032) with pot at feet David's cremation (1087) see journal for further details Paula's cremation (1051) David's cremation (1087) Liz excavating skeleton (1006) Ɓukasz excavating Roman skeleton (1032) An upended cremation urn Paula and her cremation burial. Liz grinning with joy at her most interesting discovery at Prescot Street so far Cremation urn (961) being excavated expertly by the Cheese Greg working on the cremation urn (961) Cremation urn (961) Covered disturbed cremation truncated by a soakaway Excavating an area with disturbed cremation urns Roman Burial (870) Roman Burial (870) Roman Burial (868)