Archaeology

View the video of our archaeological dig.

London Gateway is located 25 miles from central London on the north banks of the River Thames. Due to its prime location, it has been a hub of industrial activity. New archaeological evidence, gathered as part of the London Gateway project, shows that the industrial heritage of the site begins in the Roman period. Two Roman salt-making sites, probably dating from c.100 AD, have been found during surveys and excavations close to Mucking Creek.

Roman Settlements
London was founded by the Romans, probably as a trading settlement, by c. 50AD and, during the early Roman period (43AD to 250AD), trade in London and the Thames estuary developed rapidly. Roman historians tell us that many foreign merchants came to London to trade in British goods, such as corn, cattle, gold, silver, and iron, as well as animal skins, slaves, and hunting dogs. The land along the Thames estuary seems to have been heavily populated during the Roman period. Many rural farms of the period have been found in Essex, close to the north bank of the Thames. The London Gateway site lies in a low-lying marshy area that would in the ancient past have been used mainly for salt-making, fishing, fowling and summer grazing.

The London Gateway Site
We take our responsibility towards preserving historical sites and artefacts very seriously and have contracted specialist archaeologists to assess the archaeological importance of a 44-hectare site, named ‘Site A’, which is an area of land being converted to mudflats for wading birds as part of our environmental programme. For further information, see our Site A interactive presentation.

We are conducting an assessment using historic maps and a series of non-intrusive geophysical surveys to identify and map any important archaeology. As part of the site is reclaimed saltmarsh, we are also studying the build-up of soil on the site, using drilled soil cores and geophysical surveys.

In addition, we are digging evaluation trenches, which together with the geophysical surveys, allow us to pin-point areas of ancient activity.

The most important sites identified were in the far east and west of Site A. Both of these areas contain ‘redhill’ sites, which are areas of burnt clay left over from the salt-making process. As well as the Roman evidence, prehistoric flint tools have been uncovered, as well as medieval pottery, indicating that this particular site may have been occupied for many hundreds of years.

Roman salt-making sites are a characteristic feature of the Essex coast. All of the findings from Site A will be recorded for future reference.