The Holocene evolution of the London Thames: archaeological excavations (1991–1998) for the London Underground Limited Jubilee Line Extension Project

2000

London Underground's 1990s Jubilee Line Extension Project was rich in archaeology. This third book in the Project's archaeological series considers the new evidence for the Holocene environment of central London. The book's emphasis is explicitly geoarchaeological; results from a series of sites describe the sedimentary and ecological process operating in the central London floodplain. This information is presented within a wider archaeological synthesis. The hallmarks of this book are an investigation into the Thames' Holocene geoarchaeology, a model of the development of the London Thames, a series of maps (including the changing topography of Westminster from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age), and the integration of new evidence with earlier work in the environments of London and the Thames. It identifies what can be achieved from the seemingly unpromising circumstance of numerous, often quite small sites, some with very little archaeology but considerable potential for understanding past human environments, within four main study areas along the 18km line between Westminster and Canning Town.

Monograph Series 5