The site at Prescot Street lies close to the centre of what is known as the East London Roman Cemetery in Aldgate, near to the City of London. The site is one of the last remaining un-excavated large areas of the cemetery and the archaeology it contains is invaluable for interpretation of the cemetery site as a whole. In addition, the site has a rich post Medieval history and archaeology which we will also excavate and study.

Roman

During the Roman period, the Prescot Street site was within a busy cemetery. A greater area of the cemetery has been excavated in a patchwork of sites in the area close to Prescot Street over the last 30 years. The articles here aim to give some overview of the archaeology of the Roman period and give some starting points for an exploration of Roman ideas about death and burial.

Medieval

The site does not have a particularly rich Medieval archaeology, but there is some evidence for Medieval activity on site, especially some amazingly well preserved leather.

Post Medieval

The post Medieval archaeology of the site is varied and interesting. The site was transformed from an essentially rural situation on the fringe of the City, into a densely populated city centre district. This period also affords us more opportunities to tie in local history, the built environment, antiquarian sources and local legends.

History of discovery

Antiquarian discoveries of Roman material from the East London Roman Cemetery have been recorded since the 16th Century. These articles are intended to give some background to the history of the discovery and study of the site.