Recently my colleagues have been blogging about the weather, how it is either too wet or too sunny. You will be pleased to hear we have had some rain in London and the oppressive heat has been replace with a much cooler atmosphere. Which means that everyone is happy once again, the soil is easier to dig and features are much more easily distinguishable. As we approach August and enter the final phase of Prescot Street, the overall picture of the site has become much clearer, in thanks in no small part to David and his digitised plans, and to the lectures organised as part of National Archaeology Week.

A vice shared by all diggers is the saving of paperwork for a rainy day or for a heatwave! However when the rain stays away diggers tend to keep digging, leading inevitably to a backlog of paperwork. This is where David’s work has come into its own, where all previous plans are easily retrievable and thus we diggers are saved from a labourous trawl through the records when we attempt to cross-reference our features with others in the same area. I am glad to say that my boards are now clear.

As part of National Archaeology Week I stayed on site for the events held on the Wednesday evening, which included a lecture by Rob Whytehead, who had previously dug in the Goodman’s Field area and had uncovered much of the Roman East London Cemetery. This was a most interesting lecture for visitors and staff alike, which give a great insight into how the ‘patchwork’ of excavated sites in the Aldgate area were connected.

Indeed back in March I had expected us to encounter a much greater density of inhumations than we have had to date. However, Rob showed that as our site is slightly further away from the possible Roman road to the south of Whitechapel, and that this was to be expected as Roman practice was to congregate their burials either side of the road. However, as one moved further away from the road the number of burials became less numerous. Although as we near the eastern end of site we should be getting closer to the possible Roman road. So we may yet encounter more inhumations.