Major redevelopment schemes along the Thames in the past have meant that the site at Queenhithe Dock is a rare survival of a sequence of waterfront constructions dating from the Roman period. The timber quays, revetments and the occupation levels are well preserved as buried features. It provides evidence for the riverside development of London including archaeological and environmental remains and deposits.
Queenhithe Dock is a rectangular inlet in the modern waterfront of the River Thames. Archaeological watching briefs and partial excavation on the site and along adjacent parts of the riverfront, particularly at Bull Wharf, show that a sequence of waterfront constructions dating from the Roman period to the post-medieval period survive beneath the ground surface. Although partially robbed, the large timbers of the Roman quay are known to survive in situ as buried features. By the Saxon period there was a dock on the site, the quayside of which is situated to the south of the Roman quay. It was formed by a build up of the ground surface behind a line of timber revetments. The revetment itself was constructed from reused timbers, originally used within buildings and in boats, and they were held in place by vertical posts. The buried ground surface behind the Saxon revetment will retain evidence of occupation levels and structures of several periods associated with activities at the waterfront. A third sequence of timber revetments and associated deposits which date from the 12th to the 14th century are situated to the south of the Saxon revetment and survive as buried features.
Following the decline of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, it was not until the late 9th century that London, or Lundenburh as it was then known, was re-established as a major port under Alfred the Great. The land around Queenhithe Dock was one of the first areas of the city to be occupied following the re-foundation by Alfred the Great. The siting of the Saxon harbour is thought to have been greatly influenced by the existing Roman or post-Roman topographic features which were present here. Two charters, written in AD 889 and AD 899, make references to the harbour and market of Queenhithe, indicating that both were established by AD 889. At this time and through the later medieval period, Queenhithe would have been involved in transport and trade of fish, grain, salt and timber, and eventually also iron and coal.
Archaeological watching briefs at Queenhithe in 1990, 1997 and 2005 recorded a series of timbers consistent with the position of the medieval waterfront. Other finds on the site have included a Neolithic flint flake and fragments of a sixth century gold pendant.
Source:- HistoricEngland.org.uk
Dilys Cowan
cityoflondonhistory 