London student fieldwork on the Thames foreshore

Work as part of the CoLAS / UCL Thames Archaeological Survey project is currently underway recording what remains of the public riverstairs and watergates on the Thames foreshore. In medieval times the City of London had thirty public riverstairs: today there are just three. These common watergates served many functions for Londoners, to collect water, do their laundry, wash themselves, water horses, or to use public tidally-flushed latrines. Particular occupations—such as fishermen or shipbuilders—for whom the foreshore was a daily workplace, also required access to the river. And it was here on the waterfront that produce brought to the City by boat could be bought or bartered, especially important in the 10th-12th centuries, when regular beach-markets took place on the open foreshore. Evidence for these many activities can be found surviving at low tide, and on days throughout the winter our students can be found recording these remains whilst also gaining valuable skills in the three-dimensional recording of intertidal archaeology."

Our time on the Thames foreshore has been one of my favourite types of fieldwork undertaken at UCL so far. Archaeology is everywhere and to be able to see relics of the past on our doorstep throughout the term is a great way to study the past in a small yet significant way. The archaeology of the Thames changes every 12 hours with fresh artefacts washing up on the shore every day and as the tide goes out, we can study the finds that are left behind. These can range from pottery fragments to large amounts of animal bones. Similarly, we also record features from the past, such as 17th century steps leading to the water’s edge to help paint a picture of the history of the Thames. Foreshore recording of the Thames is a perfect taste of the archaeology of London.