Our work to replace London's Victorian water mains has produced some fascinating archaeological discoveries in recent years.

Bear Gardens, Southwark

In summer 2009, archaeologists carried out a watching brief on work to replace water mains in Southwark. This took place in an area once known for its numerous theatres, which had close links with bear-baiting arenas.

The work uncovered walls associated with a bear baiting arena known as Bear Gardens 5 or 'Davies' Baiting Ring', dating from the 17th century.

The remains suggest the arena was a six-sided construction. They are probably the last surviving evidence of any Restoration-period bear baiting arenas in Southwark, and as such are of national importance.

City of London

A watching brief on our mains replacement work in the City of London throughout 2008 and 2009 resulted in some exciting discoveries in the City, especially near St Paul's Cathedral, where the remains of early tenement buildings from the 17th century were uncovered. 

We found brick walls, floors and some well-preserved cellars, including an excellent example of a coal shute. These tenements are shown on copperplate maps dating from around 1559, but were later cleared in the 1630s as part of restoration work by architect Inigo Jones. 

A previously-unrecorded large masonry structure dating from the early 18th century was also discovered.  This is believed to be the original boundary wall surrounding Sir Christopher Wren's cathedral, rebuilt between 1675 and 1711 following after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

As land became a premium in the City it appears this wall was demolished and the modern boundary we see today was erected.

The Victorian mains around St Paul's Cathedral were twice as deep as the majority found elsewhere in London, which is perhaps why archaeology was unearthed in this area.

In 2009, archaeologists also monitored trenches due on either side of the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Ludgate. This revealed high-quality Roman pottery dating from AD 90-120, a truncated chalk wall base of possible medieval date and a brick cellar wall from the 17th century.

London Wall

A watching brief during work to replace mains in Crouch Hill in 2008 uncovered a section of the Roman City Wall on the eastern side of the junction of Blomfield Street and London Wall (see map below).

The wall was known to have existed in the area prior to this investigation, and the remains are designated as a Scheduled Monument, and legally protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

It appears to have been built in the late 2nd century and continued to be developed until at least the end of the 4th century, making it among the last major building projects undertaken by the Romans before they departed Britain in AD 410.

The wall remained in active use as a fortification for over 1,000 years and was used to defend London against raiding Saxons in AD 457.

Redevelopment took place during the medieval period, with the addition of more gates. Substantial demolition took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, although large portions were incorporated into other structures.

The section we uncovered had already been heavily damaged by a number of services and contained two different types of building materials, suggesting two separate building phases.