4.9 The Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service
Inner London
At a strategic level, the most important event has been the five-yearly review of the Wandsworth Unitary Development Plan. This has provided an opportunity to consider the strategic base upon which archaeological advice is provided in Wandsworth, and provides a more local demonstration of the regional research strategies. The Archaeological Priority Area designations have been reviewed to benefit from the results of fieldwork and research carried out since their last revision, and the underpinning justification for the areas has been revised to place them on a more strategic footing in relation to current research themes and strategies.
The study of the ways in which the inner London area was exploited in prehistoric times has been addressed by a small number of interventions during the year. North of the river Thames, excavation at Old Church Street, Chelsea produced Mesolithic Neolithic flints and Bronze Age pottery, together with later Roman, Saxon, and medieval features. Fieldwork at Earl's Terrace and Old Church Street, Chelsea assisted with the continued definition and study of Saxon settlement on the north bank of the Thames. At the former site, evaluation identified a Saxon plough soil beneath later medieval deposits; at the latter site a post-hole structure and pits were excavated. Proposals for the Millennium Ferris Wheel in Jubilee Gardens, Belvedere Road in Lambeth prompted an archaeological evaluation of the foundations for this new structure. Riverside marsh deposits dating from the Roman period, overlain by made ground of considerably more modern date were recorded.
The Advisory Service has also maintained its contacts with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, working with the Inspector of Ancient Monuments for London to ensure that the archaeological remains that will be damaged by the proposed works are properly assessed and recorded.
City of Westminster
Inner London
South London
North and West London
East London