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A Neolithic Trackway within Peat Deposits at Silvertown, London

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

A.D. Crockett ,
Michael J. Allen  and
Robert G. Scaife
A.D. Crockett
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB
Michael J. Allen
Affiliation:
Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB
Robert G. Scaife
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield Southapton SO17 1BJ
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Abstract

Excavations at Fort Street, Silvertown, London revealed a short length of a prehistoric trackway constructed within the floodplain of the Thames. Two pollen profiles were obtained through peat together with four radiocarbon dates; two from the trackway itself, one from near the bottom and one from near the top of the peat. These dates indicate that the trackway was constructed in the Early Neolithic and that peat formation took place in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The trackway is of considerable importance in that it represents the earliest known structure of this kind yet discovered in the London area.

Résumé

Des fouilles à Fort Street, Silvertown, Londres, ont révélé un court tronçon d'une voie préhistorique construite dans la plaine inondable de la Tamise. On a obtenu deux profils polliniques à travers la tourbe ainsi que quatre datations au radiocarbone, deux de la voie elle-même, une près du fond et une autre près du haut de la tourbière. Ces dates indiquent que la voie avait été construite au début du néolithique et que la tourbe s'était formée au néolithique et à l'âge du bronze. Cette voie est d'une importance considérable car elle constitue la plus ancienne structure connue de ce type jamais découverte dans la région londonienne.

Resúmen

Excavaciones en Fort Street, Silvertown, Londres han revelado un corto tramo de un camino prehistórico construido en el valle del rio Támesis. Se obtuvieron dos secuencias de polen de la turba junto con cuatro dataciones al carbono-14; dos procedentes de muestras del camino mismo, otra de cerca del fondo y otra de cerca de la superficie de la turba. Estas fechas indican que el camino fue construido en el Neolítico inicial, y que la formación del depósito de turba ocurrió durante el neolítico y la edad del bronce. La importancia de este descubrimiento es considerable, en cuanto el camino representa el más temprano ejemplo conocido de una estructura de este tipo descubierta en la zona de Londres.

Zusammenfassung

Ausgrabungen in der Fort Street in Silvertown, London, führten zur Entdeckung eines kurzen Abschnitts eines prähistorischen Weges, der in die Schwemmebene der Themse gebaut worden war. Zwei Pollenprofile wurden aus dem Torf gewonnen zusammen mit vier Radiokarbondaten, davon zwei vom Verbindungsweg selbst, eines nahe der Unterkante des Torfs und eines nahe der Oberkante. Diese Daten deuten an, dass der Weg im frühen Neolithikum gebaut worden war und die Torfbildung im Neolithikum und in der Bronzezeit stattfand. Der Verbindungsweg ist von großer Bedeutung, da er die früheste bekannte Konstruktion dieser Art ist, die bisher im Raum London entdeckt wurde.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 68 , 2002 , pp. 185 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 2002

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