Bronze Age environments and burial in the lower Lea valley : archaeological investigations in the Stratford city development

The Stratford City Development archaeological excavations took place to the north of Stratford International railway station at the edge of the Olympic Park in East London. The work, enhanced by geoarchaeological input, focused on five broad areas of trenching on the north-west and north-east sides of a roughly triangular block of land raised during the excavation of the "Stratford Cut." The south-westernmost area was named "Frigoscandia South" and comprised trenches 1 to 10. Immediately to the north-east was "Frigoscandia North," which included trenches 11 to 15. Trenches 16 to 21 were located to the east of this within "Temple Mills Access/Security" area, whilst trenches 22 and 23 at "Alma Bridge" and Trench 24 at "Henrietta Bridge" were positioned to the south-east. A futher area of excavation lay to the south of "Temple Mills Access/Security" and comprised the "Chobham Test Pits" numbers 1 to 4. Due to limiting factors including restricted access and the presence of line services, Trench 15 remained unexcavated whilst Trenches 17 and 18 also 20 and 21 were combined into single trenches. Trenches 22 and 23 revealed important elements of the 19th- and 20th-century Stratford railway depot, whilst post-medieval features, mostly associated with land management and drainage were recorded in a number of trenches in the Frigoscandia North and South areas. Post-medieval made ground was also observed in most trenches, but it is the evidence of prehistoric activity, revealed in a number of trenches in the Frigoscandia South area, as well as the natural deposits, revealed across the site which form the main subject matter for this report. [Publication Abstract]