One month on from our outing to Croydon Heritage Festival our Head of Audience Engagement, Magnus Copps, looks back at a great day celebrating the rich archaeological heritage of this vibrant London borough:
In some circles Croydon is known only for its concrete canyons and urban motorways, however archaeological excavations taking place as part of regeneration spearheaded by the London Borough of Croydon show that if you take a longer look, the growth of concrete in the 20th century is just one of many stories the area has to tell.
We set out to Croydon Heritage Festival to bring some of these fascinating archaeological stories to life for locals and visitors alike. Recent MOLA excavations at Lion Green Road uncovered part of a Saxon burial ground, with finds including some late Roman coins that appear to have been adapted for use as ornaments or jewellery. We teamed up with Museum of Croydon to put these finds in a wider context of the archaeology of Croydon, showcasing a range of finds including mammoth tooth fragments once held in the lost Grange Wood Museum, some prehistoric flints and axe heads - some of which were found at Carshalton, and a beautiful Roman cup decorated with a hunting scene, also discovered locally.
