Our new book, Romano-British round houses to medieval parish, explores archaeological evidence from excavations at 10 Gresham Street. Antony Francis, an archaeologist who helped run the site and co-authored the book, reveals his highlights.
As excavation at 10 Gresham Street drew to a close, the significance of our discoveries for understanding the transition in London from Iron Age to Roman ways of living became clear. What we found was the largest group of Romano-British roundhouses yet excavated in the capital. These were part of a semi-permanent camp of Iron Age-type circular buildings, dating 60–70 AD, alongside a rectangular building, a form more associated with Roman traditions. There was another surprise inside the rectangular building – evidence for glass bead-making using Iron Age techniques. Along with pottery and seed evidence for diet, it seemed that the artisans, living at the margins of the newly-established town, had adopted a ‘Roman’ or ‘Iron Age’ lifestyle as it suited them.
