Iron Age settlement unearthed at London Olympics site

Four skeletons buried in an Iron Age settlement have been unearthed by archaeologists exploring the London 2012 Olympics site. 

An artist’s impression of an Iron Age settlement [Credit: Metro]

They were found in a cemetery, along with the remains of a goat believed to have been sacrificed in their honour. 

It stood on the site of what has now become the Aquatics centre. 

Other prized finds at the east London site include a 4,000-year-old Neolithic flint axe and a 19th century boat used for hunting wild fowl on the River Lea. 

Roman coins have also been uncovered during Britain’s largest archaeological survey which saw 140 trenches built over the 2.5sq km park. 

World War II gun emplacements were also discovered along with more quirky items like chamber pots, a fragment of a decorated spittoon and a headless figurine of what is thought to be Queen Caroline. 

About 10,000 remains have either been photographed and recorded by experts at Wessex Archaeology or taken to form part of the Museum of London’s collection. 

‘Without the London 2012 Games the rich history and prehistory of the local communities in this part of east London and the lower Lea Valley would not have been revealed,’ said senior post-excavation manager Pippa Bradley 

Author: Sonia Elks | Source: Metro [June 06, 2012]