Erith-Thamesmead Spine Road Archaeological Finds on show at Bexley Museum

The current exhibition at Bexley Museum, Hall Place, Bexley describes the exciting finds that have been made over the last two years by archaeologists working on the Erith-Thamesmead Spine Road.

The spine road, which is due to open to traffic in the Spring of 1997, will run from Anderson Way in the northwest to Erith Town Hall in the southeast. Bexley Council's engineers first called in archaeologists in the early 1990s to assess if any archaeological remains might be disturbed by work on the new road. In the spring of 1994, they discovered a previously unknown important building at Erith close to St John's Church which would have been the centre of Erith's manorial administration around 1200 AD. Traces of Roman occupation, in the form of ditches and rubbish pits, were found nearby.

Laying foundations for the northern part of the road involved the removal of several meters' depth of soft peat which had accumulated in prehistoric times between 6000 and 2000 years ago. It was near Church Manorway in the summer of 1995 that archaeologists made the most exciting finds.

One of these was part of a pottery bowl, on show in this exhibition, which is thought to be one of the earliest found in England. It was dated to around 4500 BC by radio-carbon dating of the peat. There was also a riverside site nearby where Stone Age people made flint tools, leaving behind thousands of waste pieces.

The other main find was a rare section of a wattle trackway which had been laid over the peat marsh around 1400 BC. The exhibition contains a specially-commissioned replica piece of track. Archaeological consultant, Maureen Bennell, said "This find was very exciting and is the first known example of a trackway of woven hurdle construction. It is thought that these tracks were used by people to get from dry land to the river's edge for catching wild birds or fish and to fetch fresh water".

These important finds have prompted Ken Whitaker of English Heritage to visit the exhibition. Mr. Whitaker said "English Heritage congratulates the London Borough of Bexley on this exhibition and is particularly pleased to have been part of this project in which cooperation between engineers, building contractors, and archaeologists have resulted in significant previously unknown discoveries".

"The Archaeology of the Erith/Thamesmead Spine Road" is at Bexley Museum, Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley, until 16 June 1996. Opening times are Monday-Saturday 10.00 am - 5.00 pm (also from March 31st - Sundays 2.00 - 6.00 pm), and admission is free.

For further information, please contact Jessica Vale, Museums Curator, Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley, Kent DAS 1PQ. Telephone: 01322 526574.