Middle Saxon London: Excavations at the Royal Opera House 1989-99 (Molas Monograph, 15)

The Royal Opera House is located on the north side of Covent Garden London, in the heart of what was the Middle Saxon settlement of Lundenwic. This settlement was a flourishing centre for trade and manufacture from the 7th to 9th centuries. Urban redevelopment in 1996 included the largest excavation yet undertaken in the area, providing a wealth of information about the settlement, its inhabitants, their work and daily lives. This well illustrated publication reports on the results of the excavations, describes a sequence of occupation, and considers more general themes such as the relationship of the Middle Saxon settlement to Roman Londinium, Saxon crafts and industry, the agricultural economy, trade, and demography. The discoveries included an 8th century street plan, specialised industrial buildings, rubbish and debris from a jewellery workshop, evidence of ironworking and, most importantly, a 9th-century defensive ditch with a hoard of Northumbrian stycas buried in its berm. The ditch was probably a response to Viking attack, but failed to prevent the Viking occupation of Lundenwic in 871. The book also looks at the medieval and post-medieval development of the area and numerous, brief specialist reports on the finds and environmental remains.