8 Incredible Discoveries Made During the Expansion of the London Underground

In 2009, London initiated a groundbreaking infrastructure project: the 73-mile underground railway system, the Elizabeth Line, aimed at increasing urban train capacity by 10%. Expected to open in 2018, this monumental endeavor provided archaeologists with an extraordinary opportunity to explore vast sections of subterranean London, uncovering a wealth of fascinating historical artifacts from different eras. Here’s just a glimpse of some of the amazing finds.

1. A CEMETERY WITH VICTIMS OF THE BLACK DEATH

During an excavation at London's Charterhouse Square in 2013, archaeologists uncovered numerous skeletons. Upon studying the remains, scientists found that some belonged to victims of the Black Death—also known as the bubonic plague—that ravaged 14th- and 15th-century England.

DNA traces of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis were found in the teeth, while radiocarbon dating revealed that the burial site had been used during two major outbreaks of plague: one from 1348 to 1350, and another in the 1430s. The remains also indicated signs of poor nutrition and difficult living conditions, which may have made Londoners more vulnerable to the plague.

However, the so-called plague pit did not only contain plague victims. Some of the bodies were not affected by the disease. According to historian Gillian Tindall, as she told The Guardian, what they found were not bodies haphazardly piled together as expected, but rather neatly arranged burials with bodies laid out in rows and facing one direction. This suggests that not all individuals died from the plague, but possibly from other common causes of the time.

2. A 8000-YEAR-OLD STONE TOOL

While excavating at North Woolwich, located in southeast London, archaeologists uncovered a Mesolithic-era site along the Thames, believed to be where early humans created tools between 8500 and 6000 years ago. The site contained remnants of campfires and scattered flint, with experts recovering 150 pieces of flint, including an 8000-year-old stone tool.

"This is a rare and exciting discovery that provides evidence of humans returning to England, specifically the Thames Valley, after the long absence caused by the Ice Age," said Jay Carver, lead archaeologist for Crossrail, in a news release. "It is one of the few archaeological sites uncovered that confirms human habitation in the Thames Valley during this period. The abundance of flint pieces indicates this was a crucial location for sourcing materials used by early Londoners who lived and hunted on Thames Estuary islands."

3. A VULGAR VICTORIAN CHAMBER POT

While digging at the Stepney Green station in East London, archaeologists discovered a 19th-century cesspit dating from after 1850. The waste pit was filled with tobacco pipes and pottery fragments, including a provocative Victorian chamber pot. This pot was likely kept under a bed, allowing its owner to relieve themselves privately during the night.

The bottom of the chamber pot features a cartoon of a grimacing man, surrounded by the words, "Oh what I see/I will not tell." The broken vessel once had playful cursive lines on its exterior. Archaeologists managed to decode one of the lines, which read, "… when you in it want to p-s/ Remember they who gave you this."

4. A TUDOR-ERA BOWLING BALL (OR SKITTLES BALL)

In addition to the previously mentioned cesspit, excavations at Stepney Green also uncovered the remains of a 15th-century Tudor manor house, complete with a moat. This once belonged to a wealthy family named Fenne and was initially known as King John's Court or Palace, before later being referred to as the Worcester House after the Marquis of Worcester.

In 2013, archaeologists explored the foundations, moat, and boundary walls of the house. Inside the moat, they found a wooden ball made from willow, which was likely used for either bowling or skittles, a traditional European lawn game. Other discovered items included fine glassware, tableware, and various cooking and storage vessels, all buried when the moat was either filled in or destroyed.

5. A 55-MILLION-YEAR-OLD AMBER FRAGMENT

Planned to open in late 2018, London's Canary Wharf business district station is situated deep beneath a mixed-use development known as Crossrail Place. While tunneling at Canary Wharf took place far below any buried artifacts, engineers were still able to recover a 55-million-year-old piece of amber from nearly 50 feet beneath the dock bed before construction commenced. This is the oldest amber ever found in London, and it is particularly remarkable given that amber is rarely found in the UK.

Amber, which is fossilized tree resin, requires millions of years and the right burial conditions to form. These preserved specimens often trap prehistoric plants and creatures within the transparent material. Experts intend to analyze the Canary Wharf amber to gain insights into prehistoric environmental conditions and vegetation. The fossil also contained gas bubbles, which scientists believe may offer new scientific revelations about global warming.

6. A RARE ROMAN MEDALLION

Archaeologists working on Crossrail's Liverpool Street site uncovered over 100 mostly copper Roman coins, along with a few silver ones. These coins date back from 43 CE, during the reign of Emperor Claudius, to 348 CE.

One of the most remarkable finds among these coins was a rare bronze medallion minted to celebrate the New Year in 245 CE. Issued by Emperor Philip I (also known as Philip the Arab) to honor a high-ranking government official, it's only the second one of its kind ever discovered, according to The Guardian.

"You wonder how it ended up there, who carried it, and how it was lost—was it a painful loss?" mused Jackie Keily, a curator at the Museum of London, who curated an exhibition featuring 500 Crossrail artifacts in 2017.

7. A COLLECTION OF ROMAN SKULLS

In 2013, Crossrail workers unearthed Roman pottery and approximately 20 Roman skulls while working at the Liverpool Street station site. Previously, other Roman skulls had been found in the area near the historic River Walbrook, and some suggested they belonged to rebels led by the Iceni warrior-queen Boudicca, who led a revolt against the Roman Empire in the 1st century CE. However, since the newly discovered skulls were found in sediment accumulated in a bend of the river, archaeologists believe they likely washed out of an eroded Roman cemetery from long ago. Additionally, the skulls appear to have been buried after the uprising.

8. HEADSTONES OF VICTIMS OF THE GREAT PLAGUE

On September 2, 1665, a young girl named Mary Godfree died from the plague—one of 95 people from the same church parish who succumbed to the disease on that fateful day. She was remembered only by a single line in the burial register until October 2015, when archaeologists discovered her limestone burial stone while excavating the site for the new Liverpool Street Crossrail station.

This location was once the site of the historic New Churchyard burial ground, also known as the Bedlam burial ground. Here, archaeologists uncovered a mass grave along with the remains of 10 stone markers. Godfree's headstone did not mark the exact spot of her grave, as it had been removed in the 18th century and repurposed in the construction of a wall. Nonetheless, the discovery offered new insights into the burial practices of the time and revealed how this Londoner was laid to rest during the Great Plague.