Community
Bevis Marks excavations bring historical finds
Some of the discoveries may potentially 'find their way into some kind of display cabinet'
August 12, 2021 10:26
Some of the discoveries may potentially 'find their way into some kind of display cabinet'
August 12, 2021 10:26Archaeologists excavating a section of Britain’s oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks, have discovered a fragment of Roman-era pottery and a Tudor wall.
The now completed excavations are part of ongoing works at the City of London Sephardi shul to refurbish the historic site and open a new heritage centre for visitors.
The experts uncovered a furnace-like structure thought to be from the 18th century and remnants of charcoal it is believed may have been used to heat the building.
Animal bones were also identified but “luckily no human remains”, Bevis Marks’ Rabbi Shalom Morris told the JC.
Other discoveries, such as parts of a brick wall and a shard of red tableware, were thought to date back to the Roman period.
The local area was for 400 years, up until the fifth century, a Roman settlement.
Some of the discoveries may potentially “find their way into some kind of display cabinet in the final heritage centre”. Other finds, such as ancient walls, have been preserved and will remain in place “for future discovery”, Rabbi Morris explained.
He visited the dig in March, recalling that “you could see the layers of the site” over centuries of use.
The excavations reinforced his view “that we’re all connected with each other” through time and space and “that this one space has been used in so many different ways by very different kinds of people over the millennia. How privileged we are that the Bevis Marks Synagogue has stood proudly on this spot for over three centuries.”
Refurbishment work at the building is expected to finish later this month with the new centre set to open next year.