An early nineteenth century wooden boat has been discovered at the junction of the Pudding Mill River and River Lea on the Olympic Stadium site. This boat was potentially used on a larger boat or small ship as a fast, elegant water taxi. It was later rebuilt to transport guns for wild fowling on the lower River Lea.

Other items found

Other items that have been found on the Park site include:
fourth century pottery, a medieval wooden river wall, a Roman
coin from AD 330–335, World War II helmets and remains
of a Bronze Age hut at least 2,000 years old.

Four skeletons have been found in separate graves. The human remains are thought to be of Iron Age but have been removed for further investigation by the Museum of London.


Four gun emplacements were constructed in 1941 and fitted with 4.5 inch guns. They were updated in 1944 with bigger guns, probably in response to the threat from flying bombs (the doodle bugs), and formed part of London’s Inner
Artillery Zone.

The 'discover' programme

We have teamed up with the Museum of London Archaeology Service to run the ‘discover’ programme. Exciting artefacts have been found that tell us a lot about the area’s past and we want to share this history with the people who live there now.

Educate

We will work with pupils in the Host Borough schools to explore archaeology and share what we have found on the Olympic Park. There will be tools to support teachers and students who take part in the programme. University students who are studying archaeology courses in east London will also get the chance to do a work placement with the ‘discover’ team.

Engage

There will be a series of roadshows in each of the Host Boroughs and at the Museum of London. These will give local people an opportunity to view the interesting artefacts
discovered on the Olympic Park.

Discuss

The ‘discover’ team will talk about the archaeology finds from the Park with local residents, schools and interest groups as part of a series of community events in the next 12 months.

Document

The Museum of London will publish a book that tells the archaeological story and history of the Lower Lea Valley.