- London, United Kingdom
Francis Grew
Museum Of London, Archaeological Collections, Faculty Member
- Education: MA (Classics), Cambridge; MPhil (Classical Archaeology), Oxford Research posts held: Institute for Archae... moreEducation: MA (Classics), Cambridge; MPhil (Classical Archaeology), Oxford
Research posts held: Institute for Archaeology, Oxford (1979-81): Research Assistant to the Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire (Professor Sheppard Frere)
Employment: at the Museum of London since 1981. Currently Senior Curator (Archaeology); formerly Curator (Roman)
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists
Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholarsedit
'Only two things in life are certain: that we must be born and that we must die'. From this banal yet profound commonplace we inevitably derive a degree of human empathy with the deceased in a Roman cemetery - an empathy made stronger by... more
'Only two things in life are certain: that we must be born and that we must die'. From this banal yet profound commonplace we inevitably derive a degree of human empathy with the deceased in a Roman cemetery - an empathy made stronger by the main funerary methods (cremation, inhumation) and funerary paraphernalia (cinerary urns, coffins) being employed today no less than they were two thousand years ago. But to what extent does this most basic shared experience give us the right to assume that 20th-century sensibilities would have been shared by societies with very different customs and traditions? How might we identify expressions of emotion in the archaeological record - in a way that avoids mere speculation?
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The site lies to the south of Aldgate High Street and to the east of the Minories. It was used for sand- or brickearth-quarrying in the 12th century, but for most of the medieval period was open land. The first major development took... more
The site lies to the south of Aldgate High Street and to the east of the Minories. It was used for sand- or brickearth-quarrying in the 12th century, but for most of the medieval period was open land. The first major development took place in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was represented by substantial, though fragmentary, lengths of wall. Nevertheless, much of the ground probably still remained open, since it was used as a tip for refuse from a nearby slaughter-yard and for waste and crucibles from a factory producing Venetian-style glass.
The most significant remains to be uncovered were parts of a row of terraced properties which were built in the 1670s and demolished in the mid 18th century. To the south of these lay a further building whose cellar was the only room surviving. All these structures are visible on contemporary maps; the archaeological evidence shows that they included both domestic units and workshops involved in clay tobacco-pipe manufacture and, possibly, metalworking. They were built wholly of brick, in a style which became common after the Great Fire. The associated finds seem to represent an accurate sample of the tools, personal possessions, household and kitchen utensils and structural fittings actually used in the buildings; these, together with the faunal remains, suggest that the occupants of the terraced properties enjoyed a relatively poor standard of living, but that the owners of the material found in the cellar were slightly more prosperous.
The most significant remains to be uncovered were parts of a row of terraced properties which were built in the 1670s and demolished in the mid 18th century. To the south of these lay a further building whose cellar was the only room surviving. All these structures are visible on contemporary maps; the archaeological evidence shows that they included both domestic units and workshops involved in clay tobacco-pipe manufacture and, possibly, metalworking. They were built wholly of brick, in a style which became common after the Great Fire. The associated finds seem to represent an accurate sample of the tools, personal possessions, household and kitchen utensils and structural fittings actually used in the buildings; these, together with the faunal remains, suggest that the occupants of the terraced properties enjoyed a relatively poor standard of living, but that the owners of the material found in the cellar were slightly more prosperous.
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The fittings from the military belt—heavy semicircular buckles with inturned scrolls and rectangular mounts with relief or niello decoration—are common finds at Colchester, Hod Hill, Richborough and other early Roman sites in Britain.... more
The fittings from the military belt—heavy semicircular buckles with inturned scrolls and rectangular mounts with relief or niello decoration—are common finds at Colchester, Hod Hill, Richborough and other early Roman sites in Britain. Identical pieces have been recovered in even greater numbers from the contemporary forts and fortresses along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Although well known (Ritterling 1913, 148–55; Webster 1969, 122–3), they have yet to be studied and published as a group, a process which would yield valuable information about their spatial distribution, the relative popularity of different decorative schemes and, possibly, about the centres of manufacture. The following is a synthesis and discussion of the British finds only (fig. 1); it is based on a thorough search both of the published literature and of museum collections, particularly those in the south of England and the Midlands.
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The discovery of a small tin canister in London during archaeological excavations of a Roman temple precinct, dated to the middle of the second century AD1, is a landmark in the study of this class of artefact. Such discoveries from the... more
The discovery of a small tin canister in London during archaeological excavations of a Roman temple precinct, dated to the middle of the second century AD1, is a landmark in the study of this class of artefact. Such discoveries from the Roman world are rare and this is the only one to be found so far with its lid and contents — a whitish medicinal or cosmetic cream — providing a unique opportunity for us to study the ancient formulation.
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Until recently, very little was known about medieval shoes. Glimpses in manuscript illustrations and on funerary monuments, with the occasional reference by a contemporary writer, was all that the costume historian had as evidence, not... more
Until recently, very little was known about medieval shoes. Glimpses in manuscript illustrations and on funerary monuments, with the occasional reference by a contemporary writer, was all that the costume historian had as evidence, not least because leather tends to perish after prolonged contact with air, and very few actual examples survived. In recent years, however, nearly 2,000 shoes, many complete and in near-perfect condition, have been discovered preserved on the north bank of the Thames, and are now housed in the Museum of London. This collection, all from well-dated archaeological contexts, fills this vast gap in knowledge, making it possible to chart precisely the progress of shoe fashion between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.