Wandsworth Historical Society

Wandsworth Historical Society's Excavations at Barn Elms in 1974

Barn Elms Playing Fields 1974: left in foreground, BEV I B, the North Thames Gas Pipeline shaft; by the line of tall trees, BEV I A, the GLC River Defence Wall, looking upstream.
Photo © Pamela Greenwood.

Rescue excavations and a watching brief by Wandsworth Historical Society (WHS) in 1974 were carried out at two sites at Barn Elms, Barnes (London Borough of Richmond), Surrey: the construction trench for the Greater London Council's River Defence Wall (site code BEV I A) and, further downstream, the North Thames Gas pipeline shaft (site code BEV I B).

Barn Elms River Defence Works, BEV I Site A

This was a cut-and-fill trench running alongside the Thames towpath for the foundations of the GLC River Defence Wall. We were able to retrieve some quernstones and other finds from a large blackish deposit, perhaps a large pit or ditch.

BEV I A. The River Defence Wall trench looking upstream.
Photo © Pamela Greenwood.

BEV I B North Thames Gas Pipeline shaft

Here the main feature was a large pit lined with clay/brickearth containing a small amount of Middle Iron Age pottery. A copper alloy terret (harness fitting) from the bottom fills perhaps earlier in date, possibly even Late Bronze Age, was perhaps deliberately deposited. Some smaller pits were also excavated.

BEV I B. The large pit during excavation, with Joan Loobey, front right, and Pamela Greenwood working on other features in the background.
Photo © Nicholas Farrant/ Fuentes.

To discover some more about the sites here is a fuller report as a PDF.

For details of the Iron Age quernstones, including two rotary querns, their origins and intriguing treatment here is a link to the papers from a conference Ars molendi | Padova University Press. The relevant paper at page 135 is in English, although others from the conference are in Italian and German.

Pamela Greenwood July 2024