City Wall at Vine Street: DUA archaeologists in historic return to Crosswall
Ian Blair
Tuesday evening saw the celebration and unveiling of the City Wall at Vine Street, which I wrote a related post about in recent times: https://www.digginglondon.org.uk/shadows-in-time-crosswall-revisited. It was fantastic to rub shoulders once again with three of my former DUA colleagues Cath and John Maloney, and Dom Perring.
Cath and John Maloney, Ian Blair, and Dom Perring at the celebration and unveiling of the City Wall at Vine Street
Cath and John Maloney, Ian Blair, and Dom Perring at the celebration and unveiling of the City Wall at Vine Street
Three of us worked on the Crosswall site in 1979 when the external face of the Roman City wall was painstakingly revealed from beneath its plaster shroud, and a hitherto unknown bastion discovered. Although Dom did not work on the site, he was a visitor and indeed we have photographic evidence of his visit accompanied by Pete Rowsome and Peter Cardiff, being given a site tour by John Maloney. Jon Price must also have been in on the tour as he took the photo but was clearly standing on the wrong side of the lens.
John Maloney giving Pete Rowsome, Dom Perring, and Peter Cardiff a tour of the Crosswall site in 1979 (photo by Jon Price)
In time-honoured tradition the archaeologists at the opening stayed until close to the end, when all the speeches were over, the finger-food had been consumed (whatever happened to sandwiches?), and the alcohol had stopped flowing, so a pleasant evening was had by all. If you are in the Aldgate area, do make a visit to the City Wall at Vine Street as the Roman monument has been fantastically and thoughtfully displayed, with both the internal and external faces of the wall now viewable in a single space.
Director of the Museum of London Sharon Ament giving a speech at the opening event accompanied by MOL security keeping a careful eye on the proceedings
After your visit there is a nice café which overlooks the wall and bastion where you can grab a decent cup of coffee and sit and ponder on the age-old question: ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’:
Our thanks go to the developer Urbanest in association with Historic England, Museum of London, and City of London for hosting the event and for extending an invitation to four former DUA archaeologists: albeit with our contribution now firmly rooted in the mists of time.
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