150-year-old cobbled street found at Olympic site

Archaeologists have unearthed a 150-year-old cobbled street on the edge of the London 2012 Olympic VeloPark site.

The street is believed to be part of the original Temple Mills lane that formed part of a 12th century Knights Templar mill.

Once recorded by Museum of London archaeologists, it will be dug up, stockpiled and reused on site.

The historic discovery was made during works to clear hundreds of years worth of rubble and rubbish from the VeloPark site, where sorting machines are sifting 70,000 tonnes of landfill.

Museum of London chief archaeologist Kieron Tyler said investigations into Temple Mills were unearthing critical information on early industrial societies.

He said: “Investigating Temple Mills shows us how the Lea Valley’s industry stretched from the medieval period right into recent years.

“As we look below the amazingly preserved Victorian remains, to see the older mill structures, the exact form of the crucial industries that served east London, from this area, will be revealed.”

Previous archaeological finds on the Olympic site include:

• A prehistoric settlement and the skeletons of four prehistoric settlers on the Aquatics Centre site
• Roman coin, Roman river walls and a 19th century boat used for hunting wild river fowl on the Olympic Stadium site
• Second World War gun emplacements on the VeloPark site