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Big Royal Dig

Buckingham Palace

Pre-1620 landscape

The Forecourt of Buckingham palace from the Queen Victoria Memorial
The Forecourt of Buckingham Palace
from the Queen Victoria Memorial
Photo: Sparkpics
The history of the site before the construction of Goring House is relatively unknown. A number of artefacts from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Roman and Medieval periods have been found in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace. A junction of two major Roman roads has been posited very close to the site. It is possible that a previously unknown settlement or feature could be discovered on the Buckingham Palace site.

Time Team plans to carry out a landscape survey of the palace area, using traditional survey techniques, and reference to historical maps and documents, and the results of previous archaeological excavations in the area. It is hoped to produce a chronology for the site from the Stone Age onwards.

It is quite possible that geophysics may produce unexpected anomalies, which may be features from the pre-1620 landscape. Time Team intends to excavate these.

The Team will also carry out an augur survey, partly to help establish the location and profile of the Buckingham canal, and partly to help to reconstruct the geological history of the site.

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