"Among the finds uncovered by MOLA at the excavation site in East London was a fragment of a slate school tablet, still bearing the faint scratches of children's handwriting and doodles, alongside a hoard of ceramic marbles known as alleys carefully made to resemble polished alabaster. The marbles were discovered inside an old water drain, perhaps lost during a particularly enthusiastic match."
"Among the most striking finds was a bottle seal from Chateau Margaux, one of France's most prestigious wine producers. In 1771, Chateau Margaux made history as the first claret sold at Christie's, and its wines were favoured by figures such as British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole and US president Thomas Jefferson. That such a seal turned up in Wapping hints at a richer social life than contemporary commentators often allowed."
Archaeologists in East London uncovered children's material culture: a fragment of a slate school tablet with handwriting and doodles, and a hoard of ceramic 'alleys' marbles found in a drain. A school established in the 1530s by London Sheriff Nicholas Gibson and his wife Avice operated as a free school for poor boys and, from the 1550s, was managed alongside adjacent almshouses by the Worshipful Company of Coopers. The charity provided homes and modest alms until the late 19th century. The area known as Sailortown or Wapping hosted cosmopolitan dockside communities with access to imported goods, including a Chateau Margaux bottle seal and a complete Bartmann jug.
Read at www.ianvisits.co.uk
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