Archaeologists uncover four Iron Age skeletons on site of the London Olympic Park

Published Thursday March 27th, 2008

LONDON - Archaeologists have uncovered four skeletons in Iron Age graves on the site of the London 2012 Olympic Park.

The graves were in an area of a buried settlement on the site of the Aquatics Center. The remains were removed for further study and one, estimated at 3,000 years old, was exhibited Thursday by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

The finds follow that of a Roman coin, Roman river walls, Second World War gun emplacements and a 19th-century boat used for hunting on the River Lea, which joins the Thames near the Olympic site.

"This is yet another example of how hosting the 2012 Olympic Games means much more than just a fortnight of sport," Britain Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said, "rather a source of education, interest and community participation before, during and after the games."

The Olympic site is covered mainly by industrial development, but 3,000 years ago was an open river valley.

The four skeletons were discovered in separate graves in a cemetery. The early Londoners lived in thatched circular huts on what would have been a small area of dry land on the edge of the river valley, surrounded by lakes, rivers and marshes.

More than 140 trenches have been dug and investigated as part of archaeological work on the sites of the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, VeloPark, Olympic Village and the media centre.

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