To Londoners, the archaeology of the London region is of the utmost importance. It is often
the only way in which we can reach back and touch the physical existence of lives that have
shaped the way we think, feel and live. The thousands of visitors that flocked to see the
exhibition at Spitalfields and the Roman sarcophagus at the Museum of London, and the tens
of thousands who have seen the Museum’s Outsights at, for example, the new London Bridge
Underground Station, are a testament to this visceral desire to know about our past. But, as this
volume amply demonstrates, the character and quality of the archaeological deposits of our
region ensure that London’s buried and built past has a very considerable potential to advance
the understanding of human history and culture across national and international horizons as
well. Forming a complete synthesis of all that London’s archaeology has to offer the
world is not possible – the range and variety of the material, and our lack of detailed
knowledge about the still-buried resource, preclude such a definitive statement. From
the following pages, however, it is perfectly easy to see that in almost every period
of London’s complex history, the archaeology has internationally important status.
Here are just a few reasons why our material past mirrors London’s status as a world
metropolis

• Keywords
  ARCHAEOLOGY
• Geographical keyword
  LONDON