Ancient Real Estate: Remains of 6000-Year-Old Wooden Structure Found in London

London's earliest timber structure found during Belmarsh prison dig

London's oldest timber structure has been unearthed by archaeologists from Archaeology South-East (part of the Institute of Archaeology at UCL). It was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old and it predates Stonehenge by more than 500 years. Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd acted as the managing consultants, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, and the work was facilitated by Interserve Project Services Ltd.

The structure consisted of a timber platform or trackway found at a depth of 4.7m (about the height of a double decker bus) beneath two metres of peat adjacent to an ancient river channel (image available). Previously, the oldest timber structure in Greater London was the timber trackway in Silvertown, which has been dated to 3340-2910 BC, c. 700 years younger.

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David Byrne Turns Building Into Steampunk Instrument

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts & Culture | Byrne makes Roundhouse walls sing

A cacophony of clangs, hums and whistles resonate around London's iconic music venue Roundhouse.

But this time it's the building itself - not the bands that have played its hallowed hall - taking centre stage.

The building has been transformed into a giant steampunk musical instrument by Talking Heads founder David Byrne.

An old pump organ in the centre of the circular hall is linked to the Roundhouse's metal beams, cast iron pillars and plumping pipes, via a sprawling mass of cables.

Visitors can "play" the building by pressing the keyboard to make tuneful sounds and vibrations.

But it's hardly music to one's ears.

Byrne, who was in London to launch the installation, compared the air rushing through pipes as a sound akin to that of a flute, but admitted: "You can't play Bach."

"It kind of levels the playing field as far as performance goes. We are all equally amateur at it," he added.

"The piano lessons you got as a child are not going to be of too much use."

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