Roman artifacts found at London’s Olympic site

updated 3:15 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2007

LONDON - Roman pottery and a coin from the Iron Age have been found on the site of the aquatics center planned for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Digs on the Olympic Park site have discovered evidence of Iron Age settlement, including 4th-century pottery and a Roman coin from the time of Emperor Constantine II.

The Museum of London has been working with the London 2012 staff, who are preparing the 500-acre (200-hectare) Olympic Park site in the capital’s East End for venue construction to begin next year.

“We are taking this opportunity to tell the fascinating story of the lower Lea Valley before it is given a new lease of life for the games and future generations,” Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said Wednesday.

During the Iron Age, the area was surrounded by lakes, rivers and marshes, and archaeologists have found parts of cooking pots used by settlers.

The pottery and Roman coin, dated between A.D. 330-335, was found buried behind a wooden river wall. One side of the coin features a picture of two soldiers and two standards, and the other has inscriptions representing Constantine II, Caesar and Illissimus.

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