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<\/a>Brick cellars heavily covered with soot (c) MOLA<\/p>\nAmong the finds uncovered by MOLA<\/a> at the excavation site in East London was a fragment of a slate school tablet, still bearing the faint scratches of children\u2019s handwriting and doodles, alongside a hoard of ceramic marbles \u2013 known as \u201calleys\u201d \u2013 carefully made to resemble polished alabaster. The marbles were discovered inside an old water drain, perhaps lost during a particularly enthusiastic match.<\/p>\n Their presence was no accident though.<\/p>\n A school once stood on the site, founded in the 1530s by London Sheriff Nicholas Gibson and his wife Avice as a free school for poor boys. In the 1550s, Avice entrusted its care, along with the surrounding almshouses, to the Worshipful Company of Coopers<\/a>. The charity remained here until the late 19th century, providing homes and modest alms to elderly local residents in need.<\/p>\n Other discoveries are also changing long-held assumptions about this corner of London in the 18th and 19th centuries.<\/p>\n Known at the time as Sailortown, Wapping was one of the city\u2019s busiest and most cosmopolitan districts, shaped by global maritime trade. Living close to the docks gave residents access to goods arriving from across the world \u2013 including luxuries long assumed to be out of reach of the people who lived in the area.<\/p>\n Among the most striking finds was a bottle seal from Ch\u00e2teau Margaux, one of France\u2019s most prestigious wine producers. In 1771, Ch\u00e2teau Margaux made history as the first claret sold at Christie\u2019s, 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.<\/p>\n MOLA Senior Archaeologist Alex Blanks explains: \u201cThe area of Wapping between the docks and Ratcliff Highway had a reputation in the 1700s and 1800s as being overcrowded and dangerous. But finds like this are revealing a more complex social history than often biased contemporary sources would have you believe.<\/p>\n In reality, it was a very diverse area \u2013 just like the East End is today. Archaeological evidence such as expensive imported pottery and wine glasses suggests people from a wide range of social standings may have been living in the area and getting to enjoy some of the same luxuries as the richest in society.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t know exactly how the wine from Chateau Margaux got here, but we can imagine \u2013 perhaps it belonged to a schoolmaster or ship\u2019s captain with expensive tastes.\u201d<\/p>\n Historical records have also helped the team understand darker moments in the site\u2019s past.<\/p>\n One of the most significant was the Ratcliffe Fire of 23 June 1794, one of the largest blazes in London\u2019s history. Contemporary maps place this site at the heart of the inferno, which may explain the discovery of soot-blackened brick cellars buried beneath later layers.<\/p>\n<\/a>A complete Bartmann Jug discovered in a rubbish pit (c) MOLA<\/p>\n<\/a>Alex Blanks holds the slate tablet (c) MOLA \/ Andy Chopping<\/p>\n