Modern Mysteries

13,000 Victorian jam jars unearthed in London

By T.K. Randall
January 12, 2017 ·  13 comments

Crosse and Blackwell pickles. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Boston Public Library A total of more than 13,000 pots and jars were recovered from what is believed to be an old vault in which Crosse and Blackwell, which had maintained a factory at the site until 1921, was thought to have once dumped large quantities of its unwanted stock.

Described by The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) as "remarkable", the discovery includes everything from jars of jam and marmalade to pots of Piccalilli and Mushroom Catsup.The items were found inside a large cistern beneath the site where the Elizabeth line station in Tottenham Court Road is currently being constructed.

Crossrail dig unearths thousands of Victorian jam and marmalade jars https://t.co/L5oJheARSB pic.twitter.com/PCihJ0nFtr

— Evening Standard (@standardnews) January 11, 2017

"Excavations on Crosse and Blackwell's Soho factory produced a large and diverse collection of pottery and glass related to their products, with one cistern alone containing nearly three tons of Newcastle made marmalade jars with stoneware bottles and jars," said archaeologist Nigel Jeffries.

"We think this is the biggest collection of pottery ever discovered in a single feature from an archaeological site in London."

Source: BBC News | Comments (13)

Tags: Jam Jars, Victorian