London Gateway: Settlement, Farming and Industry from Prehistory to the Present in the Thames Estuary: Archaeological Investigations at DP World ... Kent: 31 (Oxford Archaeology Monograph)

Archaeological investigations were carried out by Oxford Archaeology between 2008 and 2016 within DP World London Gateway Port and Logistics Park near Stanford-le-Hope in Essex and on the site of a compensatory wildlife habitat on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent.Some 40 sites were the subject of some form of archaeological assessment, and of these, 16 contained significant archaeological remains or were otherwise important to the understanding of the area.The combined evidence paints a picture of life on the edge of the Thames Estuary from early prehistory to the 20th century. The discoveries show how the area has attracted settlers, farmers and traders since prehistory.People came to the marshes in Mesolithic and Neolithic times, perhaps on a seasonal basis, to hunt, and gather plants and seafood.In the late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods, people trapped seawater to extract salt, a valuable commodity used for food preservation.In the medieval period, the marshland offered unrivalled