Ring a bell? Dig could uncover Big Ben’s daddy

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/23/westminster-dig-big-ben-forerunner

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Such is the state of disrepair of the Palace of Westminster that experts say the famous bell tower that houses Big Ben is gradually leaning over. But as time runs out for the old bell, its once equally renowned ancestor, Great Tom, could emerge from the past this summer as archaeologists conduct the first excavation at parliament in a generation.

The original tower was built around 1288 during the reign of Edward I, a little further from the river than the current tower, which was built in 1859 and is officially called the Elizabeth Tower – though in the public imagination it is firmly identified with its 16-tonne bell.

Parliament officials have granted permission for the small-scale dig on the old site in a bid to “determine features and locations of the old palace” and, in particular, that of the first tower or its immediate successor, built in 1367. The bell in the first tower was named Great Edward after the king – although some say it was named after Edward the Confessor – but was known colloquially as Great Tom.

The underground car park for parliamentarians in New Palace Yard now occupies the site of the old towers. It is best known as the scene of the murder of Tory minister Airey Neave, who was killed by an IRA car bomb in 1979.

Apart from excavation work carried out in the 1990s during the construction of Portcullis House and Westminster tube station beneath it, this would be the first archaeological dig in the palace grounds since the 1970s, when the car park was built.

The identity of the archaeologist behind the excavation is not being made public until funding for the project is confirmed. However, Simon Thurley, a former chief executive of National Heritage and the author of histories of Whitehall, said the excavation had “exciting possibilities”, although the construction of the car park may have “cleared out” much of the evidence. “When they excavated last in New Palace Yard, they found the base of the great fountain which was sitting outside Westminster Hall.

“We also know there was a gatehouse and a retaining wall around the outside and there was a very large bell tower. It is a possibility that they could find its foundations. It will be a square of compacted chalk in the earth. Those are the likely remains it will leave. Some of the larger buildings were built on piles so massive oak logs were put in the ground and on top of that they put the chalk. But we don’t know what the foundations exactly will be like there.”

Thurley said that, although much of the “interesting stuff”, including the residential quarters of the old palace, was further south, under the House of Lords, there could be a real value in the new dig. “I suspect the use of [the dig] would be to confirm exactly where the tower was. If you can find something like the tower, it will help us plot the old palace exactly. And there might conceivably be some dating evidence,” said Thurley.

“The Palace of Westminster at the moment is built out into the river; it is on reclaimed land, really. The old palace was built on a gravelly island called Thorney Island and that island was occupied over the centuries. We don’t know about people living there in prehistoric times. It would be extremely exciting of they could find some evidence of pre-occupation there.

“The Romans were definitely there; stuff was found in the 1960s. It would be exciting to discover more about the Saxons at Westminster.

“Before William the Conqueror established Westminster as an important place, was there a big Saxon royal thing taken over by the Normans? Most big Norman settlements are dumped on very important Saxon ones, but we have never found it.”

The future of the Palace of Westminster as the seat of parliament has been thrown into doubt in recent months due to the £3bn cost of renovations required to keep MPs and visitors safe. Experts say the Elizabeth Tower is leaning, although it could take thousands of years to finally collapse.

A recent report by an expert appointed by the parliamentary estate, Dr Richard Ware, found that basic services within the building, such as electricity, water and sanitation, were functioning “with increasing difficulty and growing risks”, while asbestos was present throughout the palace and original roofs were no longer watertight, leading to extensive damp, leaks and floods.

The report considered the options of constructing a new home for parliament, moving one or both houses temporarily while Westminster is renovated, or attempting to restore the building with MPs and peers working inside – something that it warned could take 50 years.