Coventry’s Medieval Drapery – new archaeological evidence!
In July, Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) completed excavations behind Drapers’ Hall in advance of the restoration and reopening of the hall as a classical music venue. Finds included a 15th-century workshop for making metal dress accessories such as buckles and brooches, together with a number of stone moulds for casting metal. The site lay to the north of the areas excavated in 1988–9, the results of which are yet to be published.
Medieval Coventry is working with MOLA to combine the results of the two excavations and publish the results. An initial assessment of the 1980s site archive held at the Herbert Museum has yielded positive results, including perfectly preserved soil samples, which include seeds, plant remains, animal hair, animal bones and other environmental material that will tell us about farming in the surrounding countryside and the diet of people of medieval Coventry.
More information can be found on MOLA’s website: