The Roman Boat Under Guy’s Hospital

Deep below the 14 storey Guy’s Hospital in London are the preserved remains of a Roman boat.

The remains of a Roman boat were discovered at te site by London Bridge in 1958 and had been carefully left free of disturbance since that date.

In 2009, a proposal was made to construct a 14-storey building above the boat. A trial pit was opened to see if any remains of the boat survived and archaeologists uncovered well-preserved timber planks and nails preserved five metres below ground level.

Although only one section of the boat has been excavated it is believed the boat was 14m in length.

It is thought the boat was abandoned in a shallow depression which was probably a river at that time.

The marshland was extensive in that area of the Southbank 2000 years ago. And the Thames was much wider in this period – where Guy’s Hospital is now would have been on or close to the waters edge.

The archaeologists worked closely with the entire architect design team, to ensure the new building could be constructed while still preserving the boat’s remains.

There is no public access to the remains of the boat. There is a trapdoor that provides access to the boat and the environment is checked on a regular basis by one of the senior building staff.

There is a statue outside the Cancer Centre at Guys to represent the boat.

Further reading:

Monitoring the Roman boat under Guy’s Hospital https://www.vanwalt.com/pdf/general/case-study-monitoring-the-guys-hospital-roman-boat.pdf