Archaeologists fear 1,000 years of history may be shovelled into skips as time runs out on a key site in London. Harvey Sheldon, an officer of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, called the situation at the church of St George the Martyr, in Southwark, where substantial evidence of Roman buildings may be destroyed without being recorded, "a disgrace".
Yesterday he made a last ditch appeal to church authorities to give more time for excavation, before heavy machinery moves onto the site.
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Other sites a stone's throw away have produced startling Roman finds, including a tomb claimed to be that of a woman gladiator, the oldest inscription with the placename "Londinium", and a monumental bronze foot, all that remains of a huge public statue.
Those of a certain age may also be afflicted with this problem: Any mention of "Londinium" immediately brings to mind the old 1960s Batman series (Adam West version) which had a special 2-episode visit to "Londinium" rather than London. It's sad, really.