The Olympic Park is located in East London. It crosses 5 of the London Boroughs – Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Waltham Forest.
Archaeology and the history of the Olympic Park
The Olympic Delivery Authority is the organisation responsible for building the Olympic Park. As part of their construction work they have done an archeology programme to learn more about the area and its history.
Download a fact sheet which tells you more about what they have discovered.
Archaeology History leaflet ODA - 1699.21kb
Want to learn more about archaeology?
Why not make a time line?
Gather pictures of people and events from pre-historic times through to the present day. You could even give a theme to the pictures you collect, for example look for pictures of your local area.
Create a timeline out of your pictures and display it in your classroom or school hall. You could even annotate the pictures with events and dates.
Why not think about how rubbish changes over time?
Collect items of rubbish made from a range of different materials, things you might find on a contrsuction site or at your school such as paper, a banana skin, metal, plastic, potter, wood, glass, leather and fabric.
Record the condition of the items of rubbish using drawings, descriptions or photographs. Bury the rubbsih in soil outside, mark the site and leave it there for at least one month. During this time make sure that your objects get wet (if it doesn’t rain, water the ground!)
Dig up the objects and look at how they have changed. Which objects have changed the most? How have they changed?
Talk about what might have caused the materials to change. Why have some changed more than others? What might archaeologists in the future think about us if they looked at the things we throw away?
Why not think about what archaeologists of the future would learn about the London 2012 Olympic Park?
Imagine you are an archaeologist in 20012 and that you have discovered the remains of the Olympic Park underground. The Olympic Park was destroyed many thousands of years ago and all that remains are the foundations and some clues buried deep underground.
Draw a plan of the Olympic Park showing the position of the venues and label the different part of the Park. Discuss what clues might be left for archaeologists of the future to interpret what the Park was used for in 2012.
