Crossrail archaeologists have discovered rare evidence of humans living by the Thames 9,000 years ago, in southeast London.
The discovery of a Mesolithic ‘tool-making factory’ which included 150 pieces of flint, among them blades, was made at Crossrail’s tunnelling worksite in North Woolwich.
Archaeologists believe prehistoric Londoners were using the site to test, divide and prepare river cobbles used to make flint tools, before transporting them to another site to complete the tool-making process. Crossrail lead Archaeologist Jay Carver said: ‘This is a unique and exciting find that reveals evidence of humans returning to England and in particular the Thames Valley after a long hiatus during the Ice Age. It is one of a handful of archaeology sites uncovered that confirms humans lived in the Thames Valley at this time. The concentration of flint pieces shows that this was an exceptionally important location for sourcing materials to make tools that were used by early Londoners who lived and hunted on Thames Estuary islands.’
Crime on Britain’s railways has fallen for the ninth successive year
with a two per cent drop in notifiable offences in 2012/13. However, this year has seen a significant rise in theft of passenger property, up 16 per cent, largely driven by rises in and around London. Violent crime showed a small increase
- the first in six years - with an additional 201 crimes across the network. Within the violent crime category, assaults on rail staff are down five per cent. Since June, BTP (British Transport
Police) has been rolling out Operation Magnum, aimed at combating thefts of personal items, luggage and pickpocketing - with the operation due to be launched publicly later this week. ‘2012/13 has been an exceptional year
in our history, with the force playing a crucial role in the success of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games,’ said chief constable Andy Trotter. ‘At the same time, we have taken care of business as usual and reduced crime for the ninth year in a row. I think that is a very good performance and represents great value for money, particularly in the context of a budget reduction in real terms of 14 per cent since 2008. ‘Increases in theft of passenger
property, particularly those targeting smartphones and tablets, reflect the growing problem throughout London and the UK. We have made great inroads into the problem of cable theft, which has been a major disruption factor on the rail network. This year cable crime was
Page 14 September 2013
down 47 per cent, building on a 13 per cent reduction last year. ‘Serious assaults are down almost eight
per cent, but there has been an increase of more than three per cent in common assault. Racially-aggravated harassment is a significant contribution to the increase in violent crime, which I think reflects a growing intolerance amongst the public of this sort of incident,’ said Trotter. Michael Roberts, chief executive
of ATOC said: ‘It’s good news that the overall crime rate on the railway
continues to fall, but the rise in some crimes will be a cause for concern for passengers which is why we will continue to work closely with the police in cracking down on offenders. ‘Train companies take the safety
and security of their pass engers and staff extremely seriously and spend millions of pounds on dedicated security staff, providing funding for the British Transport Police and improving CCTV. We will continue to do all we can to keep customers safe.’
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