LONDON, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that thousands of bottles, jars, and pots from the Victorian era were found in a cistern at the construction site of a new train station in the Soho area of London. The vessels came from a Crosse & Blackwell food factory that operated on the site from 1830 until 1921. Archaeologist Nigel Jeffries of the Museum of London Archaeology explained that the cistern had been used to power the steam engines that ran the factory until the 1870s, when the building was redesigned. After that, the cistern was used for storage. The vessels included bottles for mushroom catsup; preserved ginger; piccalilli, a relish of chopped pickled vegetables and spices; and jams and marmalade. Jeffries explained that the find has helped the investigators learn more about “the tastes and palates of the Victorians.” For more, go to “A Tale of Two Railroads.”
