Borough Market bridge builders discover 17th-century ceramics

Excavation work for a new railway bridge at Borough Market has uncovered beautiful ceramics which have survived more than 300 years.

The three bowls, which go on show at the Museum of London today, are highly decorative tin-glazed pieces known as delftware after the Dutch pottery centre.

Experts say they are classic examples of bowls which would have been displayed on a dresser in a London home during the 17th century. Roy Stephenson, the museum's head of archaeological collections, said: "They are beautiful objects, truly unique and unusual finds." They include a bowl with a tulip design dating from the 1660s and a bowl which celebrates the marriage of Nathaniel Townsend, a member of the Leather Sellers Company whose coat of arms it bears.

Tin-glazed ware was produced on a commercial scale in Southwark from the start of the 17th century.