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The DUA was set up in response to the destruction of the archaeology by the large scale development of the City of London. It was part of the Rescue archaeology movement. The danger of the loss of archaeology was pointed out by an important publication called The Future of London's Past by archaeologist Martin Biddle .

The DUA was led by Brian Hobley and revolutionised understanding of London's early history. These included:

1 Complete rewriting of London's archaeological history

Excavation revealed that the historical narrative about the Roman occupation of Londinium was very flawed. London did not begin in 43 AD immediately after the military construction of London Bridge nor did London continue to expand until the end of the Roman period. Instead the intensive archaeological work in the 1970s and early 1980s was able to show that London was not founded until about 50 AD and that it began a spectacular boom which reached its height in the early 2nd Century AD and that subsequently, it began a long and slow decline which left it virtually deserted by the end of the Roman period.

2 Discovery of Lundenwic

Excavation in the City of London had failed to find virtually any evidence of occupation in the period from 410 AD to the 10th Century despite unambigious historical evidence of London's existence at least from 604 AD onwards. However, the DUA's archaeological partner, the Department of Greater London Archaeology (DGLA), had discovered so-called Saxon farms in the area of Fleet Street, Covent Garden, and WestminsterWestminster is the name of a city that covers much of central London, located to the west of the ancient City of London, and which has been the principal seat of government in England for more than nine hundred years. Both cities, and much of the surround. In the mid 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends Alan Vince and Martin Biddle independently came up with the idea that after the Dark AgesThe Dark Ages is a concept invented in the early 14th Century by the poet Petrarch who used it to describe the preceding 900 years in Europe, beginning with the fall of the western Roman Empire in 410 through to the renewal embodied in the Renaissance., London had restablished itself not in the City but a couple of miles west in the areas noted above, centred on the area called AldwychAldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London. The road is a crescent between two parts of The Strand, also connecting at its middle with Kingsway. It is the site of Bush House, the Aldwych and Duchess theatres, the Waldorf Hotel and ne and which was known as LundenwicLundenwic was the name given to London during the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries AD when London was situated away from the fortified Roman City of London. It was 'rediscovered' during excavations organised by the Museum of London's Archaeological Service.. In 886Events Alfred the Great captures London and renames it Lundenburgh. The boundaries between Wessex and the Danelaw are shifted. Alfred the Great builds a small harbour called Queenhythe slightly upstream from London Bridge. Alfred the Great mints the first AD Alfred the GreatAlfred ( 849? 26 October, 899) (sometimes spelt lfred was king of England from 871 to 899, though at no time did he rule over the whole of the land. Alfred is famous for his defence of the kingdom against the Danes ( Vikings), and gained the epithet "the moved the Londoners back into the City of London which was known as Lundenburgh.