York Archaeology Online Collections

Items

• P0532/P0574 BHS Store, 44 Coney Street
  Archaeological work carried out in advance of the construction of escalator pits revealed extremely well preserved remains of the Roman legionary fortress wall standing to a height just below the modern floor surface. The fortress wall appeared to be retained as a landscape feature well into the 13th century, and although the wall was robbed and material built up against its sides during the medieval period, it continued to be used as a property boundary in to the 20th century. Occupation of the Feasgate frontage was represented by a series of pits which indicated the disposal of butchery and leather working waste which were dated to the early 12th - 13th century. Timber and clay lined pits which had been truncated by later pits may have been associated with tanning or textile dyeing trades. A complex series of beam slots, which was thought to be the remains of a timber framed outbuilding or byre, dated to the 12th century. Medieval deposits had been partly truncated and post medieval deposits completely removed by the construction of the modern shop.
• A0497 Exhibition Square
  A wall of the legionary fortress was observed to lie immediately beneath the pavement.
• A0318 7/9 Aldwark
  Natural deposits were encountered approximately 3m below ground level. Overlying a pre-Roman soil deposit were the remains of a 1st century turf and clay rampart based on close set horizontal timbers. Part of the wall of the fortress was located by this excavation. This comprised two phases of wall footing, probably dating to the 2nd and 3rd century. The upstanding wall had been heavily robbed in the Anglo-Scandinavian period. Levelling of the rampart and pits dating to the 12th/13th century were recorded. A clay surface and rubble deposits in the south-east of the trench were associated with a 16th/17th century building.
• A0152 St Leonard's Hospice
  Legionary fortress wall surviving to a height of 0.35m and 2m wide was observed in a contractor's trench in Museum Street. Additionally robbed walls which may have been part of St Leonard's Hospital were seen. At the Lendal end of the contractor's trench no structures were seen but the river bank was seen to comprise rubble in black silt.
• A0093 Bootham Bar Toilets
  A section of the north-west fortress wall, aligned with re-exposed fragment of guardhouse of Porta Principalis Dextra, was observed together with clay and clay bank behind. Additionally a post-medieval stone-lined drain was encountered.
• A0546 St Helen's Square
  Burials were located within what had been St Helen's Churchyard.
• A0002 Museum Street/Lendal
  Four phases in the construction, renewal and modification of the south-west defences of the Roman legionary fortress were revealed. The earliest ditch ran close to the curtain wall. It was approximately 5m wide by 1.3m deep and although no dating evidence was recovered it was presumed to have been in use in the 1st century AD after which it was deliberately filled. Further south-west, the second, third and fourth ditches appeared to have been excavated along the same line, but had dissimilar profiles. The second, wider ditch contained pottery dating to the late 2nd and 3rd century. The fourth ditch was filled in the late fourth century but trenches dug along the inner edge of this ditch, possibly for palisades, indicate a further strengthening of the defences in post-Roman times. Material from a fill of one of these trenches contained pottery dating to the Anglo-Scandinavian period. Buildings were constructed on the site in the 19th century and subsequently modified and demolished and had removed medieval and post-medieval deposits.
• A0318 5/7/9 Aldwark
  The foundation of a part of the fortress wall, a construction pit for a stone-lined well, some small pits and some clay which may have been part of the rampart were observed in contractor's pits.
• A0629 12-18 Swinegate
  "Area excavation of medieval and post-medieval levels was concentrated on the Grape Lane, Little Stonegate and Back Swinegate street frontages. Deep trench excavations were located over areas of maximum destruction to reveal the entire sequence of occupation. Incomplete preservation of the structures of early modern date were revealed fronting Swinegate. These included a rectilinear brick-lined drain, a roughly built limestone structure with a timber and cobbled threshold and a semi-sunken stone-lined feature with a brick floor. An extensive area on the Grape Lane frontage was stripped down to the late 15th century levels. This spanned three properties and a lane. Two of the properties were aligned with their gable end with the street. An area was also stripped at the junction of Little Stonegate and Back Swinegate. On the Little Stonegate frontage the plans of the two properties dating to the early 16th century were recorded. Buildings of this date appear to have been robbed on Back Swinegate and the plans for four of their predecessors were revealed. In the deep excavations the backyards of the four properties running between Swinegate and Petergate were investigated and showed evidence of cess pits, dumping and cultivation as well as two alleys of different dates running between the two streets. Between these deposits part of the medieval cemetery of St Benet's church was excavated. In all 27 inhumations were removed, the majority being within oak coffins. The church became redundant in the first quarter of the 14th century. Roman levels were encountered in 2 deep trenches beneath the cemetery was an extensive metalled surface, possibly a palaestra or a parade ground within the Roman fortress. This overlay a timber floor of interleaved planks, which may have been used for mixing mortar within the fortress when the fortress was rebuilt in stone, and a robber trench for a stone wall. Below again were pits and post-holes from the earliest timber structures on the site. In the second trench a limestone wall measuring over 1m wide with an offset foundation course was excavated. It was aligned north-north-west/south-south-east and was associated with a number of subsidiary walls and compact surfaces of clay and crushed stone and mortar. These features are clearly part of a substantial late Roman building of some importance, although its function is uncertain. The investigation of foundation pile positions continued following the main excavations. This was necessitated by the discovery of burials presumed to be within the cemetery of the church of St Benet. A total of 99 inhumations was removed from trenches designed to investigate the limits of the cemetery. Many of the burials were within oak coffins; the lid of one was decorated with an incised Nine Mens Morris board. Further masonry walls of Roman date, parts of the legionary fortress were encountered."
• A0085 Parliament Street Sewer
  It was apparent that repair work on the 19th century sewer had truncated archaeological deposits. However, some observations of previously undisturbed archaeological deposits were possible. Part of the south-east wall of the legionary fortress was seen with chevron tooled plinth stones. An iron ploughshare and coulter were recovered from unstratified levels in the fortress ditch. Part of an upstanding wall of a Roman building was observed. Considerable quantities of demolished material for Roman building were also seen. Two undated ditches were thought to belong to the Roman period. Levels of presumed Anglo-Scandinavian date were observed along the full length of the sewer trench. Their depth increased significantly towards the south-east, the valley of the River Foss. Amorphous peat deposits were seen in quantity. Wicker-lined pits, occasional fence posts, and post and planks from timber buildings were observed. At the south-eastern end of the trench timber sill beams and associated ash floors were observed.
• A0012 Museum Street/Lendal (Interval Tower SW5)
  A sample area of the late Roman intervallum road, which had a stone-lined drain along its inner edge, was investigated. Part of a contemporary barrack block was also encountered. On the site of the interval tower rampart material was found pre-dating the tower, and a part of the fortress wall. Evidence was found for a timber interval tower, which was later replaced by one built of stone. A part of the legionary fortress curtain wall contemporary with the tower was found. Roman occupation of the area continued through to the 4th century. A small pit may have dated to the Anglian period. The footings for the corner of a stone building possibly dating to the 14th-15th century were located. Pits and wells dating through the 12th-15th century indicate continuous medieval occupation in the area. Extensive cellars and foundations of the 19th century York Festival Concert Rooms was the latest phase of construction on the site.