York Archaeology Online Collections

Items

• A0777 North Street boreholes
  Two series of boreholes in advance of the design of a flood prevention scheme identified a complex depositional sequence up to 11m deep adjacent to the Moat House Hotel slipway (the medieval Divlinstayned). A sequence of Roman deposits was identified, including evidence of structural activity. No evidence was found of a continuation of the Roman road located on the Wellington Road site nearby. Above the Roman deposits was a series of well-preserved organic deposits. These demonstrated that the river bank continued to be developed in the Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval periods. Post-medieval dumps and modern garden soil represented the most recent use of the site.
• A0833 Flood Alleviation Pumping Station, North Street, York
  "The excavation, within a 6m diameter shaft to house a pumping station for the River Ouse flood alleviation scheme, provided a well stratified closely dated sequence demonstrating changes in river/land management and waterfront activities from the 2nd century to the 15th century. The earliest features dated to the 2nd century, the most significant of which was a robbed deeply piled foundation trench for a river retaining wall. Three sandstone blocks parallel to the wall may have been associated with or have formed part of a replacement waterfront structure. Two larger blocks may have been part of a riverside building. All the Roman structural elements were completely sealed by a substantial deposit of alluvium, 0.20m - 0.70m deep. This may represent a single large flood event, or several smaller episodes. A long series of land management strategies using wattle hurdle fences and revetment timbers was revealed in the post-Roman period. The earliest wattle structure, a fence line running parallel to the River Ouse, was found collapsed under dumped deposits which dated to the 8th century. The sequence of dumped deposits was found interleaved with alluvial deposits. These deposits were highly organic and contained domestic debris, industrial waste and the redeposited demolition debris. They were cut by a terrace and wattle was used to consolidate the surface of the plateau of the terrace and wattle hurdles were used to revet the bank. Material appears to have quickly accumulated on the terrace, filling it and sealing the wattle structure, continuing the dumping activity and dating to the 9th century. The most elaborate wattle revetment structure was constructed on a pebble and stone surface and comprised five lines of wattle hurdles which each closely followed the river bank and horizontal wattle held in position at the base of the slope by larger revetting timbers. Two further phases of structural activity using wattle were identified. An interesting departure in the form of revetment occurred in the 11th century, and may be considered an attempt at land reclamation. Timbers were used to define three sides of a rectangle, and material was used to deliberately infill the rectangle. The nature of the material dumped on the river bank maintained a similar character through the 11th and 12th century. Timbers were used to stabilise the river bank in this period. Dumping, interspersed with alluvial deposits, continued to build up during the 13th century with the surface of the ground gradually becoming level. At this point, it can be surmised that from the change in use of the land, a riverside wall had been constructed to the east of the excavated trench. Part of the foundations of a building and associated floors, and contemporary build-up outside the building were recorded and a later wall foundation also dated to the 13th century. It is not possible to interpret the precise form of these buildings from the available evidence, but they appeared to be of modest scale. Three large post-pits and a robbed wall foundation indicated the construction of a larger building on the site, which was covered by shallow build-up and a night-soil pit feature which dated to the 14th/15th century. All later material was truncated by 19th century development of the site."
• A0786 50 Piccadilly
  "The earliest activity located on the site was two small ditches of late 2nd century date cutting the natural clay at 2.60m OD. Further Roman material was dumped in and around these features in order to raise the ground level. An isolated post was the only evidence of structural activity. It was sealed by burnt residues possibly indicating an industrial process in the vicinity. Subsequently the area was used to tip domestic refuse close to the river, the tip lines running from east to west. A line of stakes and a post followed this alignment, but their structural purpose was not clear. A rough cobbled surface marked a change in use of the area and it was sealed by organic build-up. These deposits all dated to the 3rd century with no later Roman deposits being found. Some 10th/11th century dumping occurred and included a series of large irregular timbers. They were sealed by a series of build-ups and dumps which terminated against a substantial timber revetment presumably on the east bank of the River Foss. This sequence of deposits dated from the 14th century and suggested alternating conditions of waterlogging and dry land in the area, in which domestically derived material accumulated. The timber revetment dated to the 14th century. Horizontal timbers and loosely woven wickerwork were found to the east of the revetment and may have been used to consolidate a ground surface. Deposits above this reflected the continued use of the area for dumping of domestic waste. A considerable depth (3m) of post-medieval material sealed the medieval deposits and included disarticulated human bone which may have derived from the graveyard of St Denys' Church."
• A0730 Carmelite Street
  Three trenches and a series of boreholes demonstrated that well-preserved dumped material of the late medieval and early post-medieval period sealed a medieval timber revetment presumably at the edge of the King's Fishpool. The undulating surface of natural deposits suggests a complex course for the early River Foss.
• A0780 38 Piccadilly, Simpsons Yard
  "A single 3 x 3m trench 20m east of the modern course of the River Foss located a well worn cobble surface of 3rd century date, at 1.65m AOD. The excavation did not reach natural. The presence of dry land archaeology at this location suggests that the course of the Roman River Foss deviates from the alignment shown on the OS historic map of Roman York. The build-up and dumped deposits above the surface derived from domestic sources and dated to the 10th and 11th centuries. The excavated trench was within the area which was flooded by the damming of the River Foss to supply water for the moat to the castle in 1069. The silts excavated dated from the 14th to the 16th century. The King's Fishpool was allowed to silt up over this period, followed by attempts at land reclamation. A timber revetment and a series of wickerwork structures were revealed. Post-medieval dumping caused approximately 1m depth of material to accumulate, its nature changing from domestic rubbish to demolition debris. Traces of brick buildings and an earlier cobble surface of Simpson's Yard were also excavated."
• A0365 1- 9 Bridge Street
  Structural remains encountered by this excavation included stone walls which may have been part of both riverside building(s) and buildings fronting Skeldergate and may date from the later medieval period, (post 13th century). Timber structural remains were also recorded. Other medieval activity on the site was represented by a pathway and quantities of dumped material some of which had organic content. River silts which accumulated in this period were also excavated. In the centre of the site an alley was found flanked by stone post-medieval buildings. A 20th century timber lined pit was found near to the Queen's Staith frontage.
• A0606 Albion Wharf, 23-28 Skeldergate
  A deep 3m square shaft sited over a proposed pile cluster was excavated to natural sub-soil, encountering a maximum of 9m of archaeological deposits. Evidence was found of structural activity on the river bank in the Roman period. Above this was a build-up of material, organic lenses interleaved with alluvial silts, suggesting the accumulation of material in waterlogged conditions separated by episodes of flooding and pointing to marginal use in the Anglian period. Anglian pottery was found on site. A timber revetment, dating to the Anglo-Scandinavian period was revealed. A mixture of dumping and build-up in the 11th and 12th centuries was then succeeded by the construction of a substantial limestone wall of 12th century date, running parallel to the river. There appeared to be no deposits contemporary with the use of this river wall. A large robbing cut broke through the body of the wall. Demolition and dumped deposits dated this episode to the 14th century. Dumping continued in this area through the 15th century. Some attempt to drain the land was made in the 16th century. Garden deposits, also found in a larger excavation were encountered approximately 1m below ground surface. These gardens, garden features and buildings, documentary sources suggest, belonged to the house of the 18th century York architect John Carr. A later phase of building was likely to represent a 19th century warehouse.
• A0509 22 Piccadilly (ABC Cinema)
  The excavations through deeply stratified waterlogged deposits provided evidence of the course of the River Foss from Roman to the medieval period. Four trenches were excavated, one of these trenches, trench four, was found to have been located within course of the River Foss prior to its canalisation after 1793. In another, (trench 3), a steeply sloping bank of natural sandy clay, which was likely to have been a part of the riverbank was found. The other two trenches, 1 and 2 were located to the west of this bank and demonstrated intensive occupation of the area from the first century through to the 16th century; later deposits had been truncated by the foundation of the ABC Cinema. The excavation lay to the south-east of the tenements excavated on Copergate, in an area between them and the river Foss. Many of the deposits were dumped and build-up material which contained domestic and industrial waste providing important information about craft activities, the utilisation of resources, diet and living conditions. The Roman deposition comprised a ditch aligned at right angles to the modern day River Foss cutting natural sandy clays. It is likely that it provided a means of drainage into the river. Neglect of the drainage appears to have occurred as the cut became silted up and filled with material similar to the subsequent build-up and dumped material which was likely to have been secondary rubbish dumping dating to c280. The sequence of activity over the period 9th-12th century indicates a series of attempts to make the area close to the Foss usable. The deposition signals periods when the area was usable by man, with evidence of riverside structures and revetments being recovered, interspersed by periods when the area declined in use. The earliest timber fence on the site ran parallel to the River. A dump and build-up of material sealed this structure and pottery recovered from it dated to the Anglian period. Occupation and use of the site became more intensive in the Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval periods. Material built up through river flood deposition, by organic build-up from the decay of vegetation, possibly when the area was very waterlogged, and by the dumping of domestic and industrial waste material. Particular evidence was found of the glass industry, small pelt preparation, horn and antler working, and butchery on a commercial as well as a domestic scale. A wooden knife handle decorated in the Ringerike style were found. Deposits show the area continued as an area of disposal of domestic and industrial waste throughout the medieval period with some evidence of drainage in the form of cuts and a large soakaway. The latest significant feature found on the site was good example of a barrel well dating to the 15th or 16th century. Later deposits had been truncated by the foundations of the ABC Cinema. An extensive programme of sieving produced good recovery of environmental evidence.
• A0272 Skeldergate, City Mills
  The excavation ceased when riverlain silts were reached at approximately 7m OD. At this level upright wicker structures were encountered. These may have acted as a breakwater and were thought to date to the 11th century. These were superseded by wicker and post constructions which marked the division between the river and an area of timber buildings close to the river bank. There was evidence of subsequent land reclamation from the river and a complex of warehouses and industrial buildings dating to the 13th-14th century were built on this land. A strip of the Skeldergate street front was excavated to 15th century levels, revealing a series of properties with brick or stone walls, hearths and fittings.