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P5631 Mansion House & Guildhall, St. Helen's Square
P1149 80 Alma Terrace
On May 7th and 10th 2004 York Archaeological Trust undertook a watching brief on land at 80 Alma Terrace, York in order to observe the machine stripping of an access road and car parking area for a new development on the site. Chance finds from the 19th century and more recent archaeological observations had suggested the possibility that deposits and features of some significance might be encountered during the new development. Although much of the site under consideration had suffered greatly from modern disturbance, the watching brief did record definite deposits and at least one probable feature, all thought to be probably of pre-modern date although no dating evidence was recovered to confirm this. It is therefore quite possible that further archaeological work in the vicinity may reveal remains of some significance.
P1286 54-56 Monkgate
P0698 4-7 Parliament Street
A lift shaft had been excavated without any archaeological monitoring. Three sections of the shaft were recorded. This archaeological salvage work recorded a considerable build up of deposits dating to the Anglo-Scandinavian period on a site which is located mid way between the Viking Age streets Ousegate and Jubbergate. Remnants of six wattle fences or walls were revealed in section and at least one of them was likely to represent part of a building. The remaining deposits, all of which were waterlogged and largely organic, were likely to have been dumped material in and around buildings located in what was likely to have been a back yard area of a property.
P0772 NCP Car Park, 64-76 Skeldergate
Eight boreholes and three trial pits were observed, and well preserved organic deposits were recorded in all of the boreholes and one of the trial pits. The deposits were dated from the Roman to the medieval periods. Evidence of natural terraces lying parallel to the River Ouse was noted. These terraces had been enhanced with thick levelling deposits in the Roman period and there was evidence that substantial Roman buildings may have stood on these terraces. In addition there appears to have been a valley along the north west side of the area indicating the presence of a tributary stream that ran down to the River Ouse. Further deep, complex and well stratified deposits were encountered in all nine evaluation trenches and included waterlogged organic remains. Very intensive occupation of the site was recorded for the period 11th-15th/16th centuries. Deposits related to structural remains of buildings fronting Skeldergate together with back yards where pit digging and dumping had occurred.
P0607 Primitive Methodist Chapel, rear of 3 Little Stonegate
The excavations show that beneath the ‘Primitive Methodist Chapel Cottage’ cellar, deep well stratified archaeological deposits survived. The earliest evidence for settlement included a linear ditch or gully aligned north-east to south-west, and a stake-hole alignment or fence line. These may all be of late Iron Age date and would therefore form the first evidence for prehistoric occupation within the area enclosed by the Roman Legionary Fortress. These were sealed by a thick layer of turf which was not distrubed until the construction of Roman timber barracks on the site. This building was demolished and the area levelled. This may have created a large open area within the fortress, such as a parade ground, compound or yard. The surface of this was patched over the area of the subsiding Iron Age ditch or gully and a shallow scoop or pit was excavated, perhaps for the disposal of rubbish or cess. Subsequently a road was constructed along with a second timber barracks which was thought to have been dismantled at the beginning of the 2nd century. It was superseded by a stone barracks. Several phases of modification to this building were recorded and a long series of successive exterior surfaces was found between the barrack blocks. These were interleaved with several accumulation, trampling and occupation deposits, the latter showing signs of scorching. The internal area appears to have been kept scrupulously clean and level throughout the time period in which the external surfaces built-up. The internal arrangement of the buildings was modified over time and metalled paths were laid out. A small area of metalling internal to a barracks may indicate it was used for stabling. In the first half of the 3rd century the barrack block apppears to have been partially burnt down. Various modifications were carried out to the building and a large latrine pit was found to belong to this period. In the 2nd half of the 3rd century a major rebuilding of structures took place on site along with new paths. Occupation of the buildings, which underwent further alterations, continued until the beginning of the 5th century. A series of mixed demolition and manure deposits then built up over the whole area. A thick homogenous deposit was either dumped or accumulated over the whole trench area. This was interpreted as an accumulation of manure, mixed with a small amount of earlier demolition material, cess and domestic rubbish. The area was interpreted as having been part of a farmyard at this point, perhaps including livestock pens. The earliest Anglo-Scandinavian feature was a pit or rubbish pit dated to the 9th or early 10th century Its backfill was later truncated by a second pit which contained demolition or clearance material. A garderobe was found to be backfilled with a number of deposits, clearly of manure, or foul waste origin, some of which contained pottery dateable to the 10th or 11th century. The area appreared to be in the back yard of a property during this period and this function continued through the medieval period. A number of pits and dumps were dated to this period. In the post medieval period the area was crossed by two fence lines perhaps erected to divide up the area into properties. This boundary fence appears to have been replaced by a brick built boundary wall or wall to a property behind Little Stonegate. A number of deep 18th century walls, the construction cut for a late 18th or early 19th century cellar for the “Methodist Chapel Cottage”, as well as the 19th century construction cut for the Primitive Methodist Chapel then, disturbed the area. A number of 20th century service trenches were also encountered.
P0535 Herriot Centre, 23-25 Kirkgate, Thirsk
In the area closest to the street frontage the remains of amedieval pit was encountered. The majority of the emainder of the material recorded dated from the post medieval period and comprised evidence of a robbed wall, part of a yard surface and garden soil. A 19th century brick feature may have represented a well. 20th century garden features were also recorded.
P0575 St Saviour's Church, St Saviourgate
A programme of building recording was undertaken in advance of repair work to the tower and east end of the church.
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.
P0511 County House, Monkgate
The excavations revealed evidence for settlement within this area of Monkgate from the 10th or 11th c. through to the present day suggesting that activity associated with properties on the Monkgate frontage extended into the investigated area and illustrating the development of the Newbiggin suburb outside the eastern gate of the medieval city. Deposits demonstrate horticultural/agricultural activity and rubbish pits in the Anglo- Scandinavian and medieval periods. The area continued to be used as garden and yard with out-building with evidence of the dumping of metal working slag dating to the 17th or early 18th century. In the 19th c. the area was landscaped as gardens, and ash and clinker, possibly from St Maurice's vicarage, was dumped in the area. In the 1980s the area became a car park.
P0510 1-5 Davygate and 9 Little Stonegate
An evaluative excavation recorded deposits which dated from the 10th to the 20th century and demonstrated a complex development history of occupation with timber framed buildings and workshops where metal working took place. The upper levels had been disturbed by 19th century service trenches and modern construction on the site. A larger scale excavation of the area uncovered a sequence of occupation of the area from the 10th - 18th century. Including the complex development history of timber-framed structures part of which were workshops in which metal working seems to have taken place during the period 13th - 18th century. A watching brief found further evidence of medieval occupation including a hearth together with timber lined pits and dumps in backyard areas. A further watching brief monitored 140 separate machine excavated interventions which allowed the provisional reconstruction of the ground plan of a Roman barrack block. Anglo Scandinavian occupation deposits were recorded together with medieval occupation and sutuctural remains on the Little Stonegate and Davygate street frontages.
P0397 79 Goodramgate
Four test pits were observed to a maximum of 0.60m below ground surface. A cobble surface was encountered and may represent an earlier yard associated with the property. The remaining material appeared to be modern backfill dumped during previous construction work.
P0283 Land to the rear of St Andrewgate/Spen Lane
Excavations reached a maximum depth of 1.80m below ground surface. The earliest deposits excavated dated to the 12th century. These comprised a surface and build-up above it in the western part of the site, probably representing a period of neglect. The first indications of a building fronting St Andrewgate were the remains of a floor and an internal division. These dated to the 13th century. A timber fence line and dumped material including stable manure also dated to this period. In the later 13th/early 14th century over a widespread area material was allowed to accumulate and dumped prior to the renewal of structural activity. At the western end of the excavation two adjacent buildings fronting St Andrewgate were identified. A deliberate levelling of the whole area occurred in the 14th century. Domestic refuse was dumped and disposed of in pits. Further building, either two adjacent buildings or one divided building, fronting St Andrewgate, was identified, following similar alignments to earlier properties. The occupation of the building(s) continued through the 15th century and was represented by hearths, a series of floors and internal building divisions. Part of the building was used as an industrial workshop. Mould fragments suggested the casting of metal, and hammer scale indicated the use of an anvil. A pit feature may have acted as a quenching pit. Numerous internal alterations were made to the buildings though the medieval period. To the rear of these buildings a ditch was identified dating from the late 15th / early 16th century. It may have acted as a property boundary, or an open sewer, although its fill gives no evidence of this function and it appeared to have been deliberately backfilled in one operation. Pits were found in the area behind the buildings and suggest the relatively intensive use of the "backland" area for the disposal of rubbish, although traces of a structure in the form of beam slots were also identified in this area. In the mid 16th century a mortar and tile floor was introduced in the building fronting St Andrewgate which sealed the possible quenching pit. A cess pit or soak-away also dated to this period. Metal-working waste was found in an area which may have been the backyard of the re-organised building. Further structural alterations were made, including a substantial re-build of the building. Foundations which may have been the base for a sill beam supporting a timber-framed building were revealed. At some point after this alteration metal working was again carried out within the building. Occupation of the building continued through the 16th century and was represented by a series of mortar floors and hearths. In the area behind the property there was a rough uneven yard surface, evidence of pit digging, and a property boundary defined by a series of post-holes, which were replaced by a later series. In the late 17th/early 18th century these were backfilled and a widespread levelling deposit covered the eastern part of the site. Alterations and occupation of the building fronting St Andrewgate continued through the post-medieval period. A stone-lined well was encountered near the St Andrewgate frontage. In the modern period the area was occupied by a chemical factory, a building suppliers and a scrap yard. Watching Briefs : Timber building and road surfaces were observed in contractor's trenches in St Andrewgate, and demonstrated that in the Anglo-Scandinavian or medieval period St Andrewgate was narrower than the modern road. A medieval wattle-lined pit and a cobble surface were observed during a watching brief which confirmed that the area towards Spen Lane was open land to the rear of properties fronting St Andrewgate. A well was found which was similar to the one found within the main excavation. The watching brief carried out while pile holes were excavated collected evidence of mortared limestone structures and cobbles and clay c. 3-4m below the ground surface which were intepereted as likely to have derived from buildings and occupation dating from the Roman period. A horizon of organic deposits across the site probably represented evidence of Anglo-Scandinavian occupation. Deposits from the medieval period encountered during the piling were seen to be similar to those recorded more fully during the excavation and derived from street front occupation of St Andrewgate and Spen Lane together with the development of gardens and yards with associated dumping of domestic and industrial waste behind in both the medieval and post medieval periods.
P0279 108 Lowther Street
A post-medieval standing building was demolished and a cobble surface was observed beneath the modern brick yard surface in contractor's trenches which were dug to a depth of 0.60m below ground surface. Natural was seen at this depth.
A0843 Site of St. Nicholas’ Hospital, 148 Lawrence Street, York
The land surface found to overlie natural deposits and an isolated large post found at the western end of the site were dated to the 11th century. A cobble and chipped limestone yard located in the south-west part of the site was thought not to be associated with the building found on site and dated to the late 11th early 12th century. Also dating to this period were the earliest building remains comprising a structure aligned east-west. A linear ditch, cut through some occupation deposits relating to this structure and thought to have remained open over a period of time, marked the end of this phase of activity. The construction of an aisled building identified as St Nicholas' leper hospital dated to the late 12th early 13th century. The recoverable plan of the building show it to be approximately 20m long and 10m wide. The northern aisle initially had a hearth at either end, with no evidence of partitioning. It was within the central hall that the greatest concentration of activity occurred, with a succession of at least five overlying hearths and a sequence of floor levels found at the eastern end of the hall. Evidence of occupation was less intense towards the western end of the hall. Some reconstruction of the building occurred in the 13th/14th century. In the north aisle a new partition wall was inserted with a hearth on its western side. The eastern part of the main building was given over to a series of smaller rooms and hearths in the north and south aisles with a larger hearth in the central hall. In the 14th century the aisled building fell into disuse and a substantial regular building was constructed re-using the padstones of the central hall of the aisled building. This building was thought to have been 20m long and 6m wide. No associated internal deposits survived. Later in the 14th century this building was robbed and a phase of levelling activity was identified. A rectangular brick building was then constructed re-using the pad stones and some of the wall foundations of the previous structure, with a new north - south partition dividing the building in half. Outside the building, to the north, was a cobbled yard. An annexe on the north-west of the building was constructed in the 15th century. The robbing and demolition of the building occurred over the period 15th century through to the 18th/19th century. Traces of a hearth with no associated structural features were found dating to this period. Some possible garden features were also located. Demolition spreads, garden soil and miscellaneous features dated to the 18th /19th century. While the street frontage was developed with houses, the hospital site remained largely underdeveloped as the south side of the area used as an autowrecker's yard.
A0602 Museum Gardens, path edging
A cobble surface which was possibly a path leading from the river to the gateway at the south-east side of the Hospitium of St Mary's Abbey was recorded.
A0357 14 Coppergate
Medieval backyard deposits were observed.
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.
A0415 19/23 Monkgate (rear)
Post-medieval garden soil was observed above natural deposits found at a depth of 2m below ground surface in contractor's trenches.
A0217 51-59 Clifton
Post-medieval drains and a cobble surface were observed, and also medieval pits containing grey silt and animal bone. There was no indication of Roman deposits.
A0355 17/18 High Ousegate & 19 Coppergate
Medieval backyard deposits and post-medieval dumps were observed.
A0016 Walmgate/Willow Street
A section through the city rampart was examined by this excavation and the natural ground surface appeared to drop at least 2m between the city walls and the churchyard of St Peter-le-Willows. The excavators recorded a charcoal burial and several graves. However, on reassessment of the site archive these features have been interpreted as a charnel pit with the recovery of disarticulated human bone. A cobble surface, which was the medieval precursors to Long Close Lane/ Willow Street was also the likely boundary to the burials. The burials are almost certainly a part of the churchyard of St Peter-le-Willows which lay to the north of the medieval road. The remains of a building were interpreted as part of this church. A building fronting the medieval street front was also found along with several pits and a well. A post-medieval building and cobble surface indicate at least a partial blocking of the street during this period. A Victorian cellar was also encountered.
P0305/P0424 52-62 Tadcaster Road
"A number of ditches, a pit and a possible construction trench were encountered within the excavated areas. These features suggested a sequence of activity of Roman date and the use of the land for possible agricultural, or habitation, purposes. Modern property divisions appeared to reflect divisions dating to the medieval period. The foundations of recently demolished buildings were visible indicating the positions of structures associated with the most recent use of the site as a builder's yard, the fabrication industry, a stables and a paddock."
A0794 41 Piccadilly
A series of six trenches and seven boreholes demonstrated variable survival of archaeological deposits on the site. Close to George Street intensive Roman activity and two pits containing debris from 11th-12th century bone/antler comb making were revealed less than 0.5m beneath the surface. To the north-west archaeological deposits dipped away steeply with 1.50m of modern material sealing 10th-11th century dumps close to the Piccadilly street front.
A0788 2 St Maurice's Road
Ditches of Roman date were found in two (of a series of three) 3 x 3m trenches. Successive cobble surfaces sealed the ditch in one of the trenches and contained a late 3rd century coin and pottery of similar date. Both ditches had rather irregular surfaces and contained large quantities of animal bone. Later deposits were confined to cultivated soil up to 1.25m thick beneath the modern concrete yard surface.