York Archaeological Trust
The trenches excavated formed a tiny percentage of the proposed development area. Despite this it was possible to uncover a great deal of information regarding the quality of the surviving archaeology and the depth below present ground level at which these deposits occurred.
Naturally occurring deposits were only directly located in Trenches 8 and 20. In Trench 8 the upper surface of natural clay was at 9.00m AOD, while in Trench 20 the upper surface of natural sands was at 4.05m AOD. The considerable variation in the height AOD at which natural occurred confirms the conclusions of the earlier bore-hole work in the area (Macnab 1999c, 31). The bore-hole work suggested that a ridge of higher ground was present, located between Hungate and Dundas Street, which extended southwards towards the River Foss, and that to the west of this ridge the ground dropped sharply to the original river-channel. This conclusion seems to have been confirmed by the present evaluation.
Deposits of Roman date were uncovered in Trenches 8, 20 and possibly 13. None of the remaining trenches were excavated to sufficient depth to uncover Roman remains but it is highly likely that Roman features exist in these areas at lower levels.
A variety of Roman features were located in Trench 8, including an inhumation burial and a badly truncated bath-shaped cut interpreted as a grave cut. Roman graves are characteristically located outside forts/cities and were usually close to Roman roads, which may imply that a road is located somewhere within the proposed development area. In addition a number of pits and construction cuts for timber structures were found in Trench 8. The only possible Roman masonry structure located consisted of a pair of flat sandstone slabs, a possible foundation deposit and associated wall in Trench 13. The limited size of Trenches 8 and 13 made detailed interpretation of the structural features found difficult. The Roman deposits were located at only c.1.00m below the present ground level (8.90m AOD) in Trench 8 and 1.60m below the present ground surface (8.09m AOD) in Trench 13.
Trench 20 contained a sequence of Roman dumps, which were deposited in, or close to, the margins of the River Foss or a tributary stream. These dumps may have been a deliberate attempt to raise and level the ground surface prior to the construction of a timber-framed building, which was in turn sealed by a cobble surface and possible associated ditch cut. It is possible that the cobble surface and ditch are part of a major Roman road leading from the south-east gate of the Roman fortress, the presence of which has long been assumed (OS 1988). The location of a burial in Trench 8 implies that a road was located nearby. However, no trace of road surface was found in earlier bore-hole work to the east of Trench 20 (Macnab 1999c - ws 14), which may imply that the cobble surface was an external yard or hard-standing. The surface was sealed by further dumping. The upper surface of Roman deposits in Trench 20 was at 3.60m below present ground level (5.87m AOD).
All of the Roman deposits found were dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. No evidence of late Roman activity (i.e. 4th and early 5th centuries) was recovered.
Only Trench 24 produced evidence for the Anglian period (5th- mid 9th century).
This consisted of a cobbled surface and a number of dumps of early to mid 9th century
date. Without further excavation it is not possible to determine whether this surface
was a road or yard or what the functional shift in use of the area, to dumping activities,
signifies.
Hungate clearly existed as a street in the later Anglo-Scandinavian period, both
Trenches 11 and 24 contained evidence for occupation within timber buildings that
may have fronted onto the street. Deposits such as floors, dumps, levelling deposits
and hearths were all recovered and the buildings were probably similar to those excavated
at 16-22 Coppergate (Hall 1994, 59-64).
The pattern of occupation accords well with the gate element of the street name,
which usually implies an Anglo-Scandinavian foundation date. The upper surfaces of
the Anglo-Scandinavian deposits in Trench 11 were at 8.93m AOD, while in Trench 24
they were at 9.67m AOD.
Anglo-Scandinavian activity was found to the east of Hungate in Trench 8, the upper surface of which was at c.9.23m AOD. A structural gully for a timber building was beneath a sequence of domestic rubbish pits. The pits may have been associated with buildings found in Trench 11, which fronted onto Hungate.
In Trench 20 the earliest Anglo-Scandinavian feature was a large pit, also presumably for rubbish disposal, which was sealed by dumps which raised the ground level by c.1.00m to 6.95m AOD. No structures were found in Trench 20, implying that the area was only used for dumping and rubbish disposal. It is possible that these persistent episodes of raising of the ground level by dumping may relate either to infilling the valley of a tributary stream or to that of the River Foss itself.
Probably the most important change to the topography of the area in the medieval period was the damming of the River Foss to create defences for the Norman castle. This led to the creation of the King's Pool, a large area of standing water to the east of the castle. In Trench 15 the uppermost fill of the King's Pool was located at 6.91m AOD. Above this was a number of tips which almost certainly represent the process of dumping within the King's Pool which began as early as 1409 (Daniell 1991, 33).
Deposits associated with occupation in the Hungate area during the medieval period were located in Trenches 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 24. Trench 11 produced evidence for domestic occupation in timber-framed buildings with associated floors, hearths and dumps. These deposits formed a continuous sequence throughout the medieval period and it is possible that some of the later occupation deposits related to the Cordwainers (Shoemakers) Guild Hall which is believed to have been located in the area (RCHM 1981 xxxv). In nearby Trench 12 the medieval deposits uncovered were clearly located in an external area to the rear of buildings fronting onto Hungate. Evidence for metalworking of 12th century date was found in this area.
It had been hoped that the excavations would reveal evidence for two ecclesiastical buildings in this area (the parish church of St John-in-the-Marsh and the Carmelite Friary). The Carmelite Friary was founded in 1295 and continued in use until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538. The exact area of land owned by the Carmelites is unclear, it has been suggested that it was delimited on the eastern side by Hungate (VCH 1961, 361 and RCHM 1981, 50) or alternatively, that the friary held lands on both sides of Hungate (Daniell 1991). Trenches 19 and 20 were both within the Carmelite property but it is unclear if Trench 24 was also located on Carmelite-held lands. A number of minor structural features, dumps and a sequence of intercut pits were recovered in Trenches 19 and 20, which almost certainly relate to the friary. It is of interest that the environmental evidence recovered from Trench 20 suggested dumping by a high status establishment rather than typical domestic rubbish. In Trench 24 evidence for a major terracing operation prior to the construction of a well-built stone wall of late 13th century date was recovered, the scale of this operation points to activity by the Carmelites, as opposed to small-scale tenement owners. Butting against the wall were several floor surfaces, which may have been contemporary with it. Sealing this was a deposit of compacted cobbles 0.36m thick, which is of uncertain function. The location of these cobbles and their compaction implied that they formed part of the street surface of Hungate, which is shown in exactly this location on early maps of the area (John Speed's map of 1610). The lack of wear-ruts on the cobble surface would, however, seem to argue against this, as would the presence of a later metal-working furnace directly above. This implies that street front of this portion of Hungate was in a different location during the medieval and post-medieval periods.
Portions of the medieval parish church of St John-in-the-Marsh and its associated burial ground were located in Trenches 13 and 14 at c.8.86m AOD and c.8.70m AOD respectively. The church was probably c.20m long, but its width and the extent of the burial ground are unknown.
The area to the east of Hungate (Trench 8) contained relatively few medieval features, which either reflects less intense land-use than in the earlier Anglo-Scandinavian period or is the result of truncation in the area prior to the 16th or 17th century activity. The latter consisted of occasional rubbish pits and two features that could represent either a property boundary and drainage ditch or part of a building with associated eaves-drip gully.
Following the dissolution of the Carmelite Friary and demolition of the parish church of St John in the Marsh (both mid 16th century) early maps suggest that the areas occupied by these properties became largely open ground (John Speed's map of c.1610 and Benedict Horsley's map of c.1694). This was certainly reflected in the archaeological remains, with a build up of horticultural soils or dumps which sealed the medieval features in Trenches 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 25 and 33. Trench 18 appears to have included a succession of road surfaces associated with Hungate.
The medieval building in Trench 24 appears to have been rebuilt on several different occasions throughout this period and the possible late medieval guildhall in Trench 11 may have also been continuously occupied.
Buildings of late 18th or early 19th century date were located in Trenches 8, 12, 13 and 14. In Trench 16 a massive dump of relatively clean material can probably be associated with the canalisation of the River Foss.
From the mid 19th century the Hungate area developed rapidly. New streets were built across the area, those to the west of Hungate being primarily for housing, while those to the east contained a mixture of industry and housing. Abundant remains of Victorian buildings (including walls, floors, cellars and associated sewers and dumps) were found in Trenches 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 33. There is some evidence that the area of Trench 19 was deliberately terraced prior to the construction of 19th century buildings and that this process had removed all of the post-medieval deposits in the area.
During the 1930s the area was largely cleared and is shown as almost devoid of buildings on the 1937 Ordnance Survey map. Demolition dumping seen in Trenches 14, 16, 20, 25 and 33 almost certainly related to this clearance. Subsequently the area was developed for light industry and services for the present buildings were found in most of the trenches. In the case of Trench 11 all of the post medieval deposits had been removed by terracing prior to the construction of the Territorial Army depot, this same process also removed the majority of post-medieval deposits in Trench 8. All of the archaeological deposits in Trench 1 had been removed, again presumably by levelling the area, which was then built up with a thick deposit of clean sand. This was probably associated with the construction of the ambulance station in the 1950s.
Figure 22. Location of Archaeological Zones