YORKSHIRE
No.19
ARCHAEOLOGY TODAY
Jet Set
Roman Finds from Hungate Inside: ‘Viking’ Gold? Back to Blossom Street Kirkby Overblow ArcHeritage: YAT in South Yorkshire
YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST
Yorkshire Archaeology Today Summer 2010 Contents
Number 19
VIKING GOLD?
1
JET & GLASS & ROCKS ‘n’ STONES
4
Hungate Update
MINSTER MISCELLANY New Projects at York Minster
12
BACK TO BLOSSOM STREET
13
Before the Normans at Kirkby Overblow
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ArcHeritage: YAT in South Yorkshire
20
Best Years of your Lives
24
Oral history of York schooldays
Editor: Richard Hall Photo editing, typesetting, design & layout: Lesley Collett Printed by Technoprint, Leeds Yorkshire Archaeology Today is published twice a year. UK subscriptions: £10.00 a year. Overseas subscriptions: £14.00 (sterling) a year. To subscribe please send a cheque payable to Yorkshire Archaeology Today to: York Archaeological Trust, 47 Aldwark YO1 7BX or through Postgiro/CPP to: ACCOUNT 647 2753 National Giro, Bootle, Merseyside, GIR 0AA Yorkshire Archaeology Today is published by York Archaeological Trust. Editorial and contributors’ views are independent and do not necessarily reflect the official view of the Trust. Copyright of all original YAT material reserved; reproduction by prior editorial permission only. © York Archaeological Trust, September 2010 York Archaeological Trust is a registered charity, Charity No. 509060: A company limited by guarantee without share capital in England number 1430801. Tel: 01904 663000 Email: ckyriacou@yorkat.co.uk http://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk ISSN 1474-4562 Unless stated otherwise, illustrations are by Lesley Collett and Russell Marwood; photos are by Mike Andrews and members of YAT staff and are © York Archaeological Trust
Jet and Shale bracelets found in a Roman burial at Hungate: p.4 Photo: Mike Andrews
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The convoluted story of a twisted arm-ring We’re often asked how archaeologists go about identifying the age and origin of objects. The answer is that sometimes it’s easy. Some types of artefacts are so distinctive that, with only minimal experience, it’s difficult to mis-identify them; the glossy red pottery of Roman date known as Samian ware is a case in point. Some objects, however, are not so easily recognisable, while others, like simple nails, are of types so common that they could have been made at any point over many centuries. In these more tricky cases, if we have excavated the objects ourselves, and know that they came from a particular layer or context, this may help us to date them. If, for example, the layer where the mystery objects were found contains only pottery and objects of well-known Roman types, and this layer was below layers containing only Viking Age pottery and, higher still, medieval pottery, then we’d be pretty confident that the mystery objects were in a layer of Roman date. Although the objects themselves might
be earlier, we’d hope that our experience of seeing lots of items would then help us to determine the facts. However, things aren’t always that simple… A few months ago YAT was visited by a York resident who showed us a gold ‘bracelet’ or armlet which he owns. He’d been told that it was of Viking origin, and he asked us if we agreed. It certainly looked as if it might be a Viking gold armlet; and, of course, this excited us, for relatively few pieces of gold jewellery have been recovered across the Viking world, never mind in the British Isles. While silver hoards are comparatively common, gold was obviously a much rarer and more precious commodity. In the recently discovered Vale of York hoard, for example, contained within a silver gilt cup, in addition to 617 silver coins there were 67 pieces of silver including four armrings and broken up brooches, ingots and rods), but only one item, a simple arm-ring, was made of gold.
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VIKING GOLD?
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Above: Spatulate terminals decorated with triangular punched motifs
Below: Close-up views reveal soil particles trapped in the interstices of the twisted gold, which if analysed may give a clue to the provenance of the armring
The object brought into YAT is what is called a penannular (i.e. a not quite fully circular) arm-ring. It was made by twisting together interlaced rods of metal; at each end the rods have been beaten together and then flattened out to create spatulate terminals. A triangular punch with a small pellet in each corner has been used to stamp a design into the terminals, forming an overall zig-zag pattern. It weighs, we are told, 72.6g. We, of course, asked the present owner how this armring had come into his possession; we hoped that his answer would provide a clue to the object’s history, by providing the equivalent of a family tree of the object’s pedigree. The answer, however, was not the most helpful, for he had acquired it from an American dealer in New Jersey who said that he had bought it; the dealer attributed it to ‘Viking Danelaw.
Northumbria … Humberside workshop’; but there are no more precise details to support this rather vague attribution. An attribution to ‘Humberside’ might seem attractive because recently two late 9th/10th-century annular silver plaited or twisted armrings, found in a meadow outside Selby, North Yorkshire, have come back into general attention, They had been purchased at the World Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, where the replica Viking ship based on the original found at Gokstad in Oslo Fjord was displayed following its successful crossing of the Atlantic. These silver armrings ended up in private possession in California; so it’s not unknown for Viking objects found in the UK to end up in North America. Nevertheless, in family pedigree terms, therefore, the object brought into YAT was effectively an orphan; in archaeo-speak, it did not have a provenance. All of this tantalized and intrigued us. Could this be a long-lost discovery, re-emerging to public gaze after years in private ownership? Or could it be a find from a hitherto unknown site, discovered recently, by metal detectorists and sold across the Atlantic? Or could it be a modern item, made to resemble something older, with or without a deliberate intention to mislead a prospective purchaser? To find out more, we had to examine the gold armlet itself in more detail. Several lines of approach were possible. We could study its typology, to compare it in detail to other, broadly similar items which do have a well-authenticated claim to be Viking-Age in date. By this means we might be able to decide whether or not it is precisely like genuine Viking-Age armlets. We could view it under a microscope to glean almost invisible information such as tool marks or other signs of how it was made, in the hope that something characteristic would emerge to point to one period of manufacture rather than another.
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And we could analyse the gold itself to see whether its composition, in terms of trace elements other than pure gold, conform to the norms of Viking-Age gold or, for example, contain constituents which prove that it was made from gold mined in areas of the world unknown or inaccessible to goldsmiths in the Viking Age. Typologically, this form of VikingAge armlet, with interlaced rods ending in spatulate terminals, is not found in Norway and Denmark and all points west of them. Some plaited armrings of broadly similar form are found in the Baltic area, on Gotland and elsewhere; but gold or gold alloy objects are rare in this region. To complicate matters, it is alleged that genuine Viking-Age objects found in the Baltic States are being illegally exported and sold. And, in yet a further twist, replicas of Viking-Age objects are made by and for reenactors, not least in the USA. Looking at it under the microscope revealed that, in amongst the strands of gold, there were tiny particles of what looked like soil. On the face of it this looked like a sign of authenticity, as if it had been found buried in the ground; although this could be clever fakery or the result of recent contact with the ground (people do drop things...). This might be a line of enquiry which could be taken further. For example, it was geological identification of sand grains, trapped in the caulking of the planks in the remains of the Viking-Age rowing boat containing a multiple
burial which was found eroding into the sea at Scar on Sanday, Orkney in 1991, which showed that the vessel had not been built in Britain but, probably, in Scandinavia. Simple metallurgical analysis by x-ray fluorescence at the University of Durham showed that the armring is made from an alloy of 60% gold and 40% silver. This is a rather low percentage of gold compared to that found in some Viking-Age objects (compare the 94-97% gold, with silver and copper, in the Vale of York gold armring mentioned above); but relatively few, particularly from the eastern Baltic, have been subject to analysis. A more detailed analysis, to identify any constituents of which there were only small but diagnostically critical traces, would have been a more costly affair and, for budgetary reasons, was not undertaken. Our opinion, then, is that whatever else it may be, this object is relatively unlikely to be a Viking-Age artefact originally found in the British Isles. It might be a Viking-Age item originally found in the eastern area of Viking activity; or it might be a modern fabrication, based on Viking-Age originals. At present it remains one of archaeological life’s little mysteries. Richard Hall Our thanks to the owner for showing the object to us, to Ian Panter and Mags Felter in the YAT Conservation Laboratory for discussing and arranging metallurgical analysis, and to Nicky Rogers, James Graham-Campbell and Birgitta Hürdh for helpful comments. Responsibility for the opinions expressed lies wholly with the author.
Hung
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e first brought you news of the Trust’s major excavation campaign in Hungate, York in 2007. We have been investigating adjacent sites which comprise the re-development area in this previously rather neglected neighbourhood close to the River Foss. Year by year there has been a series of exciting and, in some cases, unprecedented discoveries, and this has continued during 2010.
5 excavation areas within the development blocks
Focal Building
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e have been working in several areas across the whole of Block H, so I will try and cover things in a period-byperiod chronological order, adding details of location on site as we go along. The excavation continues to produce a small but interesting assemblage of prehistoric artefacts, although we are still waiting to find a specific feature that we can call prehistoric, as these artefacts are being retrieved from Roman, Anglo-Scandinavian and later medieval features across the whole site. When these artefacts have been looked at by a specialist, we will know more about their exact forms, usage, and dates but what we’ve observed so far includes some obvious scrapers and part of a Neolithic polished stone axe, which will all add to what we know of the prehistory of the Foss valley.
At the start of 2010, not long after the snow had melted, we began to find some very impressive Roman archaeology, the type of material that you may get once in a lifetime. In the southern corner of the site, beneath the Anglo-Scandinavian ‘tiger stripe’ levelling accumulations, a cluster of 3rd to 4th century burials was revealed. So far ten graves have been excavated in this area but this number will undoubtedly increase as there are still some grave-shaped features still to be excavated and we expect to find more as later deposits are removed. The graves themselves are not especially unusual. Two were aligned head northwest - feet southeast, with the rest aligned head southwest - feet northeast. Some of them contained complete pots in the grave backfill, again nothing astonishing as it was seen
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Site location and
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Plan of Block H showing recently-
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excavated features
Below: excavation of one of the Roman burials in progress; shoes soles surviving as concretions around the iron hobnails can be seen to the right of the skeleton
on the H1 excavations and during the trial evaluations on the site in 2002. Something which was a little different were graves which contained the shoes of the individual, surviving in the form of concretions of iron around the ‘hob nails’. Sometimes these shoes were being worn by the deceased, and sometimes they were deliberately laid out within the grave. However, two of the graves were astonishing. The first, known as the ‘Glass grave’, was aligned with the head to the northwest. The upper part of the grave fill, above where the body would have lain, contained an almost complete grey ware jar. Inside it was a small drinking beaker from Trier and some bird bones, possibly the partial remains of a chicken, which presumably represent a meal for the journey into the afterlife. The majority of the organic remains from this burial were very poorly preserved, but even though very little of the skeleton survived we could tell that the corpse would have been buried in a coffin, as some of the coffin nails survived, revealing where the faces of the
Greyware jar from one of the richer burials, which contained a smaller Trier beaker and some bird bones:
The team on site were understandably very excited by this find, but the archaeology continued to deliver further surprises. Another discolouration in the soils in the far southern corner of Block H was cleaned up and proved to be the second of our more lavish burials. This grave was to become know as the ‘Jet grave’ due to the abundance of jet objects buried with the corpse. This time the grave was aligned with the head to the south-west, and there was no pot associated with it, although the survival of nails again indicated that the body had been buried in a coffin. However, the grave goods in this case held even more surprises. Firstly, at the foot end of the grave, iron nails or brackets suggest that we had a small box, within which were found the hobnails for a pair of shoes. At the other end of the grave, in the neck area, over five hundred plain disc, decorated disc, incised tube and trumpet-shaped jet beads were discovered, representing what appear to be two separate very elaborate and highly decorated necklaces. In the centre of the grave, where the hands would have lain on top of the pelvis, three different bracelets were discovered. The first was a twisted copper alloy bracelet, the second was made of shale and was highly decorated, and the
Centre: Glass unguent bottle and (bottom) coloured glass beads from the ‘glass’ burial
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coffin had been joined together. However, the inorganic grave good associated with the burial survived astonishingly well and these included a complete shale bangle, a single small jet bead (both recovered from the midsection) and an indented glass unguent bottle for perfume or oils, found next to the head. The burial gets its nickname from the fact that 299 tiny glass and jet beads were found in the neck area, representing what would have been a highly colourful and ornate necklace.
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third was made up of thirty-eight saw-toothedged half-moon jet plates which were strung together as a flexible bracelet. Together these artefacts make up an amazing assemblage and we hope to get these finds on display very soon so everyone can see just how beautiful they are. More recently we have also been revealing Roman features across the rest of the site. A total of three further burials have been excavated in the central part of Block H, whilst others have been seen in the sides of later cut features and disturbed bones have been found in the backfills of later deposits. We have also excavated a cluster of three cremations buried in a line. All of the Roman archaeology excavated so far appears to be linked with burials or cremations, so the evaluations of 2002 that suggested we may
Left: The ‘jet’ burial during excavation. Jet bracelets can be seen emerging in the chest area, while beyond the feet are the remains of a pair of shoes (top of picture). Below: Detail of the shoes above; the remains of nails indicate that the shoes may have been placed in a small wooden box placed at the foot of the coffin
With the buzz created by the impressive Roman grave goods, it would be easy to overlook the great strides that we have made in our understanding of the AngloScandinavian archaeology on site. The north-east area of the site, to the rear of the Anglo-Scandinavian plots along Hungate, has continued to produce a series of waste and cess pits. These features will give more information once the finds and samples are looked at in conjunction with the phased stratigraphy. We have seen a marked increase in crucible fragments, industrial waste and other materials which may be linked with metalworking. There are no obvious ‘hot’ features in this archaeology, or links with the archaeology described below, so it may be that this area was being used purely for the disposal of debris. During the summer the team have made great strides towards our understanding of the ‘tiger stripe’ deposits along the edge of Hungate. Initially, during the first half of 2010, we found that the striped deposits were showing far more contrast in their orange and black colouring towards the street front, and in some cases we had hints of what may be structures with wickerwork walls or screens along the edges. This suggested that differing activities were taking place within each of the plots, almost as if each household had partitioned their back yard into separate areas.
Some of the finds from the ‘jet’ grave: Top: part of a necklace made of segmented jet beads with (below) detail of a single bead showing how they interlock Centre: segmented jet bracelet made up of thirty-eight decorated beads Bottom; two shale bangles, one with carved decoration
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have Roman occupation and structures are now thought more likely to represent a purely funerary landscape.
GOING, GOING, GONE: a cremation urn from the Roman cemetery at Hungate is gradually excavated in the Conservation Laboratory
However, by the summer we had extended the southern part of the trench further towards Hungate, giving us the opportunity to investigate areas of burning which were situated in the centre of each plot. This new work has revealed that we have built hearth structures which have been repeatedly used and then ‘raked out’, giving us the origins for the black ash layers. We have also seen the remains of an oven-like feature, built from clay, which had been destroyed and levelled after use, giving us one example for the source of the burnt daub layers. These burning events have been repeatedly sealed by inert silts and clays, giving the final element of the striped deposits. The only material which we have found directly linked with one of the firing events was some burnt grain, and looking for metalworking residues has been fruitless.
‘Tiger-stripe’ deposits of silts and charcoal built up on one of the plots
There are still plenty of questions about what type of industry we are looking at. Was it seasonal? How long did it take to build up these deposits? Why are there no obvious
buildings linked with this? However, we feel that we are getting closer to understanding these unusual deposits. As we have been working across the northeast side of the site we have once again had a chance to look at the medieval archaeology which survives here. The features seem to be split into three basic types. The first are huge quarrying and robbing pits which are relatively empty of obviously interesting material, though occasionally they produce some interesting objects. The second consists of a number of smaller rubbish pits which are packed with finds dating towards the very end of the medieval period, which suggests that these pits are certainly later than the larger ones. Finally there are stony deposits which are linked with the medieval extension of an Anglo-Scandinavian plot boundary to create Haver Lane, which eventually connected Hungate to the southern side of the long-demolished All Saints church in Peasholme Green.
The work that has been carried out from July through to September appears to indicate that the northern end of the site may have been used more intensively during the 13th century than the area adjacent to St John’s church, which lay to the southeast of the excavation area. It is possible that the higher frequency of features, and their larger scale, is linked with the activities of the Carmelite Friary which was developing on the opposite side of Hungate at this time. We will be able
A
to tease more out of this picture during postexcavation processes, which will give us a better insight into the use of this landscape in the past. None of this would be possible without the full team of people involved with all the work here at Hungate and those supporting from other parts of YAT. A big thank you must go to them as they are the ones who make these fantastic discoveries. Toby Kendall
nybody who has walked past the site during the summer months will have noticed that it is swarming with people in Hi-Vis vests. This is nothing to do with lots of new staff, but all to do with Archaeology Live! 2010. This is now the 10th year that we have been training people in archaeological skills under the banner of Archaeology Live and it has been the busiest year yet. From the first season at St Leonard’s in 2001 we have tried to create a friendly, fun, and archaeologically intensive learning experience. The high percentage of returning trainees shows that we must be doing something right; some have even returned every year! So another thank you to everybody involved over the past decade.
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MINSTER MISCELLANY New projects for York Minster
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AT has recently been given funding by the Friends of York Minster which will enable us to study a very important collection of medieval pewter chalices and patens recovered from excavations carried out in York Minster from 1966 – 1973. This is the largest collection in the country of these objects, which copied the forms of silver chalices and patens used in the celebration of the Mass, but which were buried in the graves of priests in the 13th – 16th centuries. We are hoping that our research will identify certain chalices and patens as coming from the burials of named individuals, as well as investigating their composition and manufacture.
Following on from a study of the Chapter House and Chapter House Vestibule doors at York Minster, YAT Wood Technologist Steve Allen is to examine another set of historic doors, currently stored in the Minster Stoneyard, to determine whether or not the carpentry technology supports their alleged 15th century date. Confirming the detail of their original construction and subsequent modification may elucidate their primary position and any later re-use.
13 YAT returned to an old hunting-ground last summer when the hotel conversion of Prudential House, Blossom Street, got underway in July 2009. Our excavation, glamorously titled ‘Sewage Attenuation Tanks, 28–40 Blossom Street’, involved digging a 9m x 4m trench to a depth of 3m below the tarmac of a sloping car-park. The combination of this slope, the steel shoring that formed the perimeter of the trench and the now customary wet summer, created a slightly sub-marine feel to an otherwise interesting project that was frequently interrupted to drag the tarpaulins across and retreat to the cabin while the rain fell and drained straight into the trench. Despite the weather, this project was able to draw together and refine some of the many discoveries made during previous work around Blossom Street. The area has attracted archaeological interest for many years, as it lies just outside Micklegate Bar on the main route south-west out of the city. Of particular concern was the strong possibility of finding more of the Roman road to Tadcaster (Calcaria). Angelo Raine reported seeing it during the building of the Odeon Cinema
in the 1930s, and LP Wenham also located it in 1953–55 during his extensive excavations immediately north-east of the current site. Together with observations made as far apart as Dringhouses and Wellington Row, these sightings have informed the current interpretation of the road-line. The new trench was positioned tantalisingly just to the south-east of this line, but nevertheless good evidence for the road was expected to emerge. Peter Wenham’s excavations had also encountered Roman buildings and cremation burials. Subsequent work had supported these findings. YAT’s excavation at Forsellius Garage [16-20 Blossom St.], between Wenham’s work and the current site, had found huge amounts of pottery in massive ground make-up deposits, much of which seemed to have come from a cemetery. Across the road, at the former ‘Lion and Lamb’ pub, YAT found a small cemetery and the remains of a mausoleum. The area is close to the Railway Station cemetery, and
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BACK TO BLOSSOM STREET
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Wenham excavations coffin
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T YAT excavation 2009 1953–4 excavations (L. P. Wenham) previous YAT excavations Line of Roman road
also occupies the lower slopes of the rising ground at The Mount, where the remarkable Roman decapitated bodies were found recently. Small wonder, then, that the very worst of a British summer could do little to dampen the enthusiasm of a young field team aware of such good potential! The excavation revealed up to 1.5m depth of Roman archaeology, which fell into four main phases spanning the entire Roman presence in Yorkshire. This underlay 1.5m of later deposits which had to be got through first; fortunately these were mainly the thick medieval plough-soils that survive as evidence for the origin of ‘Blossom Street’ in
the 13th century ‘Ploxwaingate’ (Street of the Ploughmen). These soils were removed by machine during the first week of the project, leaving the earlier material to be dug by hand. The earliest phase was dated to the late 1st century, and consisted of ditches and agricultural soils from the very beginnings of Eboracum. Similar early features have been found elsewhere nearby, and may eventually help to understand the early life of the city. Later ditches and a small road dated to the early 2nd century AD showed that the landscape had been re-organised fairly frequently, perhaps reflecting the development of the main route into the fortress.
One large rectangular pit, found in the southern corner of the trench, was very different. Much of the pottery within it was nearly complete, with fresh rather than worn breaks, and showed evidence of scorching. This may reflect ritual funerary activity, rather than the dumping (or re-dumping) of refuse, and is particularly interesting as the Roman cemetery and mausoleum found nearby at the ‘Lion and Lamb’ site was of similar date,
Below: Fragment of head pot
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possibly showing that this complex extended further to the north-west than was previously thought.
Bottom: Phase 2 spreads of industrial
The presence of a nearby cemetery featured heavily in the next phase of Roman activity, which consisted mainly of mid-late 3rd century levelling and ground-raising deposits. These deposits were once again full of abraded, re-deposited pottery, except that much of it was of types usually associated with burials, including fragments of headpots made in the kilns at Crambeck, between York and Malton. Interestingly, the late 2nd/ early 3rd ‘Lion and Lamb’ mausoleum was destroyed and its cemetery buried beneath rubbish during the mid-late 3rd century, which may explain the increase in disturbed funerary material apparent in this phase. A group of post-holes and patchy cobbled surfaces in one corner of the trench may also have hinted at a small building. There was a large gap in the sequence after this point, with the
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From the mid 2nd century to the early 3rd, the area was extensively altered by dumping large amounts of soil and domestic rubbish, amongst which were found a rare glass bangle and a bone spoon handle. These deposits raised the ground level by up to 0.5m and contained large amounts of pottery that had been broken up and abraded, possibly showing that the rubbish had been re-deposited from elsewhere. These deposits formed a fairly level platform for spreads of charcoal and a group of pits that may reflect nearby industrial activity, including metal working. Similar evidence of this date was found immediately north-east of the current trench at Forsellius Garage, reinforcing the theory that industrial activity must have taken place nearby.
16 yorkshire archaeology today White glass bangle and (right) bone spoon handle. Scale for both 2:1
next deposits producing mid-late 4th century pottery. It appeared that clearance had taken place, removing any evidence for late 3rd/ early 4th century activity, and creating open space for a large building. This was identified by a group of four large square post-holes packed with cobbles and clay to support large structural timbers in a rectangular configuration aligned south-west – northeast, parallel to the alignment of the main road. Immediately south-west of this building was its fairly well-made cobbled yard surface. Evidence for Roman buildings was found both by Peter Wenham and by YAT at Forsellius’ Garage, but they were earlier than the structure identified here. Unfortunately, nothing other than the post-holes had survived to explain the building’s purpose or precise form. The ‘Lion and Lamb’ cemetery had become re-established by this date, and it may be that our building was related to it, but frustratingly, further interpretation must remain speculative for now.
The blame for this appears to lie with the Normans, for the next phase of activity consisted of a wholesale clearance and ditches containing 11th-century pottery. These ditches ran perpendicular to the suggested Roman road line, perhaps demonstrating the continual relevance of this as a major thoroughfare. The archaeology suggested agricultural, ‘back-land’ activity such as rubbish pits and drainage channels, in marked contrast to the following phases of thick, homogenous ploughsoils that began to accumulate from the 12th century. It may be that this site has opened a tiny window on the immediate post-Norman conquest life of the city, but little light has fallen through it. Cut into the 1.4m thick medieval and postmedieval soils were the back walls and privy buildings of the 18th and 19th century houses built on Blossom Street, which were found immediately below the car-park surface. These buildings were identified as 38 and 40 Blossom Street, demolished in 1964 to make
17 yorkshire archaeology today Samian ware and Roman bone hairpins from the site
way for the office building that has now been converted into a hotel. It is gratifying, after a long wet summer, to find that our excavation has seemingly provided evidence to draw together the previous work in this area and understand it as a developing landscape rather than as a set of isolated sequences. It seems that the area was extensively raised throughout the Roman period with campaigns of rubbish dumping and levelling-off, which were interspersed with industrial and funerary activity taking place in close proximity to the main road into the fortress and, from the 3rd century, into the colonia. However, glaringly absent from our trench was any evidence for this road, which we had seemed certain to encounter. Spreads of cobbles and possible surfaces were identified throughout the sequence, but nothing with the solidity or scale of the road recorded by Peter Wenham. Although our trench was just south-east of the road-
line it was a surprise not to securely identify any direct evidence for it. Several theories have been suggested, including that the main roads were not necessarily the grand, monumental structures generally associated with Roman cities and fortresses. It may have been reduced by robbing in later periods, or moved from its original line (as indeed its modern successor, the A1036, has). It may be, however, that the current suggested road line is simply incorrect. Perhaps inevitably, the recent excavation has followed the typical archaeological pattern of posing as many questions as it has suggested answers for, and maybe this is a good thing. The current site may one day help us to understand the Blossom Street area, but having something important to go back for may help ensure this is eventually done. I hope the weather is better when we do. Ian Milsted
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Before the Normans at Kirkby Overblow Kirkby Overblow, first mentioned in Domesday Book, where it is called simply Cherchebi, ‘the village with the church’, lies four miles south-east of Harrogate on a south-facing gritstone ridge overlooking Wharfedale. The ‘Overblow’ element of its present name is first recorded in 1211 as Oreblowere, and is thought to relate to iron smelting. At the heart of the village stands All Saints church. There is documentary evidence that the church became collegiate before 1364, and was served by a provost and four chaplains; a 14th-century north transept survives, but otherwise the fabric is mainly post-medieval in date. The nave was reconstructed in 1780-81 after a major fire, and the chancel in1803; further renovation occurred in 1872. A supposed ‘Saxon doorway’ is set beneath a window in the external face of the nave north wall. Knaresborough A1 )
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Kirkby Overblow
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Kirkby Overblow
View of the nave during heating installation works
In February 2010 a watching brief was maintained inside the nave while preparatory works were undertaken to allow the installation of sub-floor heating. This necessitated the removal of 19th-century pews and timber flooring and the lifting of stone flags, followed by the digging out of all deposits down to a depth of 40cms. The earliest features found were an earth floor and several grave cuts. Only one skeleton was partially exposed, and it and the graves were left in situ. No evidence was found of any structures associated with the earth floor and
belonging to an earlier nave; various features and structural elements which relate to the late 18th-century rebuilding of the nave and its subsequent renovation were recorded. Most importantly, amongst the rubble below the modern floor was an irregularly shaped piece of pinkish-red sandstone measuring only some 15 x 20cms x 5-10 cms thick. What distinguishes this piece from all the other rubble is that one side, the only
It is likely that this unusual fragment originated at Kirkby Overblow rather than being brought in from elsewhere. Thus the watching brief has identified evidence that strongly suggests that there was a 10thcentury burial ground and church at Kirkby Overblow. This is the oldest well-dated piece of archaeological evidence for the church which, by the time that Domesday Book’s reference to Cherchebi was written in 1086, was already over a hundred years old.
Thanks to Professor Richard Bailey and Dr Elizabeth Coatsworth for their comments on the pre-Norman stone, to Dr Bruce Noble for information about the church, and to Stephen Calvert of Pearce Bottomley Architects for facilitating this work Ian Milsted and Richard Hall
Above: The Kirkby Overblow stone fragment. Right: Drawing of cross shaft fragment from All Saints Church Spofforth
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one to retain its original face, is decorated with relief carving. The ornament takes the form of interlacing loops; and this naturally leads to the suggestion that this is a piece of Anglian or AngloScandinavian stone carving from a memorial or grave marker of some sort. However, so small is the piece that, on its own, it would be difficult to conjecture what the decoration may have looked like. Fortunately, there is another stone at All Saints church Spofforth, just a few miles to the north-east, which has a broadly similar but more complete example of this form of decoration on one of the four faces of a cross shaft fragment. This has been dated on stylistic grounds to the 10th century; and provides a suggestion of both the date and form of the Kirkby Overblow fragment.
In the last issue of Yorkshire Archaeology Today, readers may have noticed there was a brief mention of a new YAT office (ArcHeritage) in Sheffield. Now we are fully up and running, it is a good time to explain our origins in a little more detail.
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ArcHERITAGE: YAT in SOUTH YORKSHIRE
In October 2009 ARCUS, the archaeological consultancy based within the University of Sheffield, was closed. YAT saw that bringing in some of the former ARCUS employees to create a new regional office in Sheffield, under the name ArcHeritage, would enable YAT to offer archaeological and heritage services more widely across the region, enhance the Trust’s client base, and make use of the expertise in industrial and historical archaeology which ARCUS staff had built up over the years. ArcHeritage staff at their new offices in Sheffield, 2009
ArcHeritage was established in November 2009 and we have been very busy ever since! We have secured a wide range of projects, from
desk-based assessments, field evaluations and building recording to English-Heritage funded research projects. Some of our most interesting project work has involved two multi-disciplinary projects at the Shepherd Wheel (Sheffield) and Padley Chapel (Derbyshire) which involve us working with conservation architects, ecologists, structural engineers and local community groups, and should generate some real public benefits.
Shepherd Wheel, Sheffield The very early stages of this project were reported in Yorkshire Archaeology Today No.18. Work at this 18th-century waterpowered grinding workshop is now well underway and there is more to report. The restoration of the dam (‘dam’ is a Sheffield term for the pond or body of water which feeds the water wheel) is now complete. The dam was drained, de-silted and re-lined, and once the sluice gates had been rebuilt the dam could be filled from the Porter Brook. While the dam was empty we recorded the internal face of the retaining wall. The next stage was to undertake the archaeological recording of the buildings themselves. Mark Johnston and Michael Andrews came down from York to describe the fabric and take a full set of photographs with a specially calibrated camera which we could then rectify to allow us to produce scaled drawings of the interior and exterior walls. Marcus Abbott and Katerina Knotova from the ArcHeritage office also undertook measured survey of the very complex interiors of the two buildings, which contain all the original grinding stones, troughs and pulleys for the transmission of power through the building. In addition, Marcus also completed a laser scan of the interior and exterior, to enhance the survey and photographic record; this gave us a complete 3-dimensional survey
scan of the Shepherds
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Results of a 3-D laser
yorkshire archaeology today
Wheel structure
of the whole structure, and will allow us to make very detail drawings and cross sections of the site, including the machinery. We were also responsible for coordinating some specialist investigations.
Dendrochronologist Ian Tyers advised us on the potential of the roof timbers for tree-ring dating. Although some of the timbers have been replaced, others are probably original and may help us to date the building. A specialist conservator from Hirst
Water-powered grinding wheels at Shepherd’s Wheel
Photo: Sheffield Industrial History Society
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Conservation also came to inspect the site, and gave advice on the suitability of sampling the mortar and wall paints. This will help us to phase the building (which may in fact have medieval origins) and will also help the council to choose suitable paint finishes for the refurbishment works.
will maintain a ‘watching brief ’ on the site, to record any new features as they are exposed during the works. Once the refurbishment works are complete the site will be open to the public and schools groups on a regular basis. New facilities and an interpretation area will also be built.
We are now about to embark upon a phase of interpretation works, being managed by Sarah Maltby. Our task is to create a suite of interpretation activities and materials for the site, as well as undertaking oral history interviews to record the memories of people who remember it during the last years of operation in the 1930s.
Wentworth Woodhouse
The conservation contractors are now on site and over the next few months will undertake a range of refurbishment works. This will include structural works, repainting, repair of the water wheel and grindstones and the manufacture of new leather drive belts to bring the site into full working order. We
ArcHeritage are undertaking archaeological recording works at the magnificent country house of Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire. This grand site is said to have the longest façade of a country house in England. The house is more complex than it appears, however. The huge stone-built east façade, which can be seen from the public footpath through the parkland, was in fact the second frontage of the house. The East Front was commissioned in the 1730s when the owner, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, apparently became dissatisfied with the West Front, which at that
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time was not quite complete. The West Front, which faces the gardens and the village, had been a major alteration to an even earlier house on the site. The West Front is built mainly of brick, with decorative stonework. The house has had an interesting history. Between 1949 and 1974 it was leased from the family by West Riding County Council, to house The Lady Mabel College of Physical Education. This followed an attempt by the Ministry of Health to requisition the house in order to provide accommodation for homeless families. After 1974 the college became part of the Sheffield City Polytechnic, now Sheffield Hallam University. Following a period of decline the house is now under new ownership and is undergoing an extensive programme of refurbishment. ArcHeritage staff have been undertaking archaeological recording during the installation of new services through the grounds and house. Recent work in the grounds has revealed evidence for garden features and fragments of huge 18th century planters.
Dinnington Cross A watching brief was undertaken at New Street, Dinnington, South Yorkshire, during the re-siting of a medieval cross. The remains of the stone cross have been residing at the side of a private driveway for the last 30 years. The original location of the two-metre high limestone cross is a matter of some debate; it may have originally been positioned close to St Leonard’s Church, but some local sources suggest other locations for it. However, it was thought to have been moved at some point in the 19th century, and housing has been built up around it in the last few decades. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council decided that the site was inappropriate and agreed to fund its relocation. The cross was recorded before being carefully lifted and moved to a special platform at Falconer Square, near to St Leonard’s Church, where it can be seen much more easily. An interpretation panel is also being produced by ArcHeritage, to provide more information to visitors.
Dinnington Cross, prior to its re-siting
Student Placement We have hosted our first work placement this year. Katerina Knotova joined us for a 13-week placement on the Leonardo da Vinci scheme. Katerina is an architecture student in Prague, specialising in historic buildings, and is due to embark upon her Masters degree in September 2010. Katerina helped us with a number of projects, including some Czech translation for Micklegate Bar. She also spent some time digging at Hungate, which she thoroughly enjoyed!
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NEW PUBLICATION
yorkshire archaeology today
The Best Years of Our Lives?
Secondary Education in York 1900–1985 by Van Wilson YAT’s latest oral history publication will be published in October 2010 to mark the 25th anniversary of the reorganisation of secondary schools in York to comprehensives. Fifteen schools are studied to represent the breadth and variety which existed in secondary education, with a combination of male and female voices. Considerable historical research and rich illustrations, together with a glossary of all of York’s secondary schools, make this book an informative and fascinating read. Foreword by Dame Janet Baker, highly acclaimed opera singer and formerly Chancellor of York University, who attended York College for Girls, one of the schools featured in the book. ‘The Best Years of Our Lives? Secondary Education in York 1900-1985’ by Van Wilson (2010) York Archaeological Trust Oral History Series: 4 227 pages, 170 black and white photographs ISBN 978-1 874454 49 6
ALSO AVAILABLE ‘Stonegate Voices’ by Van Wilson (2009) York Archaeological Trust Oral History Series: 3 304 pages, 167 black and white photographs ISBN 9781 874454 441 ‘Rations, Raids and Romance: York in the Second World War’ by Van Wilson (2008) York Archaeological Trust Oral History Series: 2 232 pages, 134 black and white photographs ISBN 9781 874454 427 ‘Rich in All but Money: Life in Hungate 1900-1938’ by Van Wilson (2007) York Archaeological Trust Oral History Series: 1 158 pages, 60 black and white photographs ISBN 978 1 874454 403158
School milk at break time, 1950s (York City Archives); Nunthorpe Art Room, 1950 (Millthorpe School); Cricket Team,1888 (Archbishop Holgate’s School)
All £9.99 (£11.99 including postage and packing). Available from Christine Kyriacou, York Archaeological Trust, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX Tel: 01904 663006 Email: ckyriacou@yorkat.co.uk Also available from JORVIK shop and local bookshops.
JOIN THE
FRIENDS OF YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST FRIENDS OF YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST receive: YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGY TODAY and YAT Annual Report Free, unlimited entry to YAT attractions
AUTUMN EVENTS at DIG, BARLEY HALL & THE MANSION HOUSE Friday 8th October
Blood, Gore and More: life as a 17thcentury surgeon with Marty Young and Russell Marwood 7.30 pm, Barley Hall. £5 per ticket, £4 conc.
Thursday October 21st
Broadside: A look at naval firepower through the ages with Ian Panter 7.15 for 7.30 pm start. The Mansion House, St Helen’s Square. £5 per ticket. £4 conc.
10% discount in the DIG shop and on the training dig 30% discount on all the Trust’s academic publications when purchased direct (one of each publication per person) A programme of visits, day schools, lectures, site tours and social events. By joining you will be contributing directly to the work of York Archaeological Trust. The Friends donate every penny of profit directly to the Trust to further its important work.
23rd – 31st October
Ghoul School
10am–4pm, Micklegate Bar, normal admission prices.
27th October
Fascinating Funereal Finds with Pete Connolly
7pm, DIG, £6 adult, £5 conc. / Friends of YAT. Includes light refreshments.
27th, 30th, 31st October
Membership rates Adult
£19.00 pa
Joint Adult (2 adults at same address)
£27.00 pa
Family (2 adults and all children at same address) £31.00 pa Over 60s
£17.00 pa
Joint over 60s
£23.00 pa
Student in full-time education
£17.00 pa
Overseas member (sterling)
£30.00 pa
Life membership (single)
£200.00
Life membership (couple)
£250.00
To join The Friends, send a cheque payable to FOYAT to: The Friends, York Archaeological Trust, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX
Ghost Tour of York Mansion House 6.30pm,York Mansion House, £5.50 adult, £4.50 conc.
28th and 31st October
Haunted Hall
Suitable for families and under 12s. Every twenty minutes from 6pm – 8pm: ring for details, Barley Hall, £6 adult, £4 conc. Includes hot chocolate.
29th October
Medieval Mysteries
Suitable for adults and older children. 7pm / 8.30pm, Barley Hall, £10 adult, £8 conc. Includes mulled wine. For more information & to book call 01904 615505 or visit www.jorvikbookings.com
ANNUAL ARCHAEOLOGY and HISTORY FAIR The York Archaeological Trust Annual Archaeology and History Fair takes place on Saturday 9th October this year at the Guildhall in central York. This year you will be able to hear talks about archaeological projects that have taken place in and around York, carried out by both professionals and community groups. There is also the opportunity to see stalls from many local community groups as well as buying books from many of the country’s archaeological and historical book sellers.
FREE ADMISSION 10am - 4pm THE GUILDHALL, YORK SATURDAY 9th OCTOBER
In this issue...
www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk