Watching Brief at Road improvements - Fosse Way Sharnford

During the single 80 metre square trench evaluation, modern hardstanding, overburden and soil was removed in level spits under continuous archaeological supervision down to the uppermost archaeological deposits or the natural substratum, depending on which was reached first. This was carried out with a 5 ton 360� Kubota U48-4 mechanical digger using a 1.6m wide toothless ditching bucket. The trench was stepped or battered where necessary for safety. A Roman floor was reached 1.8m below present ground level. Demolition material dated to the late Roman period and suggested that the building was fairly substantial including a tiled roof, painted walls and a possible hypocaust. Over the Roman building, a gravel surface 1.6m below the ground was probably the remains of Black Friars Lane. A thick layer of medieval and post-medieval garden soil separated the medieval street from its 19th-century successor, Charlotte Street which was observed 0.6m below the ground. Charlotte Street was sealed beneath made ground associated with the construction of the Great Central Railway viaduct in the 1890s.