Archaeological Investigations on Land off South Street, Durham

A Specification for the archaeological evaluation was prepared by the Archaeology Section, Durham County Council. The evaluation comprised the investigation of two linear trenches, one (Trench 1) on the wooded higher ground in the central northern portion of the site and the other (Trench 2) on the asphalt area towards the South Street frontage. Subsequent to the evaluation, archaeological monitoring of four geotechnical test-pits was undertaken in November 2005 The archaeological evaluation at the proposed development site on South Street has demonstrated the presence of significant archaeological remains of medieval and postmedieval date within both evaluation trenches. In Trench 1, a palaeosol probably representing a buried ancient landsurface was encountered towards the western end of the trench at a depth of c. 2.60m below present ground level. It can be tentatively suggested that such a deposit has the potential to contain evidence of premedieval archaeological activity at the site, as well as possible palaeoenvironmental information. The palaeosol in Trench 1 was overlain by a sequence of deposits of medieval origin, these having a combined thickness of c. 1.35m. Given the keyhole nature of the investigations, it is not clear whether these deposits represent exclusively horizontal strata, such as dump deposits, occupation layers and developed soils, or the fills of intercutting features, such as pits and ditches; a combination of the two is entirely possible, as is typical of deeply stratified archaeological deposits in an urban setting. This stratigraphy, lying at a depth of c. 1.25m below present ground level in the north-western portion of the site, is of high archaeological significance. In Trench 2, archaeological features of medieval date were exposed cut into the natural substratum at a depth of c. 0.40m-0.60m below present ground level. At least two phases of medieval activity were recorded, represented by a small pit or posthole and part of a far more substantial feature, either a pit or an east-west aligned boundary ditch. Despite the lack of horizontal stratigraphy of medieval origin in Trench 1, presumably due to post-medieval and modern landscaping of the eastern portion of the site, this activity is also of high archaeological significance. Notwithstanding the keyhole nature of the investigations, and the sample nature of excavation of features thus exposed, an assemblage of 163 sherds of medieval pottery was recovered from the evaluation trenches. Of perhaps the greatest significance amongst this material is a small group of coarse gritted, possibly Saxo-Norman wares, which could indicate 11th century activity on the site. Excavated evidence relating to activity of such an early date is extremely rare in Durham. Broadly speaking, the majority of the ceramic assemblage was of 12th-13th century type, with a small quantity of later medieval material. Further research and analysis of the ceramic group on its own would not be productive, as the assemblage is - in relative terms - small and the material fragmented. However, the assemblage does highlight the potential importance of any further archaeological work at the site for pottery studies in Durham. A well stratified pottery sequence from Durham of the late 11th-13th centuries would have great value in clarifying the ceramic sequence for the medieval town, with the added value of the material being from defined properties.28 Although only a small faunal assemblage was recovered during the investigations, the presence of this material demonstrates the potential for survival of organic material within medieval deposits at the site. The value of a stratified faunal remains assemblage is that it can provide important information about subsistence and economy in the medieval period in this part of Durham.