Archaeological investigations at Cathedral Square, Worcester

Between March and August 2015, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service undertook a programme of archaeological excavation and watching brief observation within the confines of the former roundabout at the junction of the High Street and College Street in the centre of Worcester (NGR SO 8505 5460). This took place prior to alteration of the road layout and the creation of a public square at the southern end of the High Street. The redevelopment works were considered to have high potential to affect archaeological remains of significance, being within the central area of the Roman and Saxon town as well as the medieval and post-medieval city. The site also spanned an important historic boundary, with the cathedral precinct to the south and the residential and commercial centre to the north, separated by Lich Street which ran through the centre of the site. The project was designed to mitigate the effects of construction and not to undertake unnecessary work. Numerous archaeological deposits were, therefore, left unexcavated and preserved in situ below the construction formation level; only limited investigation of deeper stratigraphy was possible. The archaeological investigation still revealed evidence of activity dating from the Roman to the modern period however, with, in particular, extensive evidence of structural remains dating from the later 18 th until the early 20 th century. These included a number of historic properties on either side of Lich Street. Detailed documentary research has made it possible in many cases to identify the individual properties and in whose ownership and/or use these were, often as far back as the medieval period. Some structures had been extensively rebuilt, others had no cellars, and in places earlier deposits and structures had survived despite numerous phases of redevelopment. The earlier remains comprised Roman deposits dating from the 2 nd century onwards and a series of features and deposits of medieval, late medieval and post-medieval date (11 th to 18 th century). On the south side of Lich Street, these included graveyard soils and in situ burials of the former cathedral lay cemetery, with later well-built sandstone wall foundations of medieval date cutting through. The structural remains represent the initial urban development of the edge of the burial ground, established by the cathedral to take advantage of commercial opportunities along the through-route of Lich Street. Pottery finds and stratigraphic relationships, as well as historical information on the construction of properties in this location, suggest that the burials pre-dated the late 13 th century. To the north of the street, one property in particular (No. 5) exhibited an earlier deposit sequence, comprising medieval soil deposits and a construction trench packed with compacted rubble to provide the foundation for a substantial structure dating to the 11 th to mid-14 th century. In addition, close to the street frontage, a large pit contained the most significant group of finds from the site. The majority of these could be tightly dated to between the late 16 th and early th 17 century and included items imported from the continent and rare fine quality vessel glass, probably having been discarded from a high-status residence. Complementary to the archaeological investigation, a wider component of this project was focused upon outreach and community engagement. The visibility of the site in a key area of the city centre and the nature of the remains (well-preserved brick building foundations and cellars for buildings fronting Lich Street), were of considerable interest to the community, being a rare opportunity for the public to engage directly with an archaeological project in the centre of Worcester.