South Street, Durham, County Durham
NZ 2712 4236; Aaron Goode and Robin Taylor-Wilson; evaluation and watching brief; October 2005; SSD 05
An archaeological evaluation and watching brief were undertaken on land off South Street, Durham. The work was commissioned by Simons Design Limited on behalf of Kingslodge Developments Limited. The site is proposed for residential development.
A previous archaeological desk based-assessment identified the potential for archaeological remains, particularly from the medieval and post-medieval periods. The site lies to the south of the junction between Crossgate and South Street in the historic Old Borough of Durham, west of the peninsula. It is bounded to the north, south and west by burial grounds of the church of St. Margaret of Antioch. During the medieval period, settlement in this part of the city probably centred on the church, immediately to the north of the site. Historically, South Street was part of the Great North Road and there is documentary evidence for occupation along the street from as early as the late 12th century. By the mid 13th century, tenements had been demarcated along many streets in the Old Borough.
The evaluation comprised the investigation of two linear trenches, the first (Trench 1) on wooded higher ground in the central northern portion of the site and the second (Trench 2) on a lower tarmacced area at the South Street frontage. Subsequent to the evaluation, archaeological monitoring of four geotechnical test-pits was undertaken.
In Trench 1, natural sand was overlain by a soil horizon, from which no artefactual material was recovered, which in turn was overlain by a deposit that produced pottery of 12th-13th century date. This was overlain by two deposits, with a combined thickness of more than 1.0m, which produced a significant assemblage of medieval pottery, broadly 12th-14th century. A sandstone and brick structure occupied the eastern portion of Trench 1. This comprised a brick floor enclosed by brick walls, built into a sandstone wall, which abutted a less substantial sandstone wall. The date of origin of these structural remains is unclear but the later elements are probably those shown as a 'malt house' on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map. Levelling deposits of modern date overlay the structural remains, with topsoil the uppermost deposit across the whole of Trench 1.
In Trench 2, a small pit in the northern part of the trench produced pottery of 13th century date. To the south was a much larger feature, either a substantial pit or a ditch, which produced pottery dating from the 12th-14th centuries. It had been truncated by the construction cut for a sandstone wall, one of five recorded in the central portion of the trench. These remains, which were probably of post-medieval origin, could represent buildings fronting South Street shown on 19th century mapping. A concrete floor occupied the northern end of the trench and modern levelling deposits formed the uppermost deposits in Trench 2, overlain by a tarmac surface.
A relatively large assemblage (163 sherds) of medieval pottery was recovered during the evaluation. Of perhaps the greatest significance 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.
Archaeological monitoring of a geotechnical test-pit in the south western portion of the site recorded natural sand overlain by two deposits of post-medieval date, underlying topsoil. A similar sequence of deposits was recorded in the western part of the former garden area, where natural sand and a substantial feature of post-medieval date - possibly a rubble-filled pit - were observed. Two other test-pits, in the vicinity of the two evaluation trenches, recorded no additional information of note.
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