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ARCHAEOLOGY SERVICE - Hot
off the Spade - Spring 2003
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Again the focus of archaeological attention has been on the city
centre and its immediate surroundings. Work has particularly concentrated
on the medieval defences.Remains of the city wall, which were partly levelled in the 1970s, were recorded (and have been preserved in situ) at 31/33 Friar Street, as part of a watching brief during housing development (Cotswold Archaeology). At County Mills, Dolday (the former Countrywide Farmers), a small length of the city wall was exposed in a lift pit. Following discussion with the developers, the lift position was moved and the remains, which are well below the raised floor of the building, but above the local ground level, have been preserved. At 16/18 Sansome Street, evaluation and subsequent recording in advance of a housing development (Mike Napthan Archaeology) revealed the inner edge and upper fills of the city ditch. There were no surviving remains of the city wall on this site, though the site boundary probably follows the wall line, with the ditch and wall separated by a wide berm. On the inner edge of the ditch were a number of steep-sided features, cut into the natural sand and containing large assemblages of pottery, clay pipes, glass and other material dating to the later 17th or early 18th centuries. The features await further analysis but may be associated with Civil War defensive works. A limited field evaluation at 4-5 Cornmarket (Mike Napthan Archaeology), in advance of housing development, recorded part of the city wall, including a semicircular bastion which was exposed by demolitions in the 1970s. The visible core of the bastion, and the upper part of the wall, were rebuilt at that time. The evaluation showed that the bastion was probably originally circular in plan, and hollow; the inner part of the structure had been robbed. The city wall had been cut into a pre-existing bank made up of alternating bands of clayey and loamy soil, the material presumably coming from a contemporary ditch, now under the City Walls Road; a similar makeup for the bank has been recorded on other sites. The bank survives to almost the same height as the city wall stonework, immediately below the mid 20th century floor of a grain store building which is to be demolished. Nearly all of the finds from the bank were Roman in date, reflecting the known extent of Roman occupation in this area. Below the bank was a 'dark earth' cultivation soil, and below that a series of Roman layers, of 1st-2nd century date, including a substantial deposit of pottery, iron slag and partly fired clay. The evaluation of this site was greatly helped by the presence of a 19th century brick culvert which had cut through the bank and passed under the city wall, leaving a clean vertical section. At 9 New Street, evaluation trenching in advance of a housing development (Worcestershire Archaeological Service) revealed what was probably the tail of the medieval bank, close to the city wall. The remains of a medieval stone cellar were also found, incorporated into an 18th century brick cellar, and set well back from the street frontage. The Public Inquiry into the 1996-2011 Local Plan for Worcester started in January. Discussions on archaeological matters have concentrated in particular on two scheduled earthwork sites - Middle Battenhall on the south side of Worcester, and Earl's Court to the west. While both are significant and interesting monuments, background research for Middle Battenhall in particular has drawn attention to the very high quality of the early 16th century documentary records, not just for the fishponds, surveyed and published by Mick Aston, and the deerpark, but also for what was evidently a high status country house. Prior More's journals for 1518-35 were published by the Worcestershire Historical Society at the beginning of the 20th century, and describe in detail expenditure on the estate, including reglazing with stained and clear glass and other works in advance of a visit by the 9-year-old Princess Mary in 1526. Development work on the Urban Archaeological Database is now complete and the record is now being used to respond to enquiries to the Historic Environment Record. This is available for consultation at The Commandery, by appointment, while email enquiries can be sent to archaeology@cityofworcester.gov.uk. We have recently agreed a programme with English Heritage for the next phase of the project, which will include characterisation studies of the archaeological resource in the whole of the area covered by the City Council (both above and below ground), a summary research overview, which will be designed to fit with the West Midlands Archaeological Research Framework, and an archaeological strategy for Worcester. |
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