Excavation: Introduction

Cecily Spall and Nicky Toop

The archaeological remains identified during the investigations have been divided into nine principal phases, which span the Roman period to the modern day, and have provided valuable information regarding the development and land-use in this part of the city. For some periods it was possible to further divide a number of these periods into sub-phases based on enhanced stratigraphic information and in some cases ceramic dating. Detailed digests of feature-type, description, formation and further technical archaeological reporting of the features relating to each period, can be found in the Field Report, while more general and comparative accounts by period are presented here.

Period Summaries
Period	Phase	Activity	Date	Ceramic spot date
1	-	migratory occupation	Mesolithic+	-
2	-	cemetery, road and field system	L1 to M3	1.2+ to 3.1
3	-	occupation and craft-working	L7 to M9	8.1
4	-	structures and occupation	L9 to M11	10.2 to 11.2
5	-	scattered pit digging	L11 to L12	12.1 to 12.2
6	-	structures and organised refuse disposal from priory, ?cemetery laid out and consecrated	L12 to M14	12.3 to 14.2
7	A	refuse disposal, continued burial	E to M14	14.2
	B	clay quarrying and pottery production	M14	14.2
	C	dismantling of kiln, levelling of kiln and quarry pits	M to L14	14.2/14.3
8	A	landscaping of industrial areas and division of precinct	L14	14.3 to 15.1
8	B	light industry, continued demarcation of precinct activity, cemetery contracts, but with continued burial	L14 to E16	15.1 to 16.1
9	A	dissolution, orchard soils, some demarcation of property boundaries burial ceases	M16 to M18	16.2 to 18.2
	B	construction of Freshfields Cottage and ancillary buildings, Fishergate Villa and Fishergate House	L18 to M19	-
	C	development of Fishergate frontage including demolition of Fishergate Villa	M19 to L20	-
	D	demolition of Freshfields Cottage, construction of modern buildings including City Picture House and The Rialto	20	-

Evidence relating to prehistory (Period 1), the Roman period (Period 2), the Anglian settlement (Period 3), Anglo-Scandinavian occupation (Period 4) are discussed individually, and present periods of increasing and declining activity in the area of Blue Bridge Lane, charted over the first millennium AD.

From the 8th century, the site of Fishergate House is known to have been used for burial; the development of this cemetery and its possible association with the documented Church of St Helen are discussed together as The Cemetery.

The burial ground at Fishergate House, although immediately adjacent to the known site of the Priory of St Andrew, has been identified as a lay cemetery that would have been distinct from activity associated with the Priory. Some activity relating to the priory has been identified as belonging to Period 5, but the main phases of industry and occupation on the site span Periods 6 to 8.

Following the Dissolution, the land on which the site was constructed fell into disuse, and the history of the site from this period until the modern day has been assigned to Period 9, which has been subdivided into Period 9A , represented by evidence for disuse of the Priory and use of the land for horticultural or arable purposes, Period 9B and Period 9C, which chart the development of the site as a residential area, and Period 9D, which was assigned to evidence for activity that has shaped the site during the 20th century.

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