Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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Intensity of occupation at the site is not well-defined in the post-Conquest period (Figure 30). A number of features have been assigned tentatively to this period due to the presence of specific pottery types, although allocation to Period 5 by pottery alone is difficult for a number of reasons. Ceramic assessment found that many features contained pottery which was not used later than the mid-12th century, although in many cases only single sherds were recovered, and many were small and abraded in secondary contexts, predominantly posthole backfills. A large number of these features have been allocated to later phases, since they clearly belonged in alignments within later structures, or were probably associated with nearby later features. In addition, some wares, such as Stamford, Gritty, and Beverley Wares, can belong either to periods earlier than the late 11th century, or later than the mid-12th. Indeed, some features which appeared to belong to Period 5 on the basis of pottery dates contained CBM forms which date from the late 12th century onwards. Consequently, allocation to this period has not been undertaken on pottery dates alone, and stratigraphic and spatial relationships, the quantity of pottery contained within features, and the later date provided by CBM, have also been considered.
Figure 30. Location of Period 5 features (Interactive SVG image)
The resulting Period 5 feature map does not indicate any particular hotspots of activity, although the identified features might be considered precursors to activity of the early monastic Period 6. Distribution of Period 5 features shows that Period 6 features follow wherever the possible post-Conquest features have been identified. However, this apparent pattern of pit clusters shared between Period 5 and 6 may relate more to the problems of secure dating evidence for the post-Conquest period than a real archaeological period. An analysis of features which belonged potentially to an early Norman phase was undertaken in order to detect a possible phase of activity equivalent to Period 4 identified at 46-54 Fishergate, which was thought to pertain to the first church at the site. Some graves within the cemetery at Fishergate House contained pottery potentially of this date, although for the purposes of description and in the absence of more reliable dating evidence, this is discussed within Periods 7 and 8.
Within Fishergate House, a series of features could be more confidently dated to the post-Conquest period, since they contained the restricted Splashed Glazed Wares, alongside the longer-lived wares listed above. Additionally, the succeeding periods saw less intense activity, apart from grave-digging, and less residuality and recycling of domestic material was present. A concentration of activity was encountered close to the southern limits of Intervention 4 and more extensive archaeology of this period may lie in the area. No activity of this date was encountered within the bounds of Intervention 1 apart from graves which are considered to contain residual material. Features allocated to this period within Fishergate House included scattered rubbish pits and boundary ditches.
A small shallow gully, F228F, was identified and excavated in Intervention 4 (Figure 31). The feature measured 0.25m wide x 0.06m deep, was orientated east-west, and was visible for a length of 2.0m where it continued beyond the eastern limit of the intervention. It had been backfilled with a plastic dark greyish-brown silty clay (C1429F) (Figure 32). The gully could be seen as a boundary marker to a concentration of activity, possibly including structures, to the south, although in such a restricted area it was not possible to establish whether this was a real distribution. To the immediate north of F228F was a truncated pit, F227F. F227F was circular in plan, measuring c.1.0m in diameter x 0.4m in depth with a steep-sided profile over a flat base; its backfill consisted of a brown silty clay (C1428F). Both features had been truncated by a later grave and only Roman ceramic was recovered from F227F. However, it is hard to see F227F as an isolated Roman pit, and since F228F and F227F appeared to respect one another, it has been allocated to Period 5.
Figure 31. Fishergate House Period 5 features, post-excavation (Interactive SVG image)
Figure 32. Fishergate House Period 5 features, section portfolio (Interactive SVG image)
A
small suite of features lay to the south of F227F/F228F, comprising two intercutting
pits, F215F and F214F, and a square posthole in a large construction cut,
F241F and F242F (see Figure 31). F214F was identified as a large sub-circular
pit measuring 1.50m x 1.25m x 0.5m, but continuing beyond the southern limit
of the intervention. Upon excavation, the feature was found to cut possible
Period 2 grave F213F. A total of thirty-four sherds of Gritty Ware pottery
was recovered from the feature's single backfill. C1404F, a dark greyish-brown
clayey sand, alongside residual Period 2 and 4 ceramic and one sherd of glazed
red earthenware of the late 16th to 17th century, is presumed to be intrusive.
F241F was first seen as sub-circular feature and upon excavation, proved
to have vertical sides onto a flat base. The backfill consisted of disordered
stones set in dark grey clayey sand (C1450F). The dimensions of F241F suggest
the presence of a squared timber, which had been inserted into a large construction
pit, F242F. F242F could only be partially excavated as it was cut by a later
sewer pipe, but upon excavation, a sequence of sandy clays and silts backfilled
around a suggested post in F241F were identified. Pit F214F cut the backfilled
construction cut of F241F (F242F), but while the excavation of F214F clearly
post-dated the construction of the posthole, the two features could well
have been contemporaneous, particularly since F214F did not appear to have
affected post F241F or its packing, only the wider construction cut (Plate
60, right).
Nonetheless, some sequence was detected in the complex, since F215F cut F214F to its southwest. F215F was identified as a smaller pit measuring 1.0m in diameter and 0.54m deep, but continuing beneath the southern limit of excavation. In profile, the pit appeared as a steep-sided cut with a broad flat base cut into subsoil. The feature had been backfilled on three occasions with a sandy clay, C1490F, a redeposited subsoil, C1489F, and a clayey silt containing stone rubble C1405F/C1419F. The backfills contained Gritty Ware and Splashed Glazed Ware pottery as well as residual Roman and Stamford Ware pottery.
Within Intervention 15 at Blue Bridge Lane, few features have been identified as representing Period 5 occupation; to the west, two postholes were identified with Period 5 ceramic within their backfills, although ceramic assessment considered them to be residual and they have been grouped into later periods (F163B and F304B). To the west, only two postholes (F262B and F264B) and an isolated rubbish pit (F216B) have been identified; to the east, a small scatter of rubbish pits and postholes have been identified (F127B, F129B, F255B, F258B, F265B, F266B and F272B) (see Figure 30). The group cannot be associated clearly with structural activity, and the features may simply contain sherds relating to the period after the mid-12th century; their distribution would appear to adumbrate a hot spot of activity in the succeeding periods.
The western features within Intervention 15 were characterised by two small postholes (F262B and F264B) and a truncated isolated pit, F216B (Figure 33); all of the features belonging to this period appeared to have been heavily truncated (Figure 34). The two possible posthole features were defined close to a modern concrete stanchion base, F169B, and were cut by two Period 6 rubbish pits, F251B and F252B; both of the features had survived in a truncated state, but F264B was contaminated with unspecified hydrocarbons and no further excavation was possible.
Figure 33. Blue Bridge Lane Period 5 features, post-excavation (Interactive SVG image)
Figure 34. Blue Bridge Lane Period 5 features, section portfolio (Interactive SVG image)
To the east of these features, a small pit (F216B) was identified and excavated. F216B was identified as a well-defined oval feature and upon excavation, proved to be shallow with gently sloping sides, measuring 1.70m x 1.40m x 0.10m. The pit had been backfilled once with C1407B, a dark brown sandy clay which contained York Gritty Ware and North Yorkshire Gritty Ware. Admittedly, both wares date to after the mid-12th century, but the pit has been tentatively allocated to Period 5 due to the absence of CBM, which becomes almost ubiquitous in Period 6.
Six features which appeared to belong to Period 5 were identified in the eastern area of Intervention 15 at Blue Bridge Lane (F179B, F272B, F255B, F258B, F265B and F266B) (see Figure 33). F179B, a posthole, was the easternmost feature and was isolated. The posthole proved to be truncated and contained a single backfill from which a sherd of residual Pingsdorf Ware jar and a sherd of Gritty Ware were recovered (see Figure 34). F272B was a well-defined sub-square truncated pit measuring 1.2m x 1.05m, which cut Period 3 pit F273B and may have been associated with a nearby undated posthole, F258B. Upon excavation, it proved to be no deeper than c.0.30m and contained a single backfill, C1644B, which comprised largely redeposited subsoil. Residual Roman pottery, Northern Maxey Ware, presumably redeposited from F273B, residual Stamford Ware as well as a sherd of Staxton Ware were recovered, suggesting a mid-12th century date for the backfilling of the feature. The six grams of plain roof tile also recovered might suggest a later date, but the quantity is too small to be considered a reliable indicator.
To the north of F272B, two groups of intercutting features were identified. The westernmost group comprised two pits, F265B cutting F266B. F266B was defined as a sub-rectangular pit with vertical sides and a flat base, measuring 1.3m x 1.4m x 0.55m, although its northeastern edge had been removed by a modern concrete foundation F126B. The pit had been backfilled on one occasion with C1279B, which contained York Splashed Glaze Ware and York Glazed Ware as well as residual Period 3 ceramic. F266B was cut by a smaller sub-circular pit F265B, which measured 0.60m in diameter and upon excavation, proved to be c.0.20m deep. The pit had been backfilled on two occasions with C1609B, a greenish-grey clayey-silt, followed by C1278B, a final backfill of greyish-brown clayey silt. No ceramic was recovered, although a quantity of residual Roman brick and 2 grams of plain roof tile were hand-collected.
To the east of this group, a severely truncated and isolated pit was identified, F255B. F255B cut Period 4 posthole/pit, F256B, and was identified as a heavily truncated small sub-rectangular pit, 1.1m in diameter and 0.45m in depth. The feature was unremarkable, backfilled once with a brown clayey-silt, C1567B, which contained a sherd of York Gritty Ware.
An isolated pit and posthole, F555B and F556B, were identified within Intervention 24, sealed by Period 6 structural activity and containing residual Period 2 and 3 ceramic, as well as a sherd of York Gritty Ware. F555B was defined as a sub-oval pit and upon excavation, proved to be truncated with sides sloping gently onto a concave base. It has consequently been allocated to Period 5, but apart from demonstrating activity to the north, is unremarkable.
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