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Summary

Excavation of two sites on Blue Bridge Lane and Fishergate House was undertaken between July 2000 and July 2002 in advance of development; this publication reports on various studies which includes the presentation of Anglian archaeology of national and international significance and medieval archaeology of regional significance.

Prehistoric finds were scarce, and no pre-Roman features were identified. The earliest features on the site dated to the Roman period, and allowed for the reconstruction of the Roman landscape of this area of Fishergate. A road ran north-south immediately to the east of the site, and one of the flanking ditches was encountered in a number of trenches. A cremation and inhumation cemetery was established on both sides of this road, probably in use from the 1st to the 3rd centuries; both types of burial were encountered during excavation. These burials appear to have been delimited by a series of ditches, which also demarcate field systems and tracks between Fishergate and the Rivers Ouse and Foss.

Roman occupation declined after the mid-3rd century, and reoccupation did not occur until the late 7th century, when an Anglian settlement was established on the eastern banks of the Foss. Excavation encountered features which may be associated with the 7th to 9th century settlement of Eoforwic, and included evidence for trade, in the form of imported pottery, stone objects and coins, and for craft-working, including bone-, antler-, and horn-working waste, metal-working, and evidence for textile production. Although no extensive structural evidence was revealed and less intensive occupation was encountered, pit groups may represent the disposal of rubbish and cess relating to individual properties or groups of properties. Zooarchaeological material was similar to other 'wic' sites, and reflected a limited diet, likely to have originated from centrally redistributed food rent. Subtle differences were detected between the current site and the nearby 46-54 Fishergate and suggested that some small-scale animal husbandry and fishing was practised. In addition to evidence for occupation, it seems the settlement may have had an associated cemetery; one of the earliest burials at Fishergate House has been radiocarbon-dated to the mid-8th century.

The site was reoccupied by the late 10th century, albeit on a much less intense scale. A single sunken-featured building was excavated, which contained evidence for domestic occupation, and several associated pits were used for the disposal of domestic rubbish. Pre-Conquest occupation was also detected but was not well-defined. During this period, however, a more significant change seems to have occurred on the site of Fishergate House, with the establishment of a burial ground, and in all likelihood, an associated church. Four burials have been dated to between AD 920 and AD 1035. Documentary research has led to the suggestion that this activity can be linked to the known Anglo-Danish foundation of St Helen's, Fishergate, previously thought to have been situated on the eastern side of Fishergate.

In the post-Conquest period, activity was dominated by nearby ecclesiastical foundations; the route of Blue Bridge Lane marked the southern limit of the precinct of the Gilbertine priory of St Andrews, and excavations encountered evidence for early high status occupation and later industrial activity. The remains of a pottery kiln and a large quantity of wasters provided evidence for the production of Humberware-type pottery on the site.

To the south of Blue Bridge Lane, part of an intensively-used medieval cemetery of 14th to 15th century date was excavated, and the remains of over 240 articulated burials were identified. The cemetery contained burials of men and women and unusually high percentages of children, including a number of infants and babies.

Following the Dissolution of the Priory, and the abandonment of the cemetery, sporadic and disorganised activity was encountered, followed by orchards and pasturage, and eventually to high status houses of the early 19th century. Later, the site on Blue Bridge Lane was used for a variety of purposes, including the establishment of a cinema, replaced by the Mecca Bingo in the 1960s.

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