York Historic Environment Record

A programme of archaeological investigation was undertaken by volunteers from Dunnington Through The Ages Archaeology Group supervised by On Site Archaeology at South Farm, Kexby, on behalf of Dunnington Through The Ages Archaeology Group. York Young Archaeologists Club and members of other York community archaeology groups provided additional help. The work was funded by a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative. The Local Heritage Initiative is a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency. The trial trenching supervised by On Site Archaeology was part of a wider programme of investigation that included aerial photograph study, fieldwalking, and both gradiometer and resistivity geophysical surveys. The programme was developed by Dunnington Through The Ages Archaeology group in consultation with On Site Archaeology and York City Archaeologist John Oxley. The early phases of work had identified two circular enclosures and a more linear cropmark; all of possible prehistoric date, for which trial trenching would help determine the nature and date. Other targets for investigation became evident as the resistivity survey and the trial trenching progressed. The trial trenching was conducted in three phases over 14 days from 10th-13th September 2004, 1st-4th April 2005, and 5th-10th August 2005. Six trenches comprising a total area of approximately 550 square metres were investigated. A number of archaeologically significant features were revealed during the work. The larger circular crop-mark was revealed to be a large ring ditch for a hengiform type monument. The smaller of the two circular crop-marks was found to be a penannular ring ditch, possibly once surrounding a barrow. A re-cut of the smaller ring ditch contained a large assemblage of 1st century AD Romano-British pottery, and was cut by a probable human cremation burial of similar date. Two phases of a scattered settlement of Roman date was recorded across much of the site. Post-holes, pits, field boundary ditches, and one beam slot foundation structure were excavated and dated to this period. The linear crop-mark was revealed to be a glacial geological feature rather than archaeological in nature. Pottery and assorted finds from the Prehistoric, Romano-British, Medieval, and Early Modern periods were recovered.