York Historic Environment Record

Borehole survey York Archaeological Trust carried out a borehole survey of a proposed development site to the rear of 3-5 Victor Street, York (NGR SE 60155133) on behalf of Simplane Builders. The three boreholes were sunk by Sub-Soil Surveys Ltd. On 2nd October 1992 and the deposit profiles were recorded for the Trust by Bryan Antoni. The work followed a specification issued by York City Council's Principal Archaeologist. It is evident that archaeological deposits of varying thickness are present across the entire site. However, the borehole survey did not provide sufficient evidence to date or characterise the lower deposits accurately. The upper deposits, which are interpreted as levelling for the current surface and the garden soils beneath, are of little archaeological significance. Thus the topmost 0.90-1.1Om of material could be disturbed by development without the need for further archaeological investigation. The lower deposits, which may represent occupation of any date from the Roman to the medieval period, are of considerable potential importance. The site lies immediately to the north of the presumed bailey ditch of the Old Baile which was dug during the period of Norman castle building in the late 11th century. This may have been built on an open site, on a Viking Age suburb or on a derelict Roman landscape. Results from the boreholes did not allow interpretation at this level. The levels in the report refer to depth below ground level rather than AODs. In the absence of values levelled in for the top of each borehole a ground surface at 18.0m AOD has been estimated for the purposes of the stratigraphic information; and the report indicates that the ground surface in the area was fairly level. However, the actual values for each borehole will probably differ from the estimated levels to varying degrees.