York Historic Environment Record

Excavation and watching brief Between April and July 2000 York Archaeological Trust carried an excavation and watching brief during works to the rear of the York Railway Headquarters building, Station Rise, York. This was prompted by the construction of an electricity sub-station in an area where no modern archaeological observations had been made. Although no definite Roman stratigraphy was excavated, with the possible exception of Section 2 within the main building, what were almost certainly Roman deposits were seen in the base of some of the deeper intrusions in Trench 1. The quantity of residual pottery from the upper deposits in this trench suggested that a moderate amount of disturbance had taken place to these deposits. Since these deposits were not exposed across the trench it is not possible to determine the exact nature of the Roman activity in this area although the deposits seen did resemble demolition deposits seen elsewhere in the Colonia and Legionary Fortress. ' There were hints of activity belonging to the Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian periods but more concentrated activity only appeared in the 11th-12th century. For the most part it appeared to be of a non-structural domestic type represented by rubbish pits but a number of post-holes, slots, possible clay floors and lime-mixing pits hinted at some structural activity, possibly including stone buildings and/or tanning, on and in the vicinity of the site. Almost all of the archaeological stratigraphy after the 14th century had been removed by relatively modern construction work although two brick walls on limestone foundations may represent the domestic housing known from cartographic sources to have existed on the site in the early 19th century. RCHME Microfilm Index Number 7778 York Archaeological Trust Evans, David/2000/York Railway Headquarters, Station Rise, York: Report on an Archaeological Excavation and Watching Brief/2000 Field Report Number 20 York Archaeological Trust annual report 15-6,60,63 29/2000-2001