York Historic Environment Record

Archaeological monitoring was undertaken as a requirement of Scheduled Monument Consent as the area of excavation fell within York Minster Precinct (Scheduled Monument number 1017777). An area of road around the collapsed sewer gully grate, measuring 3m x 4m, was cut with a road saw. Tarmac and the underlying ‘type 1’ hard-core were removed by mechanical excavator down to a depth of 0.45m. A recent concrete base (depth 0.25m) was also encountered, extending into the excavation a distance of 1m at its widest point and 0.6m at its narrowest. It was noted that the gully grate had been placed on broken paving slabs which had collapsed; these were re-cemented together. At the same depth, a stone block was dislodged, revealing a brick sewer culvert, some 3m south of the gully grate. The culvert, presumably of 19th-century date, appeared to be no longer in use. A cast iron service pipe was situated in the top of the sewer, running in an east-west direction, and close to the excavated area was a junction of the culvert running northwards towards the Minster. Situated near the brick sewer culvert, but within the hardcore, were the only finds: two bones, one a cattle rib with butchery marks, and one small piece of human humerus ball joint. These were not retained.