York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by On-Site Archaeology at No.4 Fishergate, York, in advance of the construction of a hostel. The monitoring followed on from a previous evaluation of the site undertaken by On-Site Archaeology. The earliest deposits detected during the evaluation displayed good organic preservation, suggesting that earlier waterlogged deposits of possibly Roman to post-medieval periods may be present on the site at greater depths. The evaluation also revealed 18th century and later dumps and surfaces. The watching brief investigation involved the observation of piling operations on the site. A sample investigation of 39 piling holes covering the footprint of the proposed building was recorded. The piling operation methodology involved the use of screw piles, which augured out a shaft before concrete was poured. The investigation established that at approximately 0.35m AOD (8.8m below ground level – BGL) the natural bedrock was encountered. This was sealed by a thick band of alluvial deposits probably representing the former course of the pre-medieval River Foss. A band of alluvium detected to a depth of 5.35m AOD (3.4m BGL) may represent silting up of a body of water depicted on late 17th and mid-18th century maps. This was sealed by 19th to 20th century material representing possible levelling deposits.