York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by On-Site Archaeology Ltd at York Castle during underpinning and repair work to stabilise a western external corner of the Debtor’s Prison, during October 2017. The site is a Scheduled Monument (Monument No: 13275) occupied by York Castle and Clifford’s Tower, a motte and bailey castle established during the late 11th century. The watching brief involved monitoring of a hand excavated trench cornering a western external corner of the Debtor’s Prison. The results of the watching brief have indicated that deposits and features of a medieval date survive at approximately 0.6m and extend to 1.2m below the modern surfaces. The medieval deposits and features comprised of levelling, which was cut into by three intersecting pits. The levelling appears to date to between the mid-11th to mid-14th centuries. The earliest pit dates to possibly the mid 11th – mid-12th century and the latest to the mid-13th to mid-14th century. These features are most likely activity associated with earlier interior of the medieval castle. A number of in-situ upright timbers were identified that were either cut or pile driven into the medieval levelling below the extant building. However, it is undetermined if these are associated with medieval activity or a post-medieval structure that possibly pre-dates the extant early 18th century building. Features and deposits of an 18th/19th century date were encountered at approximately 0.2m below the modem surface. These comprised of culverts and levelling that extended to a maximum depth of 1m below the present surface. The latest deposits and features are associated with 19th/20th century drainage and surfacing.