York Historic Environment Record

The archaeological works involved the machine stripping, hand excavation, sampling and recording of four areas and three mitigation trenches in targeted locations during the course of three phases of work. The monitoring and recording of the machine stripping of ground for the installation of a water attenuation tank at the eastern end of the site was also carried out. The investigation of the site has uncovered evidence of agricultural, settlement and funerary activity of Iron Age/Romano-British date approximately 2.50km west of the Roman centre of Eboracum. Some evidence of medieval and post-medieval activity on the site was also present. Area A, located close to the north-west boundary of the site had two post-medieval furrows cutting through it. There was no evidence of other archaeological remains. Investigations within Area B, situated to the south-east of Area A, revealed a number of successive boundary or enclosure ditches. Associated cremations, an inhumation and other probable graves and post-holes of Romano-British and Iron Age date were situated below the plough soil of medieval ridge and furrow which extended across the whole of Area B. Area C, situated to the south-east of Area B, yielded extensive archaeological remains of Iron Age/Romano-British date. A distinct ring-gully structure with evidence for successive phases of remodelling was centred within a sequence of three phases of rectangular enclosure ditch. Associated cremations, pits with burnt faunal and human material and pottery as well as large quantities of heataffected stone suggest this structure may have been the focus for funerary or mortuary activity. In addition, enclosure ditches joining and respecting the rectangular ring-gully enclosures to the north, south and south-east were identified. Features such as post-holes and beam slots, fence lines and a smaller ring-gully found at the north-west corner of Area C strongly suggested that archaeological features continued towards the north beyond the limit of excavation for Area C. A later stage of work on the development site In Area D confirmed this hypothesis. Evidence from Area D, situated between Areas B and C showed the continuation of the north-south aligned ditches seen in Area C as well as the presence of east-west boundary ditches, enclosed structural features such as beam slots, stake-holes, fence lines and post-holes as well as a cobbled platform. A possible cremation and a large pit containing burnt deposits appeared to be the earliest features present in the area. Only a few prehistoric flints of a residual nature were recovered from the site. Pottery finds ranged from Romano-British to medieval and post-medieval date. Mitigation trenches 1, 2 & 3, located to the south-east of the site, and the monitoring of a water attenuation tank trench to the eastern end of the site yielded no archaeological remains. This suggests that the concentration of Iron Age and Romano-British archaeological features seen in Areas B, C and D may not extend towards the southern and eastern boundary of the site or have been lost to later ploughing. The investigations at Boroughbridge Road have produced local and regionally significant evidence for a funerary locus within the development area. This evidence also demonstrates the potential for further prehistoric, Iron Age and Roman settlement activity and associated archaeological remains in the vicinity. The site adds to the corpus of discoveries within the agricultural landscape on the western outskirts of the City of York and offers the research potential for comparative study with other sites in the hinterland of the York. The site also has the potential to provide insights into the period of transition between Iron Age and Romano-British settlement patterns and cultural practices.