York Historic Environment Record

In April 2013, the University of York’s Department of Archaeology undertook a geophysical survey on Walmgate Stray, York. The survey was intended to find the line of a Roman road encountered in an excavation undertaken in 2004 a short distance to the west, and to clarify the extent of a previously recorded Early Medieval cemetery, which may have centred on an artificial mound now known as Lamel Hill. The survey covered a strip of pasture at the northern end of the Stray, between Dower Court, a modern residential development, and the mental health hospital known as The Retreat, which was established in 1792. It extended into a lawned area within the grounds of The Retreat around Lamel Hill, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Results were inconclusive, but did show some unusual anomalies, which may relate to the cemetery as well as the limits of possible post-medieval quarrying. No evidence was detected for the Roman road. The project served as a training exercise for archaeology students at the University of York.