York Historic Environment Record

The evaluation initially comprised five 2m wide trenches, varying in length between 4.5 and 15m. Significant archaeological remains were found in two of the trenches (Trenches 1 and 2, at the northern end of the site) which were expanded to a width of 4m and 5m, respectively. The majority of archaeological remains were encountered in Trenches 1 and 2, where a series of pits were excavated. They produced pottery dating from the twelfth to fifteenth century, together with occasional organic domestic refuse, including a wooden stool. A possible robber trench was located immediately to the north-east of pit 206. It contained a series of water-worn boulders that may be the remains of foundations, and produced fragments of pottery dating from the thirteenth to fifteenth century. Located solely in Trench 1, the remains of a possible midden was identified in the north-west-facing section of the trench. The majority of finds recovered from the upper layers of the midden were ceramic building material (CBM), dating from the thirteenth to sixteenth century, while the lower deposits contained mainly pottery dating from the twelfth to fifteenth century. Trench 3 revealed the remains of possible burgage plot boundaries which contained pottery from the twelfth to fifteenth century and delineated the south-western extent of the features within that trench. Two pits identified in Trench 4, date from the twelfth to fifteenth century, and probably relate to minor activities taking place outwith the main settlement. Such burgage plot activities would appear to relate to buildings that would have lain on the site of the extant structures along The Village. The assessment of the pottery indicated that the majority of the assemblage was of local manufacture, mostly deriving from York and, where definable, comprised domestic vessels. Palaeoenvironmental samples from the site indicated only limited evidence for crop processing, although agricultural weed seeds and edible berries were common. Overall, it would appear that activity at the site was restricted to the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, the termination of which may correspond with the nearby construction of St Nicholas’ Church in 1424, since it is known that during the postmedieval period the plot of land was an orchard owned by the rectory.