York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by On-Site Archaeology Ltd, during December 2002, at St. Oswald's Church of England School, Fulford, York, on behalf of the City of York Council. A total of six trenches were excavated, predominantly within existing playing fields. The surface of the playing fields includes poorly-preserved earthworks representing a medieval ridge and furrow field system. All of the excavated trenches encountered archaeological remains. The earliest evidence took the form of two fragments of later Prehistoric worked flint, including small blade. None of the excavated features could be unequivocally assigned to the Prehistoric period, although a number of undated irregular pits, post holes and a ditch may be pre-Roman in date. Roman features, particularly in the form of ditches, were found in the two southernmost trenches, the dating from which suggested activity on the site from the late 1st to the beginning of the 4th century. Residual Roman pottery was found across most of the rest of the site suggesting that the Roman remains are more extensive than at first they might appear. Much of the Roman pottery is indicative of a high degree of Romanisation, and as such is comparable with that from the nearby Germany Beck site and Roman Eboracum, rather that the majority of Roman rural sites. The medieval period is represented by a number of furrows, which had formed parts of a ridge and furrow field system, from which later 12th to early post medieval pottery was recovered. The site also contains medieval ditches, which appear to form divisions within this agricultural landscape, although it has not been possible to ascertain a detailed chronology. Perhaps the most significant remains encountered appear to relate to the English Civil War siege of York, which took place in 1644. These remains comprised a single stretch of a shallow defensive earthwork, from which an assemblage of mid 17th century clay tobacco pipe bowls was retrieved. This feature also contained several lead musket balls, iron objects, at least one of which was a large axe head, and a glass lens, from either a pair of spectacles or a telescope. The remains encountered during this evaluation are of sufficient significance to require detailed mitigation, prior to and during redevelopment of the school. This mitigation is likely to take the form of preservation by record, through archaeological excavation, of the remains to be most heavily disturbed. In addition, a watching brief will be necessary in areas of more limited impact and preservation in-situ will be achieved within areas to be retained as playing fields.