York Historic Environment Record

A watching brief was undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists (FAS) Ltd at the Marriott Hotel, Tadcaster Road, York (NGR SE 5886 4981) on behalf of All Facility Services Plc for Marriot Hotels. The watching brief involved the monitoring of foundation trenches, prior to the construction of a pump house and water storage tank, and associated pipe trenches adjacent to the existing hotel and management suite. The foundations for the pump house and water storage tank involved the excavation of a shallow trench to receive a concrete raft, with a single trench leading from the pump house to the management suite and hotel complex, which divided into two c.11m northeast of the pump house in order to feed the main hotel building and the detached Coach House management suite. This work was carried out to facilitate a new emergency sprinkler system within the hotel complex. The earliest feature encountered at the site was a truncated ditch, aligned broadly north-south, c.0.85m below ground level (BGL). Pottery recovered from the ditch included decorated Samian and provided a date of the late 2nd to mid-3rd century AD. A series of modern services was also encountered, largely contemporary with the construction and development of the hotel.