York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by On-Site Archaeology Ltd at The Friends Retreat, Heslington Road, York, at the behest of Farquhar Associates, Chartered Surveyors. This work was conducted in order to fulfil an archaeological condition attached to the planning permission for groundworks associated with the construction of a new drain. The archaeological watching brief consisted of a series of site visits, during excavation works, between the 7th and 30th November 2002. The watching brief comprised observation of the trench excavated for the drain. One large Roman ditch aligned east to west, and containing 3rd and 4th century pottery, was recorded. Earlier Roman pottery was also recovered. A small number of 17th century finds were recovered, which may reflect activity associated with the Civil War gun emplacements situated on Lamel Hill.