York Historic Environment Record

Field Archaeology Specialists were commissioned to undertake a watching brief on the excavation of six test pits located against the w alls of St Clement’s Church Hall, Cygnet Street, York, with the purpose of determining the cause of severe subsidence visible in the elevations of the building. The results of the investigation indicated that the western end of the church hall was constructed over 1.3m of made ground. The nature of this made ground suggested that the site may have once been covered by a pond or marsh which had been infilled and levelled in antiquity. Roman pottery and building material were recovered from this episode of backfilling, which covered a layer of peat containing well-preserved organic deposits.