Hertfordshire Archaeology 15

Trial trenching and subsequent observations of extensive groundworks during the construction of Aldwickbury Golf Course revealed evidence of (possibly sporadic) occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic to the Roman period. Mesolithic/ Early Neolithic activity appeared to be confined to the valley floor of the River Lea, but later occupation was widespread on the valley terraces to the south.

Records the finding of a substantial section of a Middle Bronze Age bucket urn within a burnt mound feature. The fragment is described and illustrated. Au (adp)/PP-B

Archaeological investigation revealed evidence of activity in the first half of the second century AD. The site lies to the south of the Roman road from Verulamium to Braughing, within the area of the Roman settlement at Welwyn. The Early Roman features included a boundary ditch and pits whose contents were consistent with the disposal of domestic, and possibly also industrial, waste.

Reports the excavation of the trackway. PP-B

Reports two projects undertaken in 1989. The first was a detailed architectural survey of the Eleanor Cross and a small archaeological excavation around it. The extent of past restoration was revealed, and the Cross was found to have had wider bars than today. The second project, an archaeological evaluation of the site of the former Falcon Inn, adjacent to the Cross, encountered much recent disturbance, but suggested that the site had been open ground before the building of the Inn.

A trial trench evaluation and subsequent excavation revealed a sequence of features of Late-Saxon and medieval date, comprising pits, ditches and post holes. This was taken to suggest that the area was used for casual disposal and back-yard occupation from at least the tenth to the fourteenth century. The excavation is argued to generally confirm the early tenth century foundation of Hertford and its successful initial growth. The river margin was subsequently abandoned during a period of urban contraction, but tentative reoccupation can be ascribed to the seventeenth century, followed by eventual redevelopment and reclamation from the eighteenth century.

Although the site had been heavily disturbed, scattered and abraded finds of Roman and Saxon date had survived in the vicinity, suggesting occupation at these periods. Open area excavation in the north-western corner of the site revealed a substantial ditch orientated north to south, a smaller ditch orientated east to west, and other cut features dating to the medieval period. The monitoring of the groundworks for the development also revealed evidence for tanks and other structures associated with the former tannery.

Excavation of land to the rear of 71-77 High Street revealed medieval rubbish pits and nineteenth-century garden features. The site is though to have been near the edge of the medieval town and the start-date for medieval activity (c. 1170) coincides with a postulated shift of the focus of the town at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The medieval pottery assemblage was dominated by south Hertfordshire grey ware, with much variation in fabric within this group. No post medieval features were found though ceramic building material and pottery of this period were recovered. The most prominent nineteenth-century features were two parallel lines of postholes, consistent in position and alignment with having marked the edges of a path shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey Map (1878). At this time, the site formed the garden of no. 71 High Street, the residence of the local entrepreneur William Cooper.

Overview of work in the county, organised by date. PP-B