Series: Avon Archaeology Limited unpublished report series

Excavation of a roughly 600 square metre area at 12 Station Road, Shirehampton Bristol.

A watching brief at 13-19 Dean St, St Paul's, Bristol

An Archaeological Evaluation was carried out by Avon Archaeology Limited in June 2019 on land at No. 18 Sandhurst Road, Kingsholm, Gloucester. The evaluation excavated a single 5 x 1.4m trench. The project was requested by the archaeological officer for Gloucester City Council, in order to mitigate for the fact that a conditioned Watching Brief, which was intended to monitor groundworks during construction of an extension to Number 18 Sandhurst Road, was unfortunately not implemented. The project was designed to explore the depositional sequence of the site, characterise the archaeological potential of the site, and test for the presence or absence of archaeology, particularly in the context of the Kingsholm Roman Legionary Fort, within in which the site falls. The trench was excavated to a maximum safe depth of 1.2m. In a change to the intended location it was excavated to the north of the extension, running east to west. No archaeological features were present with the excavated material comprising largely mixed post-medieval made ground. Two sherds of abraded pottery, probably medieval in date, were recovered from a buried subsoil towards the base of the trench. It remains possible that archaeological features survive at a greater depth, or elsewhere on the site. It was also noted that the site is approximately 1.2m higher than the surrounding street level, which could indicate that the ground has been raised.

Archaeological Watching Brief on the western edge of the village of Hambrook, in Greater Bristol. The project was required to monitor ground works associated with construction of a residential building to the rear of 20 Filton Road. The site proved to be archaeologically sterile - No archaeological features or deposits were recorded.

An archaeological desk-based assessment of a site at 29-31 North Street, Bedminster, Bristol.

Archaeological Watching Brief

A watching brief to be undertaken on the site of a new stable block, and associated levelling works, pertaining to Arch Barn, Quarry Springs, Goathurst Hill, Broomfield, Bridgwater, Somerset Avon Archaeology Limited were commissioned to provide an archaeological monitoring project during groundworks for the preparation of a new concrete base, on which a timber stable block building would be constructed. The groundworks monitored consisted essentially of a cut and fill process to take account of a sloping site, with material being taken from a slightly reduced level dig at one end of the site being dumped and rolled at the other end, to produce a level platform. Shallow trenches were then cut marking the rectangular outline of the building, to take a concrete ring beam, off which the concrete slab forming the building base would be built. At no point in the project did the monitoring identify any features, structures or deposits of any archaeological interest whatsoever, and it is most likely that the material affected by the groundworks was dumped quarry tailings, heavily disturbed as attested by the numerous modern finds recovered at least from its upper horizon.  

The project is a watching brief by planning condition during works to renovate and make repairs to the school and church. The Faculty have also request an element of excavation for local volunteers to get involved; the floor of the schoolroom will be reduced by hand excavation by volunteers led by AAL staff and recorded. Other elements of the project include excavation of a drain and recording of church pews. During the renovation, the archaeological investigations encompassed three distinct elements: historic building recording, watching brief monitoring of all intrusive groundworks, and as a community excavation. In the Old School Room, the floor level was reduced through hand excavation to allow installation of underfloor heating. The excavation functioned as a small scale community project under the supervision of AAL staff. Volunteers were drawn from a number of local history and interest groups, including the City Centre Community Partnership and the Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group. Archaeological evaluation had already taken place in the room in 2013, when two small test pits were excavated. Buried medieval soil deposits were recorded and a collection of artefacts were recovered, which included Roman pottery, coins, tokens and an evocative toy cannon. During this project, ground disturbance within the Old School Room was limited to removal of approximately 0.3m of earth. No notable deposits or features were recorded, with the exception of a drain feature. However, a number of artefacts were collected, spanning a broad date range from the Roman period to modern day. Within the church, a photographic survey was carried out to record the 19th century pews and other features prior to removal. A full survey was carried out of the ledger slabs which formed parts of the church floor to allow them to be accurately replaced, and a watching brief was undertaken during their removal as the tops of vaults were exposed. During works to replace stairs and install a lift at the north end of the school room, an unexpected discovery was made. A small vault was found to extend below the alley known as Marylone. Accessed by stone steps, the structure was built of stone and brick, with a vaulted brick roof, and was essentially empty, except for a number of service cables. The vault was recorded as part of the building survey element of the project. Outside the church building, within the cemetery, a small linear trench was excavated adjacent to the east face of the school room for the installation of a French Drain. Within the trench, a deposit containing a selection of 17th and 18th century pottery was found, as well as a spread of disarticulated human bone. The articulated remains of a small child were found at the north end of the trench at a depth of 0.7m, and aligned east-west. The crowns of a further two adult sized skulls were also recorded, partially exposed in the west facing section of the trench at a depth of approximately 0.6m. All articulated remains have remained in situ, while all disarticulated bone was replaced within the trench prior to back-filling. To the front of the church, in Southgate Street, a second trench was excavated to enable a waste connection from the church to the mains sewer system. During its excavation, which was monitored under watching brief conditions, two large pieces of worked stone were recovered; one piece has been identified as part of a decorative structural cornice, while the other is the upper part of an altar. Both are of late 1st or early 2nd century date and are likely to have been associated with significant buildings of the Roman Colonia, Glevum. The current hypothesis suggests that the stones were part of a Roman temple of Jupiter, which is likely to have stood on or close to the current location of St Mary De Crypt. This was not collected in OASIS IV when this record was originally created

Archaeological excavation at land at Unity Street, Hawkins Street and Jacob Street, Bristol, consisting of five excavation areas. A watching brief was maintained outside of the excavation areas. A large cut feature containing mid-11th - 13th century ceramics may have been the medieval 'Great Ditch' of Old Market. The pottery and fills suggest a short life-span, ending no later than the 15th century. A similar abandonment date was demonstrated in the ceramic assemblage of a potential roadside ditch running parallel to Jacob Street. No medieval structural remains were recorded, although a number of buried soils and discrete features did contain medieval finds and reflected the expansion of the city into the Old Market area, probably in the 11th century. The absence of structural features indicates that the site was not subject to any formalised occupation during the medieval period. The earliest structural features dated to the 17th century, predominantly in the north-east and south-east of the site. The west of the site contained garden soil deposits and general residential occupation. Given the mixed nature of 18th century activity on the site, evidence of commercial activity was surprisingly scant; however activity related to the Old Market sugar refinery, printing and book binding was recovered. In the late 19th and early 20th century, properties fronting Unity Street were demolished and there was a shift to a more commercial, rather than mixed residential, occupancy. Some of these changes were observed in the demolition of the tenement courts and their replacement with industrial buildings.

EH Level II Historic Buildings Survey of the Old School Building at Bristol Ambulance Station, Marybush Lane, Bristol.