AOC Archaeology completed the third phase of archaeological trial trenching at the end of August. The final sites focused on Iron Age and Roman remains at Nunkeeling, north of Beverley and Routh.
The archaeological settlement activity typically comprised farmsteads, substantial sized boundaries/enclosure ditches, and field systems for pastoral and arable farming practices. Finds, including abundant assemblages of pottery and food refuse in the form of discarded animal bones (butchered and/or burnt) were generally retrieved from the silty fills that had accumulated in the enclosure boundaries.
The site near Routh was particularly interesting. The team uncovered Romano-British settlement remains, including multiple enclosures, refuse pits and structural remains in the form of post holes. The enclosure ditches produced significant assemblages of pottery, including intact bases of ceramic vessels.
Now the field work has been completed for phase 3, the archaeologists will be working on the analysis of the finds and site records, compiling environmental results taken from the soil samples and producing archaeological reports of the findings.
Read more about the archaeology on our dedicated archaeology page.