York Historic Environment Record

A scheme of archaeological evaluation was carried out at 2-4 Driffield Terrace, The Mount, York (NGR SE 5932 4510) in advance of a planning application for residential development. The evaluation was carried out by Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd (FAS) on behalf of Moorside Development Ltd. Three evaluation trenches were excavated between the 19th and 23rd May 2003. The aim of the evaluation was to date and characterise the below-ground archaeology, but more specifically, to test the hypothesis that burials associated with Roman and early medieval cemeteries extended into the site. The evaluation also aimed to investigate whether the remains of a mid-17th century sconce survived in the area. The evaluation revealed four phases of activity from the Roman to the modern period. Roman activity was represented by a total of three inhumation burials and three cremation burials. There was no evidence for early medieval activity, although a layer of possible medieval ploughsoil was identified. Sealing and cutting this horizon was a number of 18th to 19th century features associated with the construction of Mount House, including a brick floor and a cellar. However, although the evaluation trenches were positioned to intercept remains of a major Roman road believed to cross the site, neither the road nor any associated remains were encountered, and it is suggested that the true line of the road in fact lies further southeast. Furthermore, although it had been proposed that a 17th century sconce was positioned on the site, both the distribution of surviving cemeteries nearby and the nature of the local topography indicate that the sconce was probably located further south.