York Historic Environment Record

A scheme of archaeological evaluation was undertaken at Heworth Croft, York (NGR SE 6102 5261) on behalf of Mike Griffiths and Associates, for Bellway Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd. The excavation was carried out between the 16th of June and the 16th of July 2004 and comprised four trenches located in areas of proposed redevelopment on the site. This fieldwork represents a second phase of evaluation (Phase 2), which followed an earlier programme of evaluation undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists (FAS) Ltd in 2003, and which recorded the presence of ridge and furrow cultivation across the site in addition to a single Roman ditch (Phase 1). Results from Phase I evaluation suggested the presence of a Roman road postulated from the presence of a Roman ditch interpreted as a flanking ditch, which ran parallel to the modem route of Heworth Green. Residual Roman pottery and cremated human bone also suggested the presence of a Roman cemetery disturbed by later Roman and medieval activity. Phase 2 was subsequently designed to test the possibility of the presence of a cemetery and Roman road at the site. Roman features were encountered in Interventions 13 and 14. Remains included a probable truncated pit in Intervention 13, and five truncated features and a ditch in Intervention 14. A quantity of residual abraded Roman ceramic and cremated human bone were recovered during fieldwork. Medieval activity was represented by several shallow plough furrows in Interventions 12 and 14, all of which were aligned roughly NW-SE. Later post-medieval activity was represented in all interventions by a buried, possibly horticultural, soil, and by field drains encountered in Interventions 12, 13 and 15.