York Historic Environment Record

The development site covered an area of approximately 0.76 ha. The area was rectilinear in plan, measuring approximately 120m x 62m. The topography of the plot was relatively flat, with a height of around 8.8m AOD at the north to 9.9m AOD at the south (Pl. 1). A bungalow (15 Back Lane) had previously occupied the centre of the site, with rough pasture and some stables at the northern end. These, along with an associated driveway, were removed as part of the groundworks. All work was carried out in line with the Institute of Field Archaeologists Code of Conduct (IFA 1998). The footprints of the proposed new buildings (Plots 1 and 4) and access road were removed using a back-acting mechanical excavator that was fitted with a 600mm wide bucket. The drains were installed, and a main sewer diverted, by a 360' machine, a similar machine being used to excavate the raft foundations (Plots 2 and 3). All groundworks were undertaken under full archaeological supervision. A photographic record was made during the groundworks using a digital