York Historic Environment Record

The earliest deposit was a firm, mid yellow brown, silty clay with moderate pebbles and CBM flecks. This was found at a depth of 16.98m to 16.56m AOD. Above this deposit was a limestone wall, seen within the north-western section of the trench (Plates 1- 2). The top of the wall was at 17.28m AOD and was 0.44m in thickness. It was aligned north-east/south-west and was 3m in length as exposed within the trench. The wall either ended or was truncated at the south-western end. It was constructed of limestone blocks and occasional cobbles bonded with a mid-white lime mortar. The limestone wall in the north-western section of the trench may be related to the remains of the post-medieval barbican which extended outwards beyond Micklegate Bar. The site of the demolished barbican and the direction of its walls are shown on the 1852 OS map of York, on the same alignments as the limestone wall exposed in the trench.