01757
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33 Rythergate • Cawood • York • YO8
3TP 01757
268871
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Report No. 06004: All Saint's School (Upper), The Mount,
York; Archaeological Watching Brief. June 2006
Report Author: Guy Hopkinson.
Web version (in preparation).
Contributors:
Alan Vince & Kate Steane (AVAC).
Ordnance Survey based figures omitted from web version for copyright reasons.
Hard copy available at York City SMR.
City of York Council
9 St Leonard's Place
York
27 January 2006
1.1 An application to carry out development at All Saints School has been approved by the City of York Council (05/01492/FUL). An archaeological watching brief on all groundworks has been made the subject of a condition on the planning consent. This document sets out the details of the archaeological watching brief that the City of York Council considers will be necessary in conjunction with the proposed sunroom.
2.1 The site lies within the Area of Archaeological Importance. The area around this site has produced evidence for an extensive Roman cemetery and a Roman road ran close by.
2.2 An archaeological evaluation of a site on Mill Mount has been undertaken by On-Site Archaeology (OSA) in 2002.
2.3 The evaluation has indicated the presence of archaeological deposits and features dating from the Roman period including burials. A copy of the archaeological evaluation report is available for consultation at the City of York SMR, 9 St Leonard's Place, York.
3.1 It will be necessary for a watching brief to be kept on all ground disturbances for this development. A professional archaeologist or archaeological unit (the archaeologist) which must be approved in writing by the Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development) must undertake this watching brief.
3.1.1 The watching brief will consist of the archaeologist observing all groundworks across the site as described in 3.1 above. Where it becomes clear during the watching brief that there is no likelihood of archaeological deposits surviving on the site the watching brief may be curtailed with the agreement in writing of the Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development). Where it becomes clear that the extent of surviving archaeology is greater than the archaeologist had allowed for in their costing of the watching brief, the archaeologist must inform their client that this is the case. In this situation the client should consult with the City of York Archaeologist in order to determine what, if any, further archaeological work must be undertaken in order to meet the terms of the planning condition.
3.1.2 The watching brief must be carried out by the archaeologist in a manner that allows the contractor to proceed with their construction programme without unreasonable interference or delay. The contractor must allow the archaeologist reasonable access and resources to implement this archaeological scheme of investigation.
3.1.3 Where archaeological deposits of national importance are revealed during the watching brief, the archaeological contractor must notify the City of York Council's Archaeologist at once. Consultations can then take place to determine what additional steps, if any, are appropriate in the circumstances relating to the deposits.
3.2 The objective of the watching brief is to establish the following details:
3.2.1 the date and character of any archaeological deposits disturbed by the development
3.3 During the watching brief the following methodologies must be followed:
3.3.1 the archaeologist will be in attendance at such times during the excavation for the groundworks as he or she considers appropriate and necessary; the archaeologist will record the presence or absence of archaeological features and deposits and make all appropriate written, drawn and photographic records of any archaeological deposits which are revealed; all burials must be recorded and removed by the archaeologist; a Home Office burial licence must be obtained for this procedure;
3.3.2 all records must be indexed, ordered, quantified, and checked for consistency;
3.3.3 all artefacts and ecofacts recovered and retained from the watching brief must be fully documented and packed and stored in the appropriate materials and conditions to ensure that minimal deterioration takes place and that all their associated records are complete;
3.3.4 all artefacts and ecofacts recovered from the watching brief must be assessed, and where appropriate processed analysed drawn and published, by a person or organisation with skills and expertise relating to the artefacts and ecofacts;
3.4 The details and processes outlined in 3.3.1-3.3.4 will produce the following output as a concise report:
3.4.1 plan of site showing position of trench;
3.4.2 portfolio of drawn sections, trench plans, and, where appropriate, drawings of artefacts;
3.4.3 an assessment of the artefacts and ecofacts and where produced reports on any further analyses;
3.4.4 a full description of and an interpretation of the archaeological sequence, setting the site into the context of the known archaeology of the area;
3.4.5 an index to and details of the location of the archive.
3.4.6 a sampling strategy for this watching brief must be agreed with the Regional Science Advisor, English Heritage, 37 Tanner Row York and approved in writing by the Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development). All sampling must be in accordance with the recommendations contained in the paper Environmental Archaeology and Archaeological Evaluations, Association for Environmental Archaeology (1995) and with the advice of the Regional Science Advisor. In addition his advice must be sought with regard to all other aspects of sampling and archaeological science, including dating, that might arise on this site. His recommendations must be followed and confirmation of the adoption of his recommendations supplied in writing to Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development), City of York Council, 9 St Leonard's Place, York
3.4.7 The long term care of the archive must be provided for. All the original material and paper archive must be prepared for deposition with an approved archaeological depository such as the Yorkshire Museum. These Institutions will normally make a charge to cover the long-term curation of the archaeological archive. The requirements of the receiving Institution must be identified at the time of producing an estimate for this scheme of investigation. It is assumed that normally all archives relating to archaeological work in the City of York area will be deposited with the Yorkshire Museum. One printed copy of the report must be deposited with the Yorkshire Museum; one printed copy must be deposited with the English Heritage Regional Science Advisor at 37 Tanner Row York. Two printed copies of the report must be deposited with the City of York Council SMR. In addition a copy of the report in electronic form must be deposited with the City of York SMR. This must be provided as a PDF file or files. If in doubt about format please contact John Oxley on 01904 551346 or e-mail to john.oxley@york.gov.uk. Once a report has become a public document by forming part of a planning application, the City of York Council will place the information on its WWW pages. Please ensure that you and your client agree to this procedure in writing as part of the process of submitting the report to the Principal Archaeologist. Failure to deposit the printed report and an electronic copy with the City of York Council may delay the discharge of the relevant planning condition.
3.4.8 All estimates must include allowance for the preparation and publication of a synopsis of the results of the watching brief in a form such as is used in Medieval Britain and Ireland in Medieval Archaeology.
3.4.9 The Contractor must give at least seven days notice in writing of the start of works on site to:
Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development), Planning and Development , 9 St Leonard's Place, York, YO1 2ET
3.4.10 The Contractor will be subject to regular monitoring visits by the City of York. Reasonable access must be given at all times to the Principal Archaeologist, City of York Council or his agent to the site and to premises used for the purposes of post-excavation work to allow this monitoring to proceed. This will ensure that the scheme of investigation is being followed and that high professional standards are being maintained. It can be anticipated that the City of York Council will want to inspect a 10% sample of all archaeological records generated by the project. Reasonable access must also be given at all times to the English Heritage Regional Science Advisor or his agent to the site and to premises used for the purposes of post-excavation work to allow him to monitor the archaeological science elements of this scheme of investigation.
4.1 This document sets out the background to and outlines a programme for the watching brief which the City of York Council considers is reasonable and necessary on this site.
1.1 This appendix describes a set of procedures which must be implemented by all contractors.
2.1.1 All work must be undertaken in a professional manner paying attention to the Institute for Field Archaeologist Standards and Guidance:
All documents are available from either the City of York Council or from the IFA website at http://www.archaeologists.net
2.2 All finds processing, conservation work and storage of finds from this site must be carried out in accordance with the standards agreed by the Yorkshire Museum, the Castle Museum, and YAT those set by the UKIC. These standards form the basis of current practice in York and all contractors will be expected to base their estimates on the implementation of those standards (see section 3 below).
2.3 Finds specialists must be able to document and demonstrate levels of professional competence and technical expertise and access to comparative material.
2.4 Where the conservation of archaeological objects is necessary, this work should be undertaken either by or in consultation with the Conservation Section of the York Archaeological Trust.
3.1 The following finds-processing standards must be followed by all contractors
3.2 On-site finds processing
3.2.1 All bulk material must be washed
3.2.2 All bulk material except animal bone marked. Marking and labelling materials indelible and irremovable by abrasion
3.2.3 All bulk finds must be appropriately boxed and recorded on computer
3.2.4 Identification of stone-type and tile must be undertaken on site
3.2.5 All the above to be completed within two months from the end of the excavation
3.2.6 All small finds recorded both in the finds register and on computer
3.2.7 Small find recording system must be compatible with Yorkshire Museum accessioning system
3.2.8 All small finds must be appropriately packaged for optimum survival of data
3.2.9 All the above to be completed within two days of the object having been excavated
3.3 Off-site Finds Processing
3.3.1 All small find and bulk find data must be made available to finds researchers, conservators and curatorial staff
3.3.2 Computer system should be used to monitor location of objects to allow rapid access
3.3.3 All material stored in optimum conditions to ensure survival of data. Includes
3.3.4 All material stored in buildings with appropriate security (see storage below)
3.4 Conservation
3.4.1 All metal objects will be x-rayed, then selected for conservation. Non-conserved material stored in controlled conditions.
3.4.2 All organic materials will be appropriately treated, including prior specialist recording for materials where there is possible information loss in the process of conservation
3.4.3 Specialist advice must be taken for wood, leather, osseous material and textile conservation and research
3.4.4 All other classes of material must be treated where appropriate
3.4.5 Special packaging undertaken must be provided for all vulnerable objects. All textiles, coins, and painted glass stored in specially-designed systems.
3.5 Storage
3.5.1 All objects stored in appropriate materials and storage conditions
3.5.2 All objects stored to allow rapid access on demand
3.5.3 All storage at appropriate security levels, eg:
3.5.4 Safe secure and environmentally controlled storage must be provided for all material between excavation and the deposition of the archive with the receiving body.
John Oxley
Printed from http://www.archaeoscope.org/rep_06004_spec.php on 2026/06/09. Please view online for full details.
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