A number of fragments of decorated glazed floor tile were found in rubble
layers below where the painted glass was discovered.
| Week 5 11-15 July 2001 | |||||||||
| Despite a wet week in York the excavation has remained fairly unscathed and considerable progress has been made. Thirteen new trainees arrived on site, including a number of students and one of our own administrative staff, Sylvia Bowen, who gamely exchanged typewriter for trowel for a couple of days. | |||||||||
| Trench 1 | |||||||||
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Another length of stone drain has been uncovered.
Here it had been investigated by Victorian archaeologists who had broken
into the drain, removed the massive capping stones and replaced them with
flagstones. A quick look beneath the flagstones indicates that this drain
branches off the one found in Trench
2. Clearly the medieval hospital drainage system was very sophisticated.
The drain appears to be curving towards the City ditch and the River Ouse,
suggesting that in medieval times it emptied directly into the river.
A number of fragments of decorated glazed floor tile were found in rubble
layers below where the painted glass was discovered. |
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| Trench 2 | |||||||||
| The fills of the Victorian excavation trenches and post-medieval robbing of the infirmary wall have now been excavated, revealing the massive wall foundations incorporating the vaulted drain. News of this spectacular discovery, first mentioned in last week's diary, has interested both local and national press. | |
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| Trench 3 | |||||||||
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The Victorian archaeological garden feature has been completely revealed. The gravel path alongside the feature was very well made. At the east end of the trench a massive brick wall has cut through all of the adjacent contexts. It seems that this wall was in use for only a short time before the Victorian garden was created. | ||||||||
| Finds | |||||||||
| Finds from many periods continue to be unearthed. | |||||||||
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