A very happy new year to you all!

Trench 1 in the foreground and Trench 3 beyond, towards the end of the 2001 season. Both trenches will be re-opened and further excavated in 2002.

Preparations are now well under way for the second and probably final season of excavation at the St Leonard's hospital site. This will run from 12th June to 1st September 2002. An on-line booking form is now available, and the first reservations have already been received. Book now to reserve your place on what is sure to be a memorable excavation!

Conservation work on the 2001 finds is proceeding, but as we expect many more to be recovered during 2002, those from the 2001 season will be studied later, along with the 2002 material. Similarly, work on the vast quantities of brick and tile unearthed in 2001 will be undertaken when the 2002 material has been processed.

The focus of this update is the documentary evidence for the site. Documentary evidence is past written and drawn information. It includes records, letters and maps. The best documentary evidence is that compiled close to the time of the events or situations that it describes, such as a legal document that describes the layout and use of a building. If a great length of time separates a document from the events it purports to record, it will be less reliable - but even contemporary accounts have to be read with a degree of caution, as the motive for compiling the record was to achieve a purpose other than to make life easy for archaeologists in the future!

The St Leonard's site is unusual in that archaeological, building and documentary evidence can be combined to provide a detailed history of the site. The sum of this combined information is normally far greater than the value of each separate category of evidence. Obviously the excavation updates have concentrated on the archaeological evidence, and some information from the standing buildings has been discussed, but the documentary evidence has rarely been mentioned to date.

Archaeologist Bryan Antoni cleaning the Victorian garden.

The case of the creation of the Victorian 'garden of antiquities' on the site (Weeks 2-5) is a good example of the usefulness of documentary evidence when combined with the archaeological results. It was initially assumed that this garden was established as the immediate result of the excavations by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in the 1840s. However, the evidence of the earliest Ordnance Survey maps of the area, compiled in 1853 and 1891, suggests that the situation is more complex. The 1853 map indicates that several medieval columns revealed during the excavations were left exposed, but there is no evidence of a planned garden. However, the 1891 map shows the same columns within a laid garden incorporating woodland; one column in particular had become a garden feature, with a wall running around it to make a greater impression when seen from an adjacent path.

1891 Ordnance Survey map with the 'Stones' marked.

This cartographic evidence suggests that the garden was created after 1853 and before 1891, but in the absence of further maps the documentary evidence cannot be more precise. The garden feature was excavated in Trench 3 during the 2001 season, confirming the information on the 1891 map. Moreover, a medallion, found buried against the rear face of the garden feature wall, proved to have been made for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The archaeological evidence therefore suggests that the garden had been established to commemorate the Golden Jubilee in 1887 - far later than imagined, but consistent with the documentary evidence.

Medallion commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887.