Racecourse Road/Seamer Moor, Scarborough

Pre-historic square enclosure at Racecourse Road/Seamer Moor, Scarborough - 2009

Our work carried out at this site in 2008 is described in the Recent Fieldwork section.

We revisited the site over six days between 25 September and 4 October 2009 to carry out further ground investigations. The purpose of these investigations was to test the results of the geophysics and to explore the interior of the enclosure. Six trenches were excavated which were numbered 2 to 7 to follow on from the 2008 trench numbering.

Trench 2 was located towards the north west internal corner of the enclosure where an area of high resistance had been recorded. At a depth of about 150mm below ground level a surface of angular calcareous grit stones was encountered, the stones lying at irregular angles. This layer was sampled by excavating a 500 mm wide sondage, running north-south along the eastern edge of the trench. This revealed that the stony layer was only one stone thick and lay on a grey brown loamy material containing fragments of iron age pottery. The stone feature was interpreted as the base of the enclosure rampart overlying a decayed vegetation surface. It is probable that evidence of the rampart survived here due to the fact that it is close to the point where the enclosure turned through 90o – the rampart would therefore have been thicker. An environmental sample was taken from the decayed vegetation surface and this will provide useful comparison with the sample taken from the ditch in trench 1.

Removal of the rampart material at the southern end of the trench revealed further sherds of iron age pottery which could be the result of either pit digging or dumping refuse against the corner of the rampart.

   
1. Trench 2 viewed from the south showing the base of the rampart (context 2001) and the trench sampling the underlying layer to the right

Trenches 3 (near the centre of the enclosure), 4 (positioned in order to test an area of low resistance close to the south-east corner of the enclosure) 6 and 7 all encountered the natural calcareous grit at about 250mm below the present ground surface. No occupation evidence was found in these trenches

back to the top

Trench 5

At a depth of between 200 mm and 230 mm below ground level, decayed calcareous grit was encountered, although it was pitched at much more irregular angles than elsewhere. The trench contained one post hole and socket consisting of seven vertically set stones around a hole approx 100 mm square cut into the natural and 100 mm deep. Excavation of this post hole produced two sherds of iron age pottery, although there was not an occupation layer associated with the post hole, this probably having been removed by ploughing.

   
2. Trench 5 viewed from the west showing the natural decomposed stone surface and the stones forming the sides of the post hole

The radiocarbon dating of the organic deposits from the ditch excavated in 2008 firmly placed the date of the ditch in the late Iron Age. The structure was therefore not created as a Roman fort and there is no other evidence to support Hinderwell’s assertion that it was used as a Roman defensive earthwork either on its own or as part of a series of forts.

The plough soil in all the trenches contained modern pottery mostly 19th century and early 20th century, the presence of which was thought to be the result of the import of refuse material on to the land. Below the plough soil the dating evidence points to occupation in the Iron Age. To date no evidence of later occupation has been found and it is likely that if there were any it has been destroyed by ploughing. The results of the environmental analysis will provide further valuable information since the sample taken in 2008 from the ditch material represents a period when the enclosure was in use, whereas the latest sample from the relict vegetation surface will reflect the pre-existing conditions.

It is hoped to carry out further work in the area of Trench 2 in 2010 to provide more evidence about the site and its occupation.

Text - Chris Hall
Images - Chris Hall

back to the top

To find out about current fieldwork contact the Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society's Projects Officer:
Chris Hall
Projects Officer
Scarborough Archaeological & Historical Society
c/o Allatt House
5 West Parade
Scarborough
YO12 5ED

telephone:01723 354237
email: scarborough.archaeology@btinternet.com

See the excavations database to find out about excavations carried out over the past 15 years.
back to the top