Excavation of Medieval Ditch at 23 Market Street

Image courtesy of Gary Stocker.

Description of this historic site

A ditch and bank dating to the Medieval period were discovered during an archaeological excavation. This may be the remains of the town ditch. The features were found 400m north west of Warwick Castle.

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Notes about this historic site

1 1965: An area between Market Street and Bowling Green Street was cleared. A trench 10.6m by 1.2m was opened at right angles to Market Street. The ditch was found cut into bedrock, with a 2.7m deep vertical inner face, and 6.8m wide. The only evidence of a wall was a robber trench in section, and a level of rubble in the ditch filling. Later the site was cleared down to bedrock and the ditch exposed for a length of 46m. A 0.9m layer of dark grey clay was exposed. This could have been an early bank (Ethelfleda 914?). It was sealed by metalling, apparently a roadway.
2 Noted.
3 Plan from 1965.
4 Notes on pottery from this site, recovered by Mr Michael Farr, County Archivist. Fabrics were ‘typical’ for Warwick. Some late Medieval examples illustrated.