Excavations and attractions: Half a century with the York Archaeological Trust

The York Archaeological Trust (YAT) was born from a moment of crisis. In the early 1970s, Inner Ring Road proposals in York brought the threat to the city’s archaeology into sharp focus – as was being seen elsewhere across the UK, increased development was raising both awareness and alarm at its impact on historic remains – and YAT came into existence in 1972, emerging from the same impetus that created RESCUE. From its earliest days, the Trust had its work cut out, being faced with the imminent destruction of numerous archaeological sites in a city well known for its rich heritage – as witnessed by the contemporary major excavations at the Minster in 1967-1972 – but from the begin