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Richmond in North Yorkshire has an unusual semi-circular marketplace in the town centre, and it has long been suggested that this might be because it once formed part of the outer bailey of Richmond Castle, which was built to help consolidate control of the north of England following the Norman Conquest. Now archaeologists excavating during road resurfacing and improvement works at the market have uncovered nine later medieval pits within this space.
The pits are thought to date to the 14th and 15th centuries, during which time the castle had begun to decline into ruin, and Peter Rowe – principal archaeologist for North Yorkshire Council – believes that the pits provide snapshots of a period when the fortunes of the town itself were also waning. ‘I can only imagine that the waste-pits in the middle of the market square, adjacent to the church, represent a period when the town must have been fairly run down, following the various plagues and wars of the 14th and 15th centuries,’ he said.
The contents of the pits paint a vivid picture of life in a medieval market town. They are likely to have been waste-dumps used by local businesses, and contained rubbish such as sheep and pig bones, as well as a dog burial. One of the pits was waterlogged, which allowed for the preservation of organic finds such as wooden stakes and strips of leather offcuts, as well as parts of at least two leather shoes. The survival of these finds were particularly exciting for the team, Peter added: ‘We are quite used to unearthing pottery and animal bone, which is all well and good, but when you can actually handle the clothes people were wearing 600 or 700 years ago, that’s quite a special thing.’
Rather harder to interpret was a small wooden item that was also recovered from the waterlogged pit. Round, squat, and incomplete, it may be part of a handle, or perhaps something from a toy or miniature object, but for now its meaning remains a mystery.
Aside from the pits, other features uncovered during the works included post-holes that may represent temporary structures such as workshops or small stalls, which would have been situated in the original medieval market-place – perhaps the source of some of the waste that was later deposited there – but the working width of the trench was insufficient to characterise their purpose fully.
Post-excavation work is now under way, and some of the organic finds will be selected for conservation.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Images: Peter Rowe; John Buglass
