St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Southampton (SOU1631). Archaeological Watching Brief

The Archaeology Unit of Southampton City Council carried out an archaeological watching brief with option to excavate on the groundworks required to construct a multi-use games area (MUGA) in the grounds of St Mary's School, Golden Grove, Southampton, on behalf of Saints Foundation. The aim was to recover further information about the archaeology of the area, which includes the town of Hamwic. Most of the groundworks were less than 0.9m deep and did not expose archaeological deposits. The natural brickearth was 1.1m below the surface and was observed in only the deepest trench, where two Middle Saxon pits were observed and partly excavated. Above the brickearth was a buried ploughsoil layer containing fragments of post-medieval brick and 18th/19th century pottery. Above the buried soil was a series of modern layers, containing fragments of clay pipe, coal, concrete and bricks, relating to the post-war demolition of the houses built in this part of expanding 19th century Southampton. A few finds were retained, and together with the site records, form the archive.