Mayflower Plaza, Commercial Road, Southampton (aocarcha1-138220 and aocarcha1-122004)

A programme of archaeological evaluation was undertaken on a site formerly occupied by domestic and commercial properties along Commercial Road and West Park Road, in Southampton. The buildings that once occupied the site were demolished following bomb damage during the Second World War, and by general site clearance in the 1980s and 1990s. Much of the potential archaeological horizons of the site had been reworked through agriculture, horticulture, and the establishment of the properties on the site during the late 19th century, which comprised basements and significant concrete footings. Three archaeological features were recognised during the archaeological evaluation. One of these was a shallow gully running northwest-southeast, roughly oriented to the historic Conduit House. This was potentially the location for a medieval conduit that ran from springs on Hill Lane to the city. However, no conduit was present. In both locations seen, there was a 19th century intrusion, so if the conduit had been present, it may have been physically removed in the past. The second feature was an infilled ditch running roughly north-south, which may have been filled around 1600AD. This represents a field or property boundary. The third feature was a small curving trench that revealed medieval pottery, and is the scant remnant of a feature of medieval date, of uncertain function. Much of the 19th century activity on site was related to households and their associated drainage. Of note was one concrete-bound ceramic pipe, running downhill roughly southwards into a soakaway. This may be a storm drain from Commercial Road, or it may mark the location of the water supply from Conduit House, being simply diverted. The evaluation has revealed that the conduit, if originally present, has been removed, and the only other feature surviving to significant depth is the field boundary. However, the foundation design is likely to require terracing of the site to enable piling to be conducted from a series of level platforms. The already truncated medieval feature and part of the medieval boundary ditch will be impacted by these works. Therefore it is recommended that any further archaeological work in relation to the development should be limited to a low level watching brief.

本项目针对南安普顿市商业路（Commercial Road）与西帕克路（West Park Road）沿线曾建有住宅与商业建筑的场地开展考古评估工作。场地原有建筑先后因二战炸弹损毁，以及1980至1990年代的场地整体清拆而被拆除。受19世纪晚期场地农业耕作、园艺活动，以及该时期住宅建造活动影响，场地内多数潜在考古层位已遭扰动；该时期建造的住宅包含地下室与大型混凝土基础。本次考古评估共识别出三处考古遗迹。其中一处为走向西北-东南的浅冲沟，大致朝向历史上的导管屋（Conduit House）。该冲沟曾被推测为中世纪输水管道的遗存——该管道原本从希尔巷（Hill Lane）的泉眼向城市输水，但现场并未发现该输水管道遗迹。该冲沟的两处可见点位均存在19世纪的侵入堆积，因此即便该输水管道曾存在，也可能在历史时期被彻底移除。第二处遗迹为大致呈南北走向的填土沟渠，其填土年代约为公元1600年左右，应为当时的农田或地块边界。第三处遗迹为一处小型弯曲沟槽，出土了中世纪陶器，仅存少量遗存，为中世纪时期某功能不明遗迹的残迹。场地内19世纪的多数活动均与住宅及其配套排水系统相关。其中一处值得关注的混凝土包覆陶瓷管道，大致沿下坡向南延伸至一处渗井。该管道或为商业路的雨水排水沟，亦可能是从导管屋引水的输水管道改道遗存。本次评估结果显示，该输水管道即便原本存在，也已被完全移除；目前仅存的深层考古遗迹仅为农田边界遗迹。但场地的基础设计可能需要对场地进行台地化处理，以在一系列水平平台上开展桩基作业。本次场地作业将对已遭扰动的中世纪遗迹残体，以及部分中世纪边界沟渠造成影响。因此建议针对该场地开发的后续考古工作仅需开展低强度的考古巡视监护。