The results of the investigations are presented in context number order, with information provided by the excavator in brackets. Those plant and invertebrate remains preserved by anoxic waterlogging generally appeared to be undergoing active decay; the evidence for, and significance of, this is discussed below.
Context 1006 [mid 11th century to mid 13th century - fill]
Sample 1
Moist, mid grey-brown, crumbly (working plastic), silty clay to clay silt. Mortar/plaster, brick/tile, charcoal and very rotted wood were present.
Most of the small residue consisted of sand with moderate amounts of brick/tile (to 20mm) and charcoal (to 15mm); there were traces of mortar, stones and bone (including fish bone), and decayed wood was present in all fractions in small amounts. Identifiable plant remains were sparse and poorly to moderately well preserved; most were seeds or fruits from weed taxa but there were some very slight hints that food remains, perhaps from faecal material, might formerly have been present. A few food taxa (fig, Ficus carica L., and perhaps also opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L.) were also recorded in the small flot. The presence of leaves of the peat-bog moss Sphagnum imbricatum Hornsch. ex Russ. is noteworthy.
About 30 beetle taxa were noted in the flot, together with a few other invertebrates. Some quite delicate remains had been preserved, but the fossils had a characteristic yellow or yellow-brown coloration, and appeared to be in the early stages of aerobic decay (resembling remains in some modern death assemblages seen by HK). There were numerous individuals of the grain pests Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) and Sitophilus granarius (L.). The abundance of the latter, which is normally the least numerous of the grain pests in archaeological assemblages, perhaps indicates that the remains originated in faeces, having been eaten with spoiled grain (S. granarius develops inside whole grains and is thus particularly likely to be ingested). A few water beetles were noted; these may have invaded an open pit but the rarity of other 'outdoor' forms may suggest that they were brought in water.
The material seen in the 'squash' was mostly inorganic with a large amount of organic detritus, some fungal hyphae (perhaps modern), a few diatoms and five Trichuris sp. (whipworm) eggs (one with both polar plugs).
This deposit appears to have contained some very poorly preserved human faecal material.
Context 1007 [mid 11th century to mid 13th century - fill]
Sample 2
Moist, mid grey-brown, crumbly (working slightly plastic), slightly sandy clay silt. Very small stones (2 to 6mm), brick/tile, charcoal, wood and fragments of bone were present in the sample.
Cinder (to 30mm) and charcoal (to 20mm) made up a large proportion of the small residue, with sand the largest component of the finer fractions. Traces of bone and some small stones were present, with very decayed wood in all fractions. The concentration of identifiable plant remains was low and preservation was poor. The taxa present were mostly weeds, but toad-rush (Juncus bufonius L.), recorded in moderate numbers, suggests low-growing vegetation in damp or wet places, perhaps trampled paths with impeded drainage, whilst Sphagnum imbricatum leaves were again recorded, this time more frequently.
Arthropod remains were present in rather small numbers, with fly puparia the most abundant. The limited group of beetles consisted of species typical of urban deposits, but (subjectively) may have included a significant component of invaders of foul matter - with weak indications of material with the consistency of stable manure. The preservational condition of the insect remains was unusual.
The 'squash' yielded no parasite eggs; there was about 50% each of organic detritus and mineral sediment, with a few diatoms.
The balance of evidence suggests the presence of some rather foul organic matter in or near to the pit. The plant remains (including urban weeds) and low concentration of invertebrates may indicate that this deposit consisted of material taken from a ground surface and used to backfill the feature.
Context 1008 [mid 11th century to mid 13th century - fill]
Sample 3
The sample consisted mostly of concretions ranging in colour from yellow to orange-brown to dark brown to black with a matrix of moist, mid grey-brown, crumbly amorphous organic matter and silt. Pot, wood and fruitstones (embedded in the concretions) were also present.
The small residue included moderate amounts of faecal concretions (to 65mm) and charcoal (to 15mm); sand made up most of the finer fractions. There were also traces of pottery and mammal and fish bone and a little brick/tile (to 5mm). Plant remains were sparse and preservation was moderately good to poor. Consistent with the presence of faecal concretions, the only moderately abundant identifiable plant remains were seed fragments of corncockle (Agrostemma githago L.), likely to have been an unavoidable contaminant of flour-based foods. The other taxa were mainly weeds of cultivated land or waste places and are of no interpretative significance.
Arthropod remains were rare and mostly rather decayed, being red-brown in colour.
The 'squash' showed mostly mineral grains with a large amount of organic detritus, a few fungal spores, diatoms and modern soil nematodes and three Trichuris sp. eggs.
There is no doubt that this deposit consisted largely of (human) faecal material preserved in a mineral matrix which formed around the remains in situ.
Context 1014 [11th to 12th century - fill]
Sample 8
Moist, mid grey-brown, plastic to sticky, silty clay with patches of very rotted organic matter. Brick/tile, rotted ?mortar/plaster, charcoal and wood were present.
The small residue contained moderate amounts of brick/tile (to 30mm) and sand, with traces of charcoal, decayed wood, rotted mortar and bark. There were moderate numbers of identifiable plant remains whose state of preservation ranged from good to poor. Most notable were abundant fig seeds (whose generally good state of preservation reflects their resistance to decay); there were no other convincing 'foodplants' apart from some wheat/rye 'bran' fragments and an opium poppy seed, the other taxa mostly being weeds, particularly seed fragments of corncockle. Sphagnum imbricatum leaves were again present.
The flot contained a rather small group of rather poorly preserved insects, mostly synanthropic species typical of post-Conquest material seen by HK. This being so, and in view of the evidence from plant remains for faeces, the specimens of Sitophilus granarius may well have originated in ingested food, in the way discussed for sample 1.
The 'squash' was mostly inorganic with some organic detritus, many fungal spores and three Trichuris sp. eggs.
It is likely that some faecal material was present in this deposit.
Moist, mid to dark orange-brown, crumbly, amorphous organic sediment or very humic silt with abundant faecal concretions and some bird bone present.
The moderately large residue was dominated by fragments of faecal concretion (to 80mm) with some fish bones; the finer fractions were mostly sand with a little wheat/rye 'bran'. Other plant remains were sparse and preservation ranged from poor to good. Only corncockle seed fragments were present in more than very small amounts. The taxa represented were mostly weeds with a few probable foodplants (including apple 'core' and seeds, a linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) fragment, blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) and hazel nutshell (Corylus avellana L.)).
The flot contained quite large numbers of insects, showing unusual preservation (indicated by the yellowish to dirty orange colour). Fly puparia were predominant, and it was estimated that in excess of 100 ?Sphaeroceridae were present. The beetles were a heterogeneous group including species associated with foul matter, human habitation and (in very small numbers) open-air habitats. Most of the beetles probably entered the pit accidentally or in search of breeding places, although unlike the flies none appear to have established breeding populations.
The 'squash' gave 14 Trichuris eggs, two of which retained one polar plug, the remainder none; preservation was poor. Otherwise, there was organic detritus with many mineral grains, and a few fungal hyphae (perhaps modern) were noted.
This was another deposit rich in human faecal material, though with generally poor preservation of plant and invertebrate macrofossils.
Context 1028 [11th to 12th century - fill]
Sample 15
Gingery-brown to dark brown (to black internally), brittle concretions.
There was a large residue from this subsample, most of it consisting of faecal concretions larger than 4mm, and reaching a maximum of 40mm. The finer fractions (especially the <0.3mm), not surprisingly, were rich in wheat/rye 'bran' and there was some leek/onion (Allium sp.) leaf epidermis. Other components were restricted to a little fish bone and charcoal. Corncockle seed fragments were abundant (and there was some bird eggshell membrane representing another food component), but the few other plant remains were mainly from weed taxa.
Only a fraction of the large flot was examined for insect remains. Fly puparia were abundant but few beetles were seen. It seems likely that this deposit was either too foul for colonisation by beetles (some fly species being able in the immature stages to tolerate extremely vile conditions), or that burial was rapid.
The 'squash' was mostly organic detritus with many mineral grains, some plant tissue and fungal hyphae (perhaps modern) and twenty-three Trichuris sp. eggs.
There is no doubt that the bulk of this sample was faecal material.
Context 1030 [11th to 12th century - fill]
Sample 16
Moist, mid orange-grey-brown, crumbly, slightly silty amorphous organic sediment. Very small and small stones (2 to 20mm), brick/tile, twigs, eggshell and fly puparia were present and faecal concretions were common in the sample.
The small to moderately large residue consisted predominantly of what appeared to be very rotted mortar or granular lime. The largest fragments were 20mm but it was frequent or abundant in all fractions. There were moderate amounts of charcoal, too, the largest being 15mm, with traces of pottery, bone and wood, and a single small (20mm) fragment of faecal concretion. The small to moderate concentration of identifiable plant remains (which were in a poor to moderately good state of preservation) included some weed seeds and corncockle seed fragments and a few taxa which might represent wetland habitats. The single poorly preserved seed of opium poppy might have originated from a plant which was a weed or a foodplant. Two snails were also recorded (one Vallonia pulchella (Müller), one Vallonia sp.), of no interpretative significance.
Insects were numerous in the flot. The most abundant were fly puparia, but there was a group of beetles characteristic of rather foul decaying matter, together with some indicators of herbaceous vegetation. Two specimens of the bark beetle Leperisinus varius (Fabricius) were noted; this common species is generally found in ash (Fraxinus) and frequently imported in firewood. The most abundant beetle, however, was Sitophilus granarius, and this seems likely to have originated in faeces.
The 'squash' was mostly organic detritus with many mineral grains, a few fungal spores and hyphae (perhaps modern), thirteen Trichuris sp. eggs and one ?Ascaris sp. egg
This appears to have been another faecal deposit. There were weak hints of an insect assemblage associated with stable manure (decomposers and plant-feeders which might have been brought with hay) but on balance the insects seem most likely to have been a mixture of invaders of human faeces with species originating on urban weeds.
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Last updated: Wed Mar 6 2002