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Summary

The castle bailey ditch in front of the Castle East Gate was found during an archaeological watching brief on a trench dug along the line of the new Inner Ring Road (now Castle Way) in 1961 (SOU 621). The exposed ditch fills contained 16th century pottery. The observations showed that the castle ditch was continuous in front of the East Gate, with no evidence of a causeway. The ditch may have been recut/realigned to the east when the Castle Eastgate towers were built in the 14th century, however the evidence for this is unclear. (See parent record MSH3404 - the north bailey ditch.)

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• HER backup file (new series): SOU 621  Paper and digital - not yet LibraryLinked
• Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4111 SE 152  

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1100 AD? to 1539 AD)
• DITCH (first dug, Medieval - 1100 AD to 1250 AD)
• DITCH (recut, Medieval - 1378 AD to 1400 AD)

Full description

SOU 621 (Watching brief on a sewer trench dug along the line of the Inner Ring Road - Castle Way - in 1961):
[2] in [1] (pages 182, 184): To the east of the Castle East Gate, the observations showed that the castle ditch was continuous in front of the East Gate, there being no evidence of a causeway. The filling of the ditch here consisted of loose black soil containing 16th century pottery.
On an 1960/61 excavation outside Castle East Gate (SOU 147), 13th century ditch fills were found in front of the gate. The SOU 621 sewer trench was 3m east of the limits of the SOU 147 excavation; only 16th century ditch fills were found on SOU 621. It is suggested that the ditch was realigned (recut) to the east when the two towers were built; documentary evidence suggests this may have occurred in the 14th century.

IP 30/10/09: The SOU 621 sewer trench is recorded from a point south of West Street to somewhere north of the Castle East Gate, although the original 1961 records are scanty, and there are problems with the location of the separate observations (see event record). The course of the trench lay mainly in the former Castle ditch [4]. The outer (southern) edge of the ditch was revealed [3][4]; this is recorded on MSH3402, part of the motte ditch. 16th century pottery was found in the ditch fill [4], apparently in that area. A stone cannonball was also found, apparently in the castle motte ditch (see MSH947). In the 1961 sources [3][4] there is nothing specifically about observations outside the Castle East Gate, and the 16th century pottery seems to have been found further south, in the motte ditch rather than the bailey ditch. The grounds for the recut suggested in [2] are therefore uncertain.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESH621 - Watching Brief on a Sewer Trench dug along the line of the Inner Ring Road (Castle Way) in 1961 (Ref: SOU 621)

Related records

Associated Links: None recorded

If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).

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