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| HER Number: | MSH1303 |
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| Type of Record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Saxon Gate on Back of the Walls - the eastern Inner Town Ditch |
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| Grid Reference: | SU 4216 1142 |
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| Map: | Show location on Streetmap |
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Summary
A part of the eastern inner town ditch was found during an excavation on the former Supreme Warehouse site (now Saxon Gate offices) on Back of the Walls in 1989 (SOU 397). Part of the berm between the inner and outer ditch was found. (See parent record MSH3425 for further details about this part of the town ditch.)
Protected Status: None recorded
Other References/Statuses
- HER backup file (new series): SOU 397 (paper & digital) etc
- Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4211 SW 31
Monument Type(s):
Full description
[1] SOU 397 Trench 2: The inner town ditch was exposed on this excavation. It was 16m across from the rampart to a central berm. The berm (cut by the later canal to east) survives to a maximum width of 1.8m. The ditch cut a layer containing 12th/13th century pottery.
IP 27/12/02: Only the ditch is indexed on this record. The exact location of the ditch is not given in the sources used for this record; the archive has not been checked.
SOU 397 (evaluation excavation in 1989 ?and watching brief/excavation in 1990):
[4]: Inner Ditch (Phase 5). Exposed in Trenches 1 and 2. In Trench 2 it was c14.5m wide, not bottomed but lowest excavated depth 4.18m OD. (See annotated plans.)
Backfill of inner ditch partly exposed in Trench 1. Trench 2 gave a section across entire width of inner ditch, through upper backfill layers. Backfilling of inner ditch occurred in 17th or 18th centuries.
HER 13/2/2020: [4] is a 2001 revision by P Cottrell of the original report by excavator T Robey, and contains some clear re-interpretations (for instance, the position of the central berm has been changed on annotated plans). It probably also includes the results of the follow-on excavation/watching brief, although not stated.
[4] states that “the edge of the outer ditch was located” (4.1.3); however this is not mentioned elsewhere. The central berm was identified, so presumably the western edge of the outer ditch was found. However, annotated plans only label the western edge of the canal, so perhaps the outer ditch was implied rather than found. Documentary evidence suggests a double ditch at this location.
Sources / Further Reading
| [1] | SSH712 - Serial: Morton, AD (ed), SCC. 1990. Annual Report of the Southampton Archaeological & Heritage Management Section 1990. p 39 - 40 |
| [2] | SSH792 - Serial: M Hughes (ed), Hampshire County Council. 1990. Archaeology in Hampshire Annual Report for 1989. p 35 |
| [3] | SSH828 - Serial: The Society for Medieval Archaeology. 1990. Medieval Archaeology, Vol 34, 1990 (for 1989). p 187 |
| [4] | SSH2109 - Archaeological Report: TS Robey and P Cottrell. 2001. The Supreme Warehouse Site, Back of the Walls, Southampton: An Archaeological Evaluation.. SOU 397. |
Associated Finds: None recorded
Associated Events
- ESH397 - Evaluation Excavation at the Supreme Warehouse on Back of the Walls in 1989 (Ref: SOU 397)
Related records
| MSH3425 | Child of: Town Defences - inner town ditch |
| MSH1356 | Peer (All Groups): Saxon Gate on Back of the Walls - The Eastern Town Rampart |
| MSH1355 | Peer (Chronological): Saxon Gate on Back of the Walls - Evidence Pre-Dating the Town Defences |
Associated Links: None recorded
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