Monument record 11275 - Land reclamation at the Roodee Racecourse

Archaeological investigations at the Roodee Racecourse in 1991 during the construction of a subway beneath the race track revealed a series of deposits containing post medieval artefacts.

The soil deposits extended to a depth of 6-8m below present ground level and consists of an upper deposit 3.5m thick of fine sandy soil sealing a much siltier organically rich deposit 2-3m thick containing disturbed Roman to post medieval finds. This in turn sealed a fine silty sand deposit 1-2m thick.

The artefact rich deposit appeared to represent a long period of deposition probably throughout the Roman to 17th century while the upper, sandy deposit may represent 18th century land reclamation for the canalisation of the river. (1)

<1> Ponsford, Michael, 1992, Post-Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1991 (Article in Journal). SCH6067.