Event/Activity EPM102 - Archaeological Evaluation Excavation at the Site of the Proposed 'Gaols' Building at Portsmouth College, Tangier Road, Portsmouth

An archaeological evaulation excavation was carried out by Southampton Archaeology Unit at the site of the proposed 'Goals' building at Portsmouth college between the 9th and 11th February 2009. The site was located on a presumed spit of dry ground projecting into Langstone Harbour, flanked by marshy ground to the east and west. There was a possibility the site may have been used for prehistoric activity, as evidence had been found at similar locations around Langstone Harbour. The site lay within the area of the Medieval 'Conegar Fields', and salterns in use from the prehistoric period onwards. Portsmouth Corporation used the area to dispose of municipal rubbish during the first half of the 20th century. Four trenches, 3m square, were excavated by mechanical digger to the top of the natural soil at each corner of the proposed 'Goals' building. As the northern edge of the building lay under a line of trees, the northern trenches were moved to the southern edge of the trees. The trenches were investigated by hand. The eastern trenches immediately filled with ground water, but it was possible to ascertain during initial excavation that no significant features were present. The trenches were then backfilled, and the turfs relaid. The earliest remains revealed by the excavation were associated with the disposal of municipal rubbish, possibly in the 1930s in connection with the laying out of the area as a municpal recreation ground. Although no evidence of prehistoric activity was found, this does not mean it did not take place on the site, just that it might be quite dispersed and was therefore not encounted in any of the evaluation trenches. Accession number: 2009/53