Event/Activity EPM123 - Archaeological Watching Brief at Wilton Place, Southsea

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by Southampton Archaeology Unit on groundworks at the western end of Wilton Place, Southsea, in 2008. The works were associated with the construction of extensions to existing buildings on the site to form three houses. This included the 19th century Laurel Cottage which was retained and enlarged. A total of 17 trenches ranging between 0.6m and 0.8m deep and averaging 0.5m wide were monitored during the watching brief. Five features including four pits were observed, all of which were sealed by a layer of garden soil containing Victorian chine and pearlware. It was concluded that these features may relate to a small cluster of buildings shown on Edwards map of 1716 and are the first archaeological evidence for settlement in this area. Finds included a fire-reddened flint, a fragment of abraded pottery (possibly medieval) and fragments of degraded animal bone. Accession number 2008/123