Event/Activity EPM163 - Archaeological Watching Brief at 6 Kent Street, Portsea, Portsmouth

Southampton Archaeology Unit carried out a watching brief on groundworks for the construction of a block of flats at 6 Kent Street, Portsea, in 2007. The site had previously been occupied by a building dating to c.1870-1897, which was demolished before the watching brief took place. Earlier buildings were demolished during the 19th century. Prior to the development, two trial boreholes were drilled, one at the north and one at the south of the site. At the north end of the site, the borehole revealed soil and clay with broken brick to a depth of 1.8m with sandy gravel below. The borehole at the south end revealed made ground and topsoil to a depth of 1.0m, then a layer of brick and lime 0.5m thick, a layer of mud with broken brick 0.3m thick, and a layer of wet, black mud 1.2m thick. Below the latter, at a depth of 3m was clay, which was interpreted as natural. The results of the trial boreholes suggest that early 18th century gravel extraction on the site had left a hole of uneven depth, which was later filled with a mixture of materials. The layer of brick and lime seen in the southern borehole probably relates to the demolition of earlier buildings on the site during the 19th century. The layer of mud may represent the infilling of the gravel pit with material dredged from the Dockyard. Similar evidence had been recorded during a watching brief at the John Pounds Centre site in nearby St James' Street in 2002. The whole of the site was excavated by machine to a depth of 500mm, before the insertion of a mass concrete slab foundation. The only contexts observed were modern deposits, relating to the occupation and demolition of former buildings on the site. No archaeologically significant features or deposits were recorded. Accession number: 2007/17