Event/Activity EPM187 - Archaeological Watching Brief at Ariadne and Piazza, Gunwharf Quays

Gifford Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief during the redevelopment of the Ariadne and Piazza site at Gunwharf Quays in July and September 2002. The quay walls to the Old Gunwharf, built 1690-1710, and the Mill Redoubt built 1668-1685 (part of the Portsmouth Town defences) were known to have originally stood within the area of the development site. The watching brief comprised the monitoring of the excavation of test pits and below ground works, which included the digging of test pits to remove any large obstructions where piles were to be located. A total of six test pits were excavated by mechanical digger in July in order to locate the earlier quay wall and Mill Redoubt. The exact dimensions of the test pits were not recorded, but five of these measured approximately 3-4m long x 1.2m wide and a sixth about 5m square. The depth of the excavations prevented any detailed recording of the walls. Obstructions revealed in the separate series of test pits excavated where the piles were to be positioned in September were recorded and located. Sections of the Old Gunwharf's quay wall and part of the Mill Redoubt wall were revealed during the watching brief, and their depth and location recorded. As the Mill Redoubt wall had been fully excavated and recorded during an earlier investigation it was not recorded again during the watching brief. Timbers relating to the cofferdam for the construction of the quay wall were recovered from one of the test pits. A large stone and brick culvert, possibly a sluice or overflow to the millpond and tidal wall was revealed in another. Concrete foundations to the late 19th/early 20th century Commanding Officer's quarters overlaid part of the quay wall. A large stone foundation belonging to the Armoury building of Old Gunwharf was revealed to the north east of the test pits during construction work. This building was demolished during the early 20th century when the Ariadne Wardroom was constructed on the site. The watching brief only uncovered a small amount of archaeological deposits within the area of the site. Accession No: 2002/391