Event/Activity EPM84 - Watching brief at 5 Lion Street, Portsea, Portsmouth

Watching brief undertaken during groundworks for the development of a three-storey block of flats at 5 Lion Street in Portsea, Portsmouth in March 2005. Cartographic evidence showed that until the 19th century, the site lay within an inlet of a large tidal pond known as The Mill Pond, and the irregular road layout is a result of this feature. Direct observation and verbal evidence following the drilling of pile holes (these had been drilled before an archaeologist arrived on site), confirmed that the site lay within the confines of The Mill Pond, with early Modern infill overlying tidal muds. Ring-beams dug on the 16th March revealed modern demolition material which appeared to be from a workshop demolished as part of the present re-development, mixed with earlier demolition material. Below this was a layer of grey sand containing fragments of brick and tile. This may have been the top of the tidal mud, although it was thought more likely to be 19th/20th century infill. The watching brief was terminated following the excavation of the selected ring-beam trenches, as it was felt that no more useful information could be gathered. Accession number 2005/193