Monument MPM1390 - Post-medieval pit, New Theatre Royal

A post-medieval pit was revealed during a watching brief at the New Theatre Royal in 2013. The pit was roughly oval in shape with a concave base and measured 1.2m long, 1.1m wide and 150mm deep. Its fill contained one worked flint flake (tertiary with damaged edge) and a sherd of late-medieval or Tudor German stoneware beer tankard. The pit cut the top of the fill of a prehistoric post-hole (See MPM1389).

A series of early modern/modern features and layers were also revealed on the site (see MPM1391). The finds recovered from the post-medieval pit and early modern features suggest there was activity on the site, possibly a settlement, from the late medieval or Tudor period onwards. A map by De Gomme dated 1668 shows a small settlement with a windmill called 'Cold Harbour' in the approximate area of the Theatre Royal site.

Accession number: 2013/535

Anderson, E L & Cottrell, P R, 2013, Archaeological Watching Brief at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM255.