An Archaeological Evaluation at The Six Bells public house, St ...

Archaeology South-EastASEAn Archaeological Evaluation at The Six Bells public house,St Michael’s Street, St Albans, HertfordshireNGR: TL 13677 07398NGR: 513677 207398Project No: 5024Site Code: SXB 11ASE Report No: 2011190Dylan Hopkinson MAWith contributions by Gemma Ayton, Paul Blinkhorn, Trista Clifford,Anna Doherty, Karine Le Hégarat, Sarah Porteus and Elke RaemenAugust 2011

An Archaeological Evaluation at The Six Bells public house,St Michael’s Street, St Albans, HertfordshireNGR: TL 13677 07398NGR: 513677 207398Project No: 5024Site Code: SXB 11ASE Report No: 2011190Dylan Hopkinson MAWith contributions by Gemma Ayton, Paul Blinkhorn, Trista Clifford,Anna Doherty, Karine Le Hégarat, Sarah Porteus and Elke RaemenAugust 2011Archaeology South-EastUnits 1 & 22 Chapel PlacePortsladeEast SussexBN41 1DRTel: 01273 426830Fax: 01273 420866Email: fau@ucl.ac.uk

AbstractArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190An archaeological evaluation was conducted in the car-park of The Six Bells publichouse, St Michael’s Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4SH (NGR 513677 207398).Archaeology South-East, a division of the Centre for Applied Archaeology, UCL, wascommissioned to carry out the work by Oxford Scientific Films. The work was carriedout between 11 th July and 15 th July 2011 and formed part of a pilot programme to betelevised by the History Channel and Channel 5.The site lies within the walls of Roman Verulamium and Roman structures interpretedas a bath-house had been previously identified on the site during the extension of thepub buildings in 1974-5. Two trenches were excavated by Archaeology South-East inorder to further assess the extent of these structures, and to demonstratearchaeological procedures and local history to the wider public.In Trench 2, two abutting Roman walls were recorded, one of which shared the samealignment as the NW-SE wall of the earlier excavations under the public house.Roman floor surfaces were also identified associated with these walls. A deposit ofpainted plaster was identified face down as it had fallen from a wall or ceiling. TheseRoman levels had been sealed by a post medieval deposit that was cut by a numberof refuse pits and postholes and the trench was sealed by a deep deposit of Victoriangarden soil and the car-park surface.Trench 1 identified a large circular cut feature with fire scorched edges and a decayedchalk deposit at the base; this was interpreted as a post-medieval lime kiln thought tohave gone out of use during the 18 th to 19 th centuries.i© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190CONTENTS1.0 Introduction2.0 Archaeological Background3.0 Archaeological Methodology4.0 Results5.0 Finds6.0 Environmental Samples7.0 DiscussionBibliographyAcknowledgementsAppendix A: Quantification of findsAppendix B: Residue quantificationAppendix C: Flot quantificationAppendix D: Coin catalogueFIGURESFigure 1: Site locationFigure 2: Trench locationFigure 3: Trench 1 plan, sections and photosFigure 4: Trench 2 plan, sections and photosFigure 5: Painted wall plaster from contexts [010] and [012]Figure 6: Painted wall plaster from context [005]Figure 7: Selected potteryFigure 8: Site plan showing location of features identified in 1970’s excavationsTABLESTable 1: Quantification of site archiveTable 2: List of contexts in Trench 1Table 3: List of contexts in Trench 2Table 4: Post-Roman pottery: occurrence by number and weight (in g) of sherds percontext by fabric typeTable 5: Summary of building material recovered by periodTable 6: Quantification of Roman building material formsTable 7: The Registered FindsTable 8: Quantification of the flintworkTable 9: Animal bone: NISP countsii© Archaeology South-East

1.0 INTRODUCTIONArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111901.1 Site Background1.1.1 Archaeology South-East (ASE) (a division of The Centre for Applied Archaeology at theInstitute of Archaeology, University College London) was commissioned by OxfordScientific Films (hereafter referred to as OSF) to undertake an archaeological evaluationin the grounds of The Six Bells public house, St Michael’s Street, St Albans,Hertfordshire, AL3 4SH (NGR 513677 207398, Fig. 1) as the archaeological element ofa pilot television programme exploring the history of the pub, Verulamium and St Albans.1.2 Geology and Topography1.2.1 According to the British Geological Survey (BGS 2011), the superficial geology of thesite consists of undifferentiated River Terrace deposits of sand and gravel which rise tothe south west from the current alluvial flood plain of the River Ver. The underlyingbedrock geology comprises undifferentiated Lewes Nodular and Seaford Chalkformations.1.2.2 The site is situated towards the eastern limit of the modern town of St Albans and withinthe extent of the previous Iron Age territorial oppidum and subsequent Roman town ofVerulamium; however it lies just outside the Scheduled Areas associated withVerulamium.1.2.3 The site covers an area of 590 m 2, representing the rear car park of the Six Bells publichouse. This is bounded to the south by St Michael's Street, to the east by a flint wall andresidential property, to the north by a flint wall with a car park and grassland beyond, andto the west by a residential property.1.3 Aims and Objectives1.3.1 A Written Scheme of Investigation was prepared in advance of the evaluation, andapproved by Simon West, the St Albans District Archaeologist (ASE 2011). Thedocument set out the following aims and objectives:1.3.2 General To excavate and record all archaeological remains and deposits exposed in theexcavation with a view to understanding their character, extent, preservation,significance and date.To provide material and setting for OSF filming.To assess, analyse and publish any findings.1.3.3 SpecificTo determine whether there is further evidence of Late Iron Age activity on the site inassociation with the previously discovered coin moulds, Late Iron Age / early Romanclay wall or inception of the Bath House?To determine whether there are further remains associated with the early Roman bathhouse and the pre Boudican development of the site?1© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190To determine whether there is evidence relating to the later Roman occupation of thesite?To determine whether there is evidence relating to the post-Roman occupation of thesite? To investigate how the site developed during the medieval and early post-medievalperiod in association with the Six Bells public house and determine whether there isevidence of a precursor to this structure?1.4 Scope of the Report1.4.1 This report provides an account of the archaeological evaluation and places it within thecontext of earlier work in the vicinity, namely the excavations of the extension to the pubin 1974 and 1975. The fieldwork was undertaken between the 11 th July and the 15 th July2011 by Dylan Hopkinson and Nick Garland (Archaeologists); finds were processed onsite by Anna Doherty (Senior Archaeologist).1.4.2 The project was managed by Jon Sygrave (fieldwork) and Jim Stevenson (postexcavationanalysis).2© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111902.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND2.1 Introduction2.1.1 An HER search and a review of published material was requested and the HertfordshireCounty Council HER Officer Dr Isobel Thompson helped define an appropriate search areaof 100 metre radius around the site and provided a summary of the site's later Iron Age andRoman background. The site is situated within the confines of the Late Iron Age oppidumand in a significant part of the Roman town of Verulamium, within Insula XIX. It isapproximately 13 metres from the street that divided Insula XIX from Insula XVIII and whichleads from the north-east gate of the town towards the Basilica. The site therefore has a highpotential for remains from the later Iron Age to Roman transition (SADC 2005, 13).2.2 Prehistoric2.2.1 Evidence for human activities in the Ver valley prior to the later Iron Age is scarce althoughfour monuments have been identified in the wider landscape. A small number of find-spotsof Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age pottery are located on the southern side of the valley,whilst. Late Bronze Age flint debitage has also been identified in pits on the northern flank ofthe valley.2.3 Late Iron Age2.3.1 It is thought that the Late Iron Age settlement developed on the higher ground on both sidesof the Ver valley; and was defined behind long boundary ditches that demarcated domesticareas from the valley itself. This site was known as Verlamion, or Verlamio, and was thetribal capital of the Catuvellauni tribe in Iron Age Britain.2.4 Roman2.4.1 The transition from the Late Iron Age to Roman periods is not thought to have been typifiedby sudden change as a result of Roman conquest, but rather by a longer period oftransformation of the previous Late Iron Age oppidum. The Late Iron Age Chieftain survivedthe beginning of the Roman occupation as a Client King, dying after c. AD50, when he wasinterred with grave goods, including a suit of chain mail armour, in a burial above and to thenorth of the oppidum.2.4.2 At this time, the early Roman settlement gained the status of municipium and was namedVerulamium, allowing its leading magistrates to become Roman citizens. The first street gridsystem was laid out between c. AD50-60, following the Client King's death and prior to theBoudican revolt. This formalised layout is thought to follow roughly the Late Iron Age roadalignment.2.4.3 The town was destroyed in the Boudican rebellion of AD60/1, and although this appears tohave had a severe impact for a number of years, the settlement developed into a fullyfunctioning Roman town during the Flavian period, with a forum and basilica completed inAD79-81.2.5 Saxon and Medieval3© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111902.5.1 The early post-Roman (5 th -8 th centuries) occupation of the town was centred on St Michael'svillage. St Michael's Church, which lies to the south-west of the site, was thought to havebeen constructed in the 10 th century and was one of the three churches on the main roadsentering St Albans which helped prepare pilgrims for their visit to St Alban's shrine in theAbbey. The church’s graveyard is thought to have extended beyond its present bounds towithin c. 50m of the present site.2.6 The Six Bells2.6.1 The Six Bells public house is thought to date back to the 15 th century and, with its position onone of the main roads into St Albans, may have offered accommodation to pilgrims and theirattendants and horses in buildings or yards, within the plot now covered by the car park.This area may also have housed other outbuildings associated with brewing or maltingsimilar to the one recorded to the north-east of the site (MHT7073). Later cess pits andrubbish pits may also have been associated with the later post-medieval pub.2.7 Previous Excavations (Fig 8)2.7.1 Excavations were carried out during the construction of the extension of the Six Bells pub in1974/5. Although the results were not fully published, a short summary appeared in Britannia(Wilson et al 1975, 258) and the excavations were reported on in a grey literature document(Saunders unpublished).2.7.2 The earliest material uncovered during the 1974/5 excavations was a scatter of nondiagnosticflint implements, probably of Mesolithic date, identified within a buried soiloverlying the natural geology; however this soil contained material of various dates and theflints were considered to be residual.2.7.3 Evidence of pre-conquest activity was uncovered on the site, the most significant elementbeing 38 fragments of Iron Age coin moulds and grog tempered ‘Belgic’ type pottery within adeposit sealed by early Roman contexts.2.7.4 One wall of a timber framed building with clay walls was identified during the excavations.This had been destroyed by fire, presumably during the Boudican revolt. This wall seems tohave been strengthened with amphora sherds and rendered with a blue painted plaster.Although little of the wall plan was identified, it did seem to share the same alignment as asecond masonry building immediately to the north-east.2.7.5 This building was represented by three masonry walls. On the south-western side of thebuilding, an exterior wall was identified with dressed faces and chalk foundations; its innerface exhibited a series of short buttresses or pilasters. From this face, an interior floorsurface survived with a dado moulding at the junction of the wall and the floor. The tworemaining walls formed an ‘L’ junction some three metres to the east, extending furthereastwards and northwards. This configuration formed an ‘ambulatory’ where the floorsurface was identified and the internal part of the ‘L’ enclosed a sunken floor some 1.10mbelow the primary floor of the ambulatory. The building was interpreted as a bath-housealthough it may have been connected to other buildings and there were suggestions that itmay have been preceded by an earlier structure.2.7.6 This building had also been fire damaged, and again it is thought that this happened duringthe Boudican revolt. This suggests that the ‘bath house’ may have been one of the earliestRoman additions to the Late Iron Age oppidum.4© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111902.7.7. Although damaged, the building was re-used in some form after a new mortar floor was laidand timber lined drains were replaced. However, between c. AD 70-80, the bath buildingfurther decayed and there is evidence that it was eventually deliberately dismantled, and thearea used for rubbish disposal during the late 1 st and early 2 nd century.2.7.8 The earliest post-Roman activity on the Six Bells extension site was the digging of a pitthat contained 13th-14th century pottery; however, there was no good evidence foractivities in this area until the post-medieval period when a 17th-18th century timberbuilding occupied the street frontage.5© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111903.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY3.1 Excavation Methodology3.1.1 The work was carried out in accordance with the Written Scheme of Investigationprepared prior to the commencement of the evaluation (ASE 2011), and followedrelevant professional guidelines (IfA 2008).3.1.2 The St Albans District Archaeologist (Simon West) and the archaeological representativeof OSF (Paul Blinkhorn) were present on site during the excavation; they were informedof progress and were available to meet on site regularly to review progress.3.1.3 The original methodology set out in the WSI comprised the excavation of two trencheswithin the rear car park of The Six Bells. Trench 1, at the entrance to the car-park, was tomeasure 3m by 2m and Trench 2 was to measure 3m by 6m. This excavation strategywas initially followed but, after the machine excavation of Trench 1, a single cut featurewas identified lying just within the northern extent of the trench. Following discussionswith the District Archaeologist and the archaeological representative of OSF, a decisionwas made to extend Trench 1 by around a metre to the north-west (Fig. 2).3.1.4 The trenches were stripped using a c. 3 ton 360º tracked machine. The machine wasused to remove undifferentiated topsoil or made ground in spits of no more than 100mmuntil archaeological deposits were encountered or the top of the underlying naturalsediments was reached. The mechanical excavator was fitted with a smooth gradingbucket and care was taken not to damage archaeological deposits by over machining.3.1.5 After the stripping and planning of the excavation areas was completed, an excavationstrategy was agreed with the St Albans District Archaeologist in association with OSF.Given the limited time available, excavation focused on post-Roman features and layers.As well as aiding understanding of later development on the site, the excavation of postmedievalcut features allowed Roman stratigraphy to be exposed and recorded withoutbeing impacted upon.3.1.6 The excavation was carried out using the single context method, as described in theMoLAS (1994) site manual. All excavated spoil was scanned with a metal detector.3.1.7 The sampling strategy for palaeoenvironmental remains involved bulk samples ofbetween 40 and 60 litres, collected for the recovery of carbonised remains, animalbones, molluscs and small artefacts.3.1.8 When excavation and recording was complete, the exposed archaeological surfaceswere protected using Terram geotextile. The trenches were backfilled and reinstated byASE's ground works contractor, using 0.20m of soft fine sand and were topped up withtype one aggregate.3.2 Public Engagement3.2.1 During the fieldwork, ASE had access to volunteers recommended by the DistrictArchaeologist, who were involved in metal detecting spoil from the excavations and ininitial on site identification of artefacts.3.2.2 As the excavation took place in an area frequented by members of the public thetrenches were suitably fenced off, and ASE staff were on hand to explain the progress ofthe excavation.6© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111903.3 Recording Methodology3.3.1 A temporary benchmark was transferred into the site from the street outside the pub andthe trench locations planned onto the Ordnance Survey National Grid by triangulatingfrom known points on surveyed buildings. All remains were levelled with respect toOrdnance Survey datum.3.3.2 All archaeological features were recorded according to standard ASE practice, followingthe MoLAS (1994) site manual. The site was planned on plastic drafting film, using thesingle context method at a scale of 1:20 on 5m by 5m grids; sections were drawn at1:10. Features and deposits were described on standard pro-forma recording sheetsused by ASE. A photographic record of all features was made in digital format and withblack and white and colour slide film.3.4 Site Archive3.4.1 The site archive is currently held at the offices of ASE and has been offered to the StAlbans Museum for curation. The contents of the archive are tabulated below (Table 1).Trench Record Sheets 2Number of Context Register Sheets 2Number of Context Sheets 47Photographic Record Sheets 6Photographs 114Drawing List Sheets 2Drawing Sheets 32Levels Record Sheets 3Bulk Sample Register Sheets 2Bulk Sample Record Sheets 5No. of files/paper record 1Table 1: Quantification of site archive7© Archaeology South-East

4.0 RESULTSArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111904.1 Trench 1 (Fig. 3; Table 2)4.1.1 Natural geologyIn Trench 1, a natural deposit, [041], comprising a firm orangeish-brown clay withoccasional gravels, was identified at a height of 82.07m AOD.4.1.2 Layers directly overlying natural geologyThe natural geology was overlain by a deposit, [040], of firm orangeish-brown clay,containing common pieces of burnt clay or daub up to 5mm in diameter and occasionalcharcoal flecks. This deposit was 1.02m wide, and its length was greater than the widthof the trench; it was not excavated but its surface was observed at around 0.13m abovethe level of natural geology (Fig 3, section 3). This was interpreted as re-depositednatural clay and it is possible that it is a remnant of the overlying clay layer, [043], thatwas removed by machine excavation of the trench (4.4.3).Deposit [043] was firm orangeish brown clay with common gravel inclusions andfrequent charcoal flecks; this was observed in the southern half of the trench over adistance of 2.80m; it was 0.30m thick. It is likely to be re-deposited natural clay, similarto layer [040] but without any observed burnt clay / daub inclusions.4.1.3 Possible lime kilnThis clay layer was cut by a large circular feature, [006], of 2.60m in diameter andaround 2.00m in depth. The feature was initially only partially exposed and the trenchwas lengthened so that its extent could be determined. Its upper fill was hand excavatedto a depth of around 0.55m and, given the time available, an auger sounding was carriedout to determine its depth. The exposed sides of the feature were vertical and showedclear signs of heat scorching of the surrounding deposits through which it was cut(shown on Figure 1 as [031]). The heat scorching was initially restricted to a zone of highdiscolouration up to 0.26m wide around the cut; in the eastern side of the cut, this zoneof orange scorching was thinner - around 0.12m wide - and the zone behind it was heatscorched to a blackish brown colour. There were also indications of heat transformationof the re-deposited clay, [043], up to 1.00m from the cut edge.The earliest deposit brought up by the auger was a reddish-orange gritty clay, [038],similar in appearance to the zone of heat scorching observed in the sides of cut [006].This was observed to be at least 0.24m thick and interpreted as heat modified naturalclay: the top of this context therefore being the base of cut [006]. Fragments of thismaterial recovered from an environmental sample displayed numerous thin grey bands,perhaps suggesting repeated firing to a high temperature.The probable primary fill of feature [006] was [039], a 0.35m thick layer of soft and friablepale grey gravely silt, containing common charcoal flecks and chalk pieces of up to40mm in diameter, which was also only tested by auger. This deposit was thought to bederived from the burning of chalk within a kiln to create lime.The upper fill of feature [006], [005] was a pale orangeish-brown sandy silt with frequentflint nodules of less than 0.20m in diameter and common chalk pieces of less than0.10m in diameter, as well as common charcoal flecks and occasional large voids This8© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190deposit was excavated by hand and by auger to a total depth of 0.95m.Fill [005] had a rubbly appearance, possibly suggesting that it represents deliberatebackfilling when the possible kiln went out of use. The animal bone assemblage fromthis context showed evidence of butchery; however, the bone was evenly distributedthrough the deposit and may have been incorporated in backfill material rather thanrepresenting a primary dump of butchery waste. In any event it appears that part of theheat scorched edge of the kiln or pit had collapsed by this time, or was displaced duringthe infilling of the feature, as a small area of heat scorched clay was observed lyinghorizontally and was sealed by [005].This deposit has been dated to the post-medieval period by a piece of clay tobacco pipe,dated to 1720-1800, and a post-Roman date is supported by small pieces of limestoneidentified as ‘clunch’, a building stone quarried from the upper chalk at Totternhoe andused in St Albans and elsewhere from the 13 th century onwards. However, this depositalso contained a quantity of redeposited Roman material including pottery which wasexclusively of 1 st century date, painted wall plaster and a fragment of Roman flue tilesimilar to those identified within early Roman heated structures such as bath complexes.Seven fragments of burnt daub were also recorded, which may also suggest that anearly Roman structure was located in the vicinity.4.1.4 Layers and features post-dating the possible lime kilnThe rubble fill was finally sealed by, [004], a levelling layer of dark brown sandy silt withcommon chalk flecks and frequent gravels. This layer of made ground was 0.30m thick,and contained a sherd of probable 17 th century Red Earthenware, as well as Roman,medieval and post-medieval CBM.Layer [004] was cut by a number of later post-medieval features. Firstly, a linear cut,[003], with a sloping base, measuring 1.20m wide and 0.45m deep was recorded in thenorth-east facing section. The cut had steep flat sides and a flat base in profile and wasfilled with a dark blackish-brown sandy silt [002].Secondly, a sub circular pit, [034], measuring 0.77m in diameter and 0.78m in depth wasobserved in the north of the trench, also cutting layer [004]; this was filled with ablackish-brown sandy silt, [033].Thirdly, a drainage soakaway cut [045] was located in the south-east of the trench. Thisextended into the trench by 0.14m and was filled with brick rubble [044]. This featurewas not excavated.The last of the features cutting layer [004] was the squared end of a pit, [047]. Itmeasured 1.00m wide and 0.61m deep and was observed extending into the trench by0.18m in the middle of the southwest facing trench section. This was filled with, [046], ablackish brown sandy silt. The feature was exposed during the machine excavation ofthe trench and was not excavated.The features and deposits in Trench 1 were sealed by [001], the tarmac of the car park.9© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190ContextNumberTypeDescriptionMax. DepositThickness (m)Datum m AOD001 Deposit Tarmac 0.10m 82.86002 Deposit Fill of cut [003] 0.45m 82.63003 Cut Linear cut 0.45m 82.63004 Deposit Made Ground 0.30m 82.86005 Deposit Sealing fill of kiln cut [006] 0.95m 82.51006 Cut Kiln cut 2.00m 82.51031 Deposit Heat scorched natural - 82.37033 Deposit Fill of sub circular pit cut 0.78m 82.58034 Cut Sub circular pit cut 0.78m 82.58038 Deposit Heat scorched natural in base of 0.40m 80.87[006]039 Deposit Chalky basal fill of [006] 0.35m 81.18040 Deposit Re-deposited natural - 82.51041 Deposit Natural clay - 82.07042 Deposit Collapsed side of kiln cut 0.24m 82.51043 Deposit Re-deposited natural 0.30m 82.51044 Deposit Brick rubble soakaway fill 0.48m + 82.38045 Cut Soakaway cut 0.48m + 82.38046 Deposit Squared pit fill 0.61m 82.47047 Cut Squared pit cut 0.61m 82.47Table 2: List of contexts in Trench 14.2 Trench 2 (Fig. 4, Table 3)4.2.1 IntroductionExcavation within Trench 2 did not extend to the natural geology but stopped at thesurface of the Roman archaeology.4.2.2 Roman wallsStratigraphically the earliest feature identified was a north-west – south-east orientatedwall, [018]. This was constructed of 40mm thick Roman bricks ranging in size from0.16m by 0.13m to 0.20m by 0.14m. The wall was only seen in plan and no brick samplewas extracted for analysis. The wall was 0.50m wide and was observed running acrossthe trench over a distance of 2.95m.Butting against the south-western face of this wall was a second perpendicular wall,[037], which was of similar construction and measured 0.50m in width; it extended to thesouthwest for a distance of 2.97m and continued beyond the limit of excavation. In onearea, where this wall had been partially cut by a later feature, a possible course of flintnodules was just visible.4.2.3 Roman layersOn either side of wall [037], were deposits of dark orangeish brown sandy clay withcharcoal flecks, plaster inclusions and moderate gravels; to the northwest these wereassigned the number [035] and to the southeast, [036]. These deposits were not© Archaeology South-East10

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190excavated and could be interpreted either as floor surfaces or accumulations ofdemolition material within the rooms defined by the walls.A similar deposit of orangeish brown gravely clay with charcoal and plaster inclusions,[048], was observed in the north-eastern end of the trench, to the north of wall [018].This deposit was not fully visible in plan and was only observed where later features[013]; [015] and [017] had cut through overlying layer [010]; it was seen to be at least0.38m deep.Another area of mortar floor surface, [049], was similarly only partially exposed in plan,in the southern corner of the trench, where later features [026] and [028] cut throughoverlying layer, [011]. Because the floor was only partially exposed and was notexcavated, no physical relationship with the floor/demolition deposit, [036], was proven;however, the surface of the floor was at a higher level than [036] and therefore probablyoverlay it.In the northern half of the trench, a layer of painted plaster, [010], was observed, with thepainted surface facing down as though it had fallen from a wall or ceiling in a singleevent; the plaster itself was considered more likely to derive from wall (see below). Asmall amount of this plaster was lifted to confirm that it had a painted surface, and wasshown to have stripes and borders in yellow, red, green, white and pink; however it wasnot possible to identify the motif from the fragments lifted. This layer was seen to sealthe orangeish brown gravely clay [048], although no relationship was observed with wall[037], or with [035] and [036], the potential floor/demolition deposits either side of it.4.2.4 Post-medieval layers and featuresThe plaster layer was in turn sealed by, [011], a deposit of orangeish brown sandy claywith frequent gravel inclusions and small mortar fragments. This deposit survived as alayer that covered the entire southern half of the trench and, in isolated patches over theplaster, in the northern half of the trench. An area of this was excavated along thenorthern side and the western corner of the trench; here the deposit was seen to be0.14m thick. Roman pottery, CBM and tesserae were recovered from what was thoughton site to have been a demolition layer associated with the abandonment of the Romanbuildings; however, post-medieval CBM was also recovered with a date range from 16 thto 19 th centuries.A number of features cut through layer [011], including three postholes, all of whichwhich were square in plan with slightly rounded corners, sharing similar dimensions ofaround 0.20-0.30m in length and width and 0.20m in depth, suggesting that they formedpart of a structure. Posthole cut [017] extended slightly beyond the north-western trenchsection, it was filled by [016], a dark brown silty clay. Around 1.60m to the south-east, laypost-hole [020], which was filled by, [019], a light orangeish brown silty clay. The finalposthole, [022], lay at 90 0 to the first two at a distance of 2.23m to the southwest of[019]; this was filled with a dark greyish brown silty clay, [021]. Most of the finds from thisgroup of post-holes were residual Roman ones. A single fragment of 19 th -20 th centuryglass, from fill [020], may provide a terminus post quem for the filling of these featuresbut, considering that they are overlain by a Victorian layer, this might be intrusive,particularly as two other finds - a probable 17 th century sherd of Anglo-Dutch Tin-glazedEarthenware, from fill [019], and a fragment of 17 th -19 th century CBM, from context [021]– are somewhat earlier in date.A short, shallow linear cut [029] was identified cutting layer [011] along the line of theRoman wall, [018]. This feature was over 0.94m in length (extending beyond the limit of11© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190excavation), 0.37m wide and 0.05m deep. It is thought to be a scar caused by theremoval of bricks either during a wall robbing or site levelling episode. The fill, [030] wasa greyish brown grit and silt.Finally in the north-eastern corner of the trench, part of a sub-circular pit with an irregularprofile was observed cutting layer [011]. This pit, [013], measured 0.80m by 0.75m andwas 0.38m deep; it was filled by [012], a single fill of dark greyish brown silty clay.Above these features, the whole trench was covered by a thin layer of dark brown sandysilt subsoil, [009], which was 0.05m thick and contained post-medieval CBM.4.2.5 Victorian garden soil and later featuresDeposit [009] was in turn sealed by a 0.50m thick deposit of blackish brown sandy siltwith common grits and gravels, [008], that was interpreted as a Victorian garden soil; itcontained 19 th -20 th century pottery as well as residual medieval peg tile and Romanpottery and CBM.Three pits cut through the garden soil layer. In the northern corner of the trench, part of alarge sub-circular pit, [015], with irregular profile was partially excavated in order to viewthe layers below the Roman plaster surface. It measured 1.10m by 0.90m and wasexcavated to a depth of 1.17m. Its fill, [014], was a dark brown sandy silt, containingpost-medieval wine bottles and brick rubble.Two further intercutting pits were excavated in the southern corner of the trench. Theearlier of these, [028], measured 1.43m by 1.00m and was only observed to have adepth of 0.07m; however part of the upper extent of this pit was removed during themachine stripping of the trench. The fill of this feature, [027], was a dark brown sandysilt.The later pit, [026], measured 2.10m by 0.45m and extended into the trench sections tothe south and east; it had straight, near vertical sides and a depth of 0.68m. The fill ofthis pit, [025], was a mid brown sandy silt with occasional gravels and contained 17 th –19 th century CBM.The bases of pits [028] and [026] were exactly at the level of the Roman mortar floor[049] and wall [037]. Although an attempt had been made to break through the wall,creating a scar through the upper course of bricks, this suggests that the digging of19 th /20 th century pits was impeded by the underlying Roman masonry.Trench 2 was sealed by the car park tarmac surface, [007], which was 0.20m in depth.12© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190ContextNumberTypeDescriptionMax. DepositThickness (m)Datum m AOD007 Deposit Tarmac 0.20m 83.11008 Deposit Garden soil 0.50m 82.78009 Deposit Subsoil 0.05m 82.27010 Deposit Collapsed painted plaster 0.06m 82.13011 Deposit Clay rich abandonment 0.14m 82.25012 Deposit Fill of pit [013] 0.38m 82.10013 Cut Pit cut 0.38m 82.10014 Deposit Fill of pit [015] +1.17m 82.80015 Cut Pit cut +1.17m 82.80016 Deposit Fill of posthole [017] 0.20m 82.15017 Cut Posthole cut 0.20m 82.15018 Masonry Roman wall aligned NW - SE - 82.17019 Deposit Fill of posthole [020] 0.18m 82.07020 Cut Posthole cut 0.18m 82.07021 Deposit Fill of posthole [022] 0.18m 82.19022 Cut Posthole cut 0.18m 82.19025 Deposit Fill of pit [026] 0.68m 82.78026 Cut Pit cut 0.68m 82.78027 Deposit Fill of pit [028]-0.68m?028 Cut Pit cut-0.68m?029 Cut Scar in top of wall 018 0.05m 82.17030 Deposit Fill of ‘scar’ 029 0.05m 82.17035 Deposit Floor / demolition layer NW of wall [037] - 82.18036 Deposit Floor / demolition layer SE of wall [037] - 82.10037 Masonry Roman wall aligned NE – SW abutting [018] - 82.23048 Deposit Possible floor / demolition layer NE of wall [018] - -049 Deposit Mortar floor surface - 82.18Table 3: List of contexts in Trench 213© Archaeology South-East

5.0 THE FINDSArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111905.1 Summary5.1.1 A moderate collection of finds was recovered during the excavations at the Six Bellspublic house, St Albans, Hertfordshire. The finds are quantified in Appendix A.5.2 The Roman Pottery by Anna Doherty5.2.1 IntroductionA small assemblage of Roman pottery, totalling 67 sherds, weighing 1230g, was handcollectedfrom the site, all of which had been redeposited in post-Roman features andlayers. There appears to be a bias towards 1 st and 2 nd century pottery and whilst somefragments may be of 3 rd century date, none were certainly this late. However, given thesmall size of the assemblage and its lack of stratigraphic associations, as well as thepresence of 4 th century coins on the site, this pattern is not necessarily representative ofthe dating of the underlying Roman archaeology.5.2.2 MethodologyIn the absence of a universal fabric and form type-series for Verulamium, the pottery hasbeen recorded using fabric and form codes in use in London (Marsh & Tyers 1979;Davies et al 1994). The pottery was examined using a x20 binocular microscope andquantified by sherd count and weight on pro-forma sheets, which form part of thearchive; the data was entered into an Excel spreadsheet.5.2.3 Early Roman potteryThere is a small quantity of demonstrably early Roman pottery in the assemblage,including an example of a Ritterling 8 samian cup and a small sherd of Lyon ware, bothof which can certainly be ascribed to the pre-Flavian period. Samian of south Gaulishorigin, datable to the first century AD, is slightly better represented than later centralGaulish fabrics. One south Gaulish platter features a partial stamp, probably reading[…..]IVI. Also certainly of 1 st century date is a sherd of ‘ring-and-dot’ beaker fabric, whilsttwo sherds of central Gaulish colour-coated ware date to the 1 st or early 2 nd century.There are five grog-tempered sherds in the assemblage, including a simple necked jarform; almost all of these are sandy grog-tempered wares. At the Roman settlement atKing Harry Lane, such wares were considered to be post-conquest in date and it wasnoted that they appeared in both pre- and post Boudican deposits elsewhere inVerulamium (Stead & Rigby 1989, 65). There is also an example of a simple beaded toeverted rim jar in fine black-surfaced ware, which is perhaps analogous to ‘Romanising’wares in Essex (Going 1987, 9).Although there were no stratified groups in the assemblage, it is of note that most of thesherds from the fill of the post-medieval lime kiln, [005], are grog-tempered wares orsouth Gaulish samian, and the sherd of Lyon ware was also found in the environmentalsample of [038], a basal fill of the lime kiln. This perhaps suggests that the back-fill ofthis feature derives from a relatively early Roman deposit.5.2.4 Other Roman pottery14© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190The majority of the assemblage is made up by undiagnostic grey and oxidisedbodysherds, of local origin which are not very closely datable. Any forms associated withthese wares tend to be generic jars and lids which could be of a wide chronologicalrange. There are also a number of examples of the widely traded Verulamium regionwhite ware. The industry producing this latter ware was at its height in the 1 st to mid 2 ndcenturies, although at least one example of a reeded rim bowl appears to be a mid tolate 2 nd century variant and another, featuring ‘parchment ware’ red-painted decoration,may be somewhat later in date.In general, mid Roman fabrics and forms seem to be the best represented. In terms offine wares, there is a single example of an 18/31R dish in Les Martres de Veyre samian(produced between AD100-120) and another bodysherd in Lezoux samian probably froma Ludowici Tf form (dated to AD150-200). There is also a rough-cast, cornice-rim beakerin Colchester colour-coated ware dated to AD120-200.Coarse ware forms from this general period include an example of a flat rim blackburnishedstyle bowl (dated to c. AD120-160) and three examples of the similar roundedrim variant (c. AD120-250/300). The latest diagnostic sherd is an Oxfordshire white-waremortarium but this is of a relatively early form for this industry, probably dating to the late2 nd to mid 3 rd century.5.2.5 The amphoraOf particular note is a sherd from the neck/shoulder of an unusual amphora type. In theabsence of more diagnostic form elements, the vessel cannot be identified with certainty.However, its fabric type, which contains moderate amounts of limestone as well as redand black iron rich inclusions and mica, is suggestive of a source in North Africa. Thefabric is somewhat dissimilar to a reference example from a late Roman ‘Africana’ form.Instead the fabric and the general shoulder profile appear similar to Tripolitanian olive oilamphorae, which were produced throughout most of Roman period, but which are rare inBritain (Peacock & Williams form 36). This vessel exhibits a slight whiteish outer skin, atrait, probably related to the use of saline water, which is noted as characteristic of thisamphora type (Peacock and Williams 1986, 167). Another alternative is the Fishbourne148.3 form, which is of a similar fabric and possibly of related form. It has been dated bya limited number of stratigraphic associations in Britain to AD50-150. This amphora typeis unsourced, and its contents are unknown, although at least one example has beenfound in Carthage, possibly also suggesting a North African source (Tomber & Dore1998, 92).5.3 The Post-Roman Pottery by Paul Blinkhorn5.3.1 The post-Roman pottery assemblage comprised 35 sherds with a total weight of 479g. Itwas almost entirely of post-medieval date, with the bulk of the material being of 19 th or20 th century date. The following fabrics were noted:SW:TGE:?Early Medieval Shelly Ware. Wheel-turned, greyish-brown fabric withmoderate shelly limestone up to 2mm. Outer surfaces are horizontally wiped. 2sherds, 80g.Anglo-Dutch Tin-glazed Earthenware 17 th -early 18 th century (Orton 1988). Finewhite earthenware, occasionally pinkish or yellowish core. Thick white tin glaze,with painted cobalt blue or polychrome decoration. Associated with a range oftable and display wares such as mugs, plates, dishes, bowls and vases. 115© Archaeology South-East

sherd, 5g.Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190GRE: Red Earthenware, 16 th -19 th century. Fine sandy earthenware, usually with abrown or green glaze, occurring in a range of utilitarian forms. Such 'countrypottery' was first made in the 16th century, and in some areas continued in useuntil the 19th century. 4 sherds, 131g.BW:EST:MOD:Border Ware, AD1550 - 1700. Associated with a wide range of utilitarian andtablewares in a fine, white fabric with a bright green, yellow or brown glaze.Manufactured at a number of centres on the Surrey/Hampshire border and themain pottery type in London in the post-medieval period (Pearce 1988). 1 sherd,6g.English Stoneware. (1680+). Hard, grey fabric, often with a brown, iron-richexterior wash. Associated with a range of utilitarian vessels, particularly mugs.3 sherds, 28g.Miscellaneous 19 th and 20 th century wares. Mass-produced white earthenwares,stonewares etc. 24 sherds, 229g.5.3.2 The pottery occurrence by number and weight of sherds per context by fabric type isshown in Table 4. Each date should be regarded as a terminus post quem. Most of thefabrics are well-known finds in the region, although the sherds of Shelly Ware aresomewhat unusual. Post-Roman calcareous wares are not common finds in St. Albans,with most being either chalk-tempered or late Saxon St. Neots-type Ware (Turner-Rugg1995, 46). The sherds from this site are neither of these, and nor are they the 12 th – 13 thcentury shelly wares which form the bulk of assemblages of such date to the north of thisarea, in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire (e.g. Blinkhorn 2005).Excavations at the Abbey Orchard in the 1960s are said to have produced ‘a higherproportion of shell-tempered wares’ (Turner-Rugg 1995, 46), and a coin hoard of late9th-century date also occurred at that site (Wilson and Hurst 1969, 233).5.3.3 The shelly fabric from this site has some similarities with Late Saxon Shelly Ware (LSS),which is common in London during the 10 th -mid 11 th century (Vince 1985, 30-2), but suchvessels usually have sharply everted rims (e.g. ibid. Fig. 3), unlike the example fromcontext [008] (Fig 7, no 1) which has a high, almost upright rim, and the horizontal wipingon the shoulder of this sherd also appears untypical of the LSS tradition. Similarcomments apply when comparison is made with late Saxon Oxford Shelly Ware (Mellor1994, Fig. 39). It has been noted that one of the calcareous wares from St. Albans issimilar to, but not the same as, LSS (Blackmore and Pearce 2010, 28), so it seems likelythat the sherds from this site are that local ware. They appear most likely to be of 11 th or12 th century date, but more work will be required on such pottery in St Albans before thisdating can be advanced with certainty.5.3.4 The rest of the assemblage is post-medieval, with the bulk of it dating to the 18 th -19thcenturies. The sherd of TGE from context [019] is likely to be of 17 th century date, as arethe sherds of GRE. The sherd of Border Ware (Fig 7, no 2) is probably of late-16 th -17 thcentury date. It is from a vessel with an upright rim, almost certainly a porringer (Pearce1988, Fig. 26). The sherds of EST are all from mugs, as is common with such pottery.The remainder of the assemblage is made up by tablewares, such as plates, dishes,bowls and teapots, in mass-produced transfer-printed white earthenware of 19 th to 20 thcentury date.16© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190SW GRE BW TGE EST MODTrenchContextNoWeightNoWeightNoWeightNoWeightNoWeightNoWeightDate2 U/S 1 6 U/S1 001 1 83 2 30 19thC1 004 1 1 17thC?2 008 2 80 1 31 1 6 2 22 20 155 20thC2 014 1 16 1 2 19thC2 019 1 5 17thC2 025 1 42 19thCTotal 2 80 4 131 1 6 1 5 3 28 24 229Table 4: Post-Roman pottery: occurrence by number and weight (in g) of sherds percontext by fabric type5.3.5 Illustration CatalogueFig. 7.1: Context 8, fabric SW. Orange fabric with a grey core and browner outer surface;very fine wheel-rilling covers the shoulder. Body below the shoulder and rim collar andevenly and lightly sooted.Fig. 7.2: Context 8, fabric BW. White fabric with a glossy mottled green glaze on theinner surface.5.4 The Building Material by Sarah Porteus5.4.1 IntroductionA total of 331 fragments of building material, with a combined weight of 30294g wererecovered from 15 numbered contexts. The assemblage consists of Roman, medievaland post-medieval material (Table 5) and includes, brick, tegula, tessera, imbrex, mortarand opus signinum.Period Count Weight (g) Percentage of assemblageRoman 287 24942 85Medieval 9 1146 3Post-medieval 36 3334 10Undated 7 872 2Table 5: Summary of building material recovered by period.5.4.2 MethodologyFabric and form have been quantified by weight, and count on pro-forma recordingsheets for archive and on an Excel spreadsheet. Fabrics have been identified with theaid of a x10 binocular microscope and compared with the Museum of London (MoL)fabric series where possible. For all other fabrics, a provisional site-specific fabric serieshas been drawn up. The assemblage has been retained with some items recommendedfor discard dependent upon the requirements of the receiving museum.5.4.3 The Roman Assemblage17© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Roman building material was recovered from the following contexts: U/S, [001], [004],[005], [008], [009], [010], [011], [012], [014], [016], [019], [027], and [030].5.4.4 The FabricsThe fabric types on site were dominated by those from the MoL2815 group, fabrics madeof the local London red-firing clay, a group which includes sub groups MoL2452, 2459and 3006 Fabrics in the MoL2815 group generally have a red-brown to orange colourand a compact matrix with few inclusions, with the exception of variable quantities of fineto very coarse quartz. Dating of the individual fabric types varies; the vast majority of thematerial is fabric MoL3006 which is dated to AD50-160. A small quantity of fabricMoL2454 (and similar fabric MoL2453) is also represented; this is a pale yellowish brownor pink fabric with white clay inclusions and an often mottled clay matrix. FabricMoL2454 is believed to originate from Eccles in Kent and has an earlier date range ofAD50-75/80. A fabric similar to MoL3023 was also present; this is a sandy fabric withabundant quartz and frequently with common black iron oxide grains and silty red ironoxide inclusions and is believed to date to AD 50-120.5.4.5 Mortar and renderMortar and render has been broadly divided into three categories:M1: yellow/cream coarse sandy lime mortarM2: Pale greyish white coarse sandy lime mortar,M3: finer pinkish creamy yellow medium sandy render: opus signinum consisting of CBMrich pinkish lime mortar was also identified.5.4.6 The FormsA range of forms were identified (Table 6) including roof tile (imbrex and tegula), tesserafrom flooring, wall plaster and possible fragments of flue tile from a hypocaust.Form Count Weight (g)Brick 37 7712Flue tile? 5 298Imbrex 36 2200Mortar 3 1130Opus signinum 24 1868Burned daub (with plaster scrim) 7 (1) 100 (18)Tegula 58 8446Tessera 11 216Tile 95 1648Grand Total 277 23636Table 6: Quantification of Roman building material forms.5.4.7 Brick, tegula and imbrexThe brick was mostly fragmentary; only one complete breadth of 215mm was presentand the majority of bricks were made of fabrics MoL3006 or 2549. A few fragments werein paler MoL2454 or 2453 fabrics. Only one fragment appeared to be heat affected,perhaps as a result of being used in a pilae stack. Tegula and imbrex fragments were18© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190mostly in fabrics MoL3006 and MoL2459, giving a general red appearance to the roof tilewith a few fragments of the paler MoL2454 fabric.5.4.8 Marks and ImprintsA small curved signature mark was observed on a single brick fragment from context[010]. Context [014] contained a fragment of tegula with two arc signature marks and asecond fragment with paw prints in the surface, possibly of a small dog. A further tegulafragment from context [009] had a possible signature mark of two diverging fingerstrokes.5.4.9 TesseraA total of 11 tesserae were recovered from contexts [011], [012], [014], [025], [027],[030]. All tesserae are in the red firing clay fabrics MoL3006 and 2459. None of thefragments were recovered in situ, although it is almost certain that part of the buildingwould have had a tessellated floor. The slightly irregular nature of the fragmentssuggests they are cut from reused brick or tegula or perhaps from kiln wasters of thesame.5.4.10 Flue tileThe identification of flue tile was uncertain. Only five fragments were identified andmostly identified by the presence of scored keying to one surface, and a thickness ofaround 15mm. A fragment from context [012] had diagonal incised linear keying andthree fragments from context [005] also had lattice scoring. The final fragment was heataffected and had a possible vent cut but no keying was observed, possibly due to thesmall size of the fragment and spacing of keying. Early 1 st century box flue tiles oftenhave scored lattice keying (Pringle 2006) supporting the idea, advanced after previousexcavations on the site, of an early Roman heated structure, possibly a bath house, onthe site.5.4.11 Burnt DaubSeven fragments of burnt daub were recovered from context [005]. Burnt daub occurseither through accident by exposure to heat within the structure or through destruction ofthe building through fire. Some traces of flat wattle imprints were identified and a singlefragment had a trace of plaster scrim, indicating that a wattle and daub wall had beenpainted. Fragments of ‘decorated daub’ were recovered during the excavations of 1974and 1975 (Saunders unpublished) although the exact form of decoration is unknown assome patterned combing and scoring can be observed on such fragments. Patterning isprobably to facilitate the adherence of render or plaster to the surface, as has beenidentified within the present assemblage. Construction using wattle and daub isassociated with early Roman towns such as Verulamium and Colchester (Crummy1984).5.4.11 The post-Roman assemblageMedieval CBM was identified in two contexts: [004] and [009]; post-medieval CBM wasrecovered from contexts [001], [004], [008], [009], [011], [014], [021], [025].The post-Roman assemblage consists of peg tile, brick and a single floor brick. The assemblagehas been fully recorded for the archive but is not discussed further within this report.19© Archaeology South-East

5.4.12 Stone building materialArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Two blocks of chalky limestone were recovered as a stone sample from context [005]weighing 1306g. This was identified on site as ‘clunch’ by Simon West and is a buildingstone quarried from the upper chalk at Totternhoe and used in St Albans and elsewherefrom the 13th Century.5.4.13 DiscussionA building excavated during the extension of the Six Bells in the 1970’s was of 1 stcentury date and all of the Roman CBM fabrics identified would be consistent with abuilding of this period and are comparable with those of early Roman structures knownfrom around the London such as those from Southwark (Crowley 2005) and suggestsmovement of ceramic building materials over reasonable distances within Roman Britain.The presence of plastered burned daub also possibly indicates construction associatedwith early structures on the site.5.5 The Painted Wall Plaster by Sarah Porteus5.5.1 IntroductionA total of 39 fragments of wall plaster with a combined weight of 4566g were recoveredfrom contexts [005], [010], [012], and [030]. Of these contexts, only [010] is believed tohave been an in situ deposit of collapsed plaster.5.5.2 Painted decorationFragments from context [010] (Fig 5) appear to show a border with a yellow stripe ofuncertain width next to a red border line, also of uncertain width bounding a possiblepanel of pale mint green. The possible panel has traces of black paint overlying and mayindicate a decorative feature but insufficient remains to reconstruct the image. Basedupon comparison with fragments of plaster recovered from context [005], it is likely thatthe width of the dark red and yellow bands is approximately 10mm. Also recovered fromcontext [010], were two sherds of white painted plaster, one with a dark red stripe withthin yellow edge in one corner of the fragment, with pink patches which may be heatdamage or intentional colourContext [012] contained three fragments of painted plaster. One small fragment oforangeish red painted decoration and two conjoining fragments with decorative banding(Fig 5) Decoration consisted of a pale yellow strip of uncertain width, next to a 7mm wideblack band followed by a pale blue band of 7mm width and a grass green band withdiagonal black line of 4mm width. The fragments are likely to represent a border in adifferent colour scheme to those recovered from wall [010].Context [005] contained fragments of two broad colour schemes. Portions of borderdesign were present with yellow, white, dark red, white and pale mint green banding (Fig6). The deposit from which the fragments originate is mixed and these fragments mayrepresent a number of walls. One section shows a border of yellow (10mm wide) thenwhite (13mm wide), then yellow (10mm wide), bordering a panel or wide band of darkred, splashed with white (of unknown width) giving a marble effect. A second fragment ofthe splashed dark red paint remained with a painted white stripe (5mm width) and afurther possibly joining fragment with a dark red border (12mm), leading onto an area ofpale mint green, which may be a stripe or panel. A further fragment with the same mint20© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190green, joined with a dark red band (10mm) leading onto a yellow stripe. A further 3fragments with dark red decoration were also recovered: one with a painted area of palegreen, possibly traces of a panel design.5.5.3 FabricThe second colour scheme identified within context [005] was a pale mint green andwhite series of designs (Fig 6). Some fragments appeared as pale green backgroundwith white/cream lines which appear to form some sort of unidentified pattern and otherfragments are white or cream with pale green painted marks over the top, again a likelypattern.A fragment of a possible decorative pilaster or dado was also recorded. The render onthe back of the piece is flat, with a linear pointed column plastered face with white plasterand wash. A pinkish colour was noted to one side of the fragment and the other hadtraces of pale green paint; darker patches leading on from the pale green paint mayrepresent areas where the paint has been removed and may suggest a vine or foliagepattern, but the fragment is too degraded to be certain. Decorative pilasters have beenfound from earlier excavations (Saunders unpublished) and were thought to form part ofthe ambulatory around the bath.The fabrics of mortar and render are described above (5.4.5). The plaster all overlay arender in coarse fabric M1 with a think plaster scrim of around 1mm thickness overlyingthe surface. The render (arrico) appeared to have been applied as one thick layer in themajority of cases; although incomplete, the thickness ranged from 15 to 40mm. Onlythree fragments appeared to have been painted over with more than one layer of render,all which were from context [005]. Two white painted plaster fragments had a primarylayer of M3 overlain by M1. One fragment of pale mint green painted plaster was basedon a finer background of M3 render. The slight pink discolouration of M3 was associatedwith greater quantity of crushed ceramic material within the render mix.No detailed analysis of the composition of the paint was undertaken although fragmentsof probable calcium copper silicate (Egyptian blue) were clearly visible at x10magnification, in the pale mint green paint and traces were also visible in some of thewhite paint. Fragments of white mica in the surface may also have given a slight sparkleto the surface of the plaster.5.5.4 DiscussionThe wall plaster varies from the plaster assemblage previously recovered from the site inthat the majority of the fragments have pale mint green and white decoration. Themajority of fragments from the earlier excavation were in red and many bordersappeared to have black banding; although the former is fairly common in the currentassemblage, the latter is only represented by a single fragment. Plaster recovered fromcontext [010], seems to be wall plaster rather than ceiling plaster and appears torepresent a red and yellow border with broader pale mint green panel, perhaps withsome black outlines for decoration.5.6 The Glass by Elke Raemen5.6.1 IntroductionA small assemblage consisting of 10 fragments of glass (wt 1836g) was recovered from21© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190three individually numbered contexts. The assemblage has been recorded in full on proforma sheets for archive and data has been entered onto a digital spreadsheet.5.6.2 Overview of the assemblageThe earliest fragment consists of a wine bottle body sherd dating to the 18 th to mid 19 thcentury and was residual in layer [008]. Late examples include a green glass wine orbeer bottle fragment of late 19 th - to 20 th -century date (context [020]) and a cylindricalclear glass bottle dating to the first half of the 20 th century is likely to have held mineralwater (context [014]).5.7 The Clay Tobacco Pipe by Elke Raemen5.7.1 IntroductionA total of 11 stem fragments and three bowls were recovered during the archaeologicalwork. The latter contain decoration and maker’s marks and have therefore beenassigned a unique registered finds number (RF ). Bowls have been principallyclassified according to the London ‘Chronology of Bowl Types’ by Atkinson and Oswald(1969, 177-180; prefix AO). A detailed tabulated register of the entire assemblage hasbeen deposited as part of the archive.5.7.2 Overview of the AssemblageNone of the 11 stem fragments were marked or decorated. Most date to c. 1750-1910.The exception is a fragment from [005], dating to c. 1720-1800.5.7.3 All three bowls were recovered from context [008]. Bowl RF , of type AO27/28 anddating to c. 1780-1840, contained maker’s marks “WH” moulded in relief on either side ofthe spur. No makers with these initials have, as yet, been recorded as working in thisperiod in St. Albans. The bowl, most of which is missing, also retains part of the leafdecoratedseam. The fact that the pipe is burnished is of interest, as this indicates aquality unusual in English pipes for this period. All other features however, clearlysuggest an English make and the pipe is likely to be local.5.7.4 Both remaining bowls date to c. 1780-1820 (AO27). Bowl RF is fluted with oakleaves on the surviving seam as well as further leaf decoration on the stem. A rosette ismoulded in relief on both sides of the spur. Bowl RF , is complete with corn ears onthe seams and displays a circle with central dot moulded in relief on either side of thespur. Neither of these makers’ symbols can be assigned to a specific producer and therosette especially was a symbol in use by a wide variety of makers.5.8 The Registered Finds by Trista Clifford5.8.1 Registered finds are washed, air dried or cleaned by a conservator as appropriate to thematerial requirements. Objects have been packed appropriately in line with IFAguidelines (2001). All objects are assigned a unique registered find number (RF)and recorded on the basis of material, object type and date. The Registered Finds aresummarised in Table 7, below. The clay tobacco pipe is considered in the relevantsection of Bulk Finds.5.8.2 Table 7: The Registered FindsRF number Context Object Material Period Wt (g)1 008 STUD COPP ROM

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190RF number Context Object Material Period Wt (g)5.8.3 Dress accessories3 008 CPIPE CERA PMED 44 008 CPIPE CERA PMED 65 u/s COIN COPP ROM

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190consists of a central convex oval flanked by two smaller ovals decorated with pairs ofincised lines. It is hollow, and the back filled with ?solder and the remains of an iron?spike. The objects most likely function is as a decorative mount or handle. It is ofuncertain date.5.8.9 CoinsFive unstratified 4 th century Nummi were recovered using a metal detector. A cataloguehas been included as Appendix D.5.9 The Flintwork by Karine Le Hégarat5.9.1 A small collection, comprising just six struck flints, weighing 36g and six burnt unworkedflints, weighing 14g were recovered (Table 8). The struck flints were manufactured fromlight brown to dark grey fine grained flint with a fine abraded buff cortex. The majority ofthe pieces displayed moderate post depositional edge damage, suggesting that thematerial had undergone a small degree of post-depositional disturbance. The artefactsrepresent pieces of flint debitage. They included a shattered piece, two flake fragmentsand three complete flakes. The artefacts recovered from pit fill [025] in Trench 2 andfrom the upper fill, [005], of lime kiln [006] in Trench 1 exhibited no technical traits toassist with dating. The distal end of a flake recovered from the garden soil [008] (Trench2) and the medial part of a flake found while processing sample from pit fill context[012] (Trench 2) exhibited flake scar removals on the dorsal face, typical of theMesolithic and Neolithic periods. Previous archaeological work at the site yielded a smallassemblage of scattered flints including blades of a possible Mesolithic date (Saundersunpublished).Context Flake Broken flakeShatteredpieceBurnt unworked flint -No./Wt. (g)[005] 1[008] 1 4/4[012] 1 1[014] 2/10[025] 1 1TOTALS 3 2 1 6/14Table 8: Quantification of the flintwork5.10 The Bulk Metalwork by Trista Clifford5.10.1 A total of 31 iron nails were recovered from five separate contexts, including anunstratified group recovered by metal detector.5.10.2 The vast majority are general purpose nails with circular heads and tapering squaresectioned stems (Manning Type I) with lengths between 20-80mm. It is likely that manyof these nails are of Roman date.5.10.3 Context [014] contained general purpose nails with circular sectioned stems which are19th-20th century in date. Context [025] contained a single clenched heavy duty nailwhich is probably structural in origin and also of 19th century date.5.10.4 Several unstratified amorphous corroded lumps of iron were also recovered.24© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111905.10.5 A single piece of lead waste came from sample , context [12]. Two unstratified leadwaste off cuts were also recovered.5.11 The Mammal, Bird and Fish Bone by Gemma Ayton5.11.1 IntroductionThe animal bone assemblage contains 212 fragments of bone of which 111 can beidentified to taxa. The assemblage has been retrieved through hand-collection and fromenvironmental samples and is in a good to moderate condition with some largefragments remaining but no complete bones. The majority of the unidentifiablespecimens derive from the sample material which contained smaller, weatheredfragments. Cattle, sheep/goat, pig, horse, cat, bird and fish bones have been identifiedand Table 1 presents the NISP (Number of Identified Specimens) counts for each taxa.TAXANISPCattle 20Sheep/Goat 4Pig 6Horse 1Cat 2Bird 11Fish 3Large Mammal 57Medium Mammal 7TOTAL 111Table 9: NISP counts5.11.2 Overview of assemblageThe majority of the bird bones were identified as domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) though alarge, juvenile humerus was also recovered that may be greylag/domestic goose (Anseranser). A proximal metacarpal has been positively identified as sheep using the criteriaoutlined by Boessneck et al (1964). Horse is represented by a single metacarpalrecovered from context [004], the proximal end of which shows signs of exostosis andlipping around the articular surface.Context [005] contains 48 large mammal long bone fragments which may derive from thesplitting of the bones to retrieve the marrow. Cut marks were also noted on the distalarticulations of one sheep and two cattle humeri from the same context, suggesting thatthese bones derive from butchery waste. It is uncertain whether this assemblage iscontemporary with the back-fill of the post-medieval lime kiln, or like the majority ofdatable finds from this context, derives from early Roman deposits. The animal bone ishowever, in good condition.The assemblage is too small to make any significant comments regarding animalhusbandry though evidence indicates that context [005] may have been utilised as adumping ground for butchery waste.25© Archaeology South-East

5.12 The Shell by Trista CliffordArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111905.12.1 The lower valve of a common oyster, Ostrea edulis, was recovered from context [27].An upper valve fragment also came from context [5].26© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111906.0 ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES by Karine Le Hégarat6.1 Introduction6.1.1 A total of eight bulk soil samples were taken to establish evidence for environmentalindicators such as wood charcoal, charred macrobotanical remains, fauna and molluscaas well as to assist finds recovery. Samples were taken from a range of features in bothtrenches. Context [014], from which sample was extracted, yielded some Victorianpottery and both contexts [005] and [033], from which samples and wererespectively taken, revealed artefacts dating from different periods. Only five of thesamples () considered to have been collected from more suitablecontexts were processed. One sample derived from a post-medieval lime kiln excavatedin Trench 1. The sample was extracted from the basal fill and the heat modified naturalclay lining the base of the kiln. The remaining four samples came from post-medievalfeatures investigated in Trench 2; they included a pit and three postholes.6.2 Method6.2.1 The samples were processed in a flotation tank; the flots and residues were captured on250µm and 500µm meshes and were air dried prior to sorting. The residues were sievedthrough 4mm and 2mm geological sieves and each fraction sorted for environmental andartefactual remains. The flots were scanned under a stereozoom microscope at x7-45magnifications. Preliminary identifications were made for the macrobotancial remains bycomparing them with specimens documented in reference manuals (Cappers et al. 2006,Jacomet 2006, NIAB 2004). Nomenclature used follows Stace (1997).6.3 Results6.3.1 The results are presented on a sample by sample basis and a full tabulated overview ofthe sample contents is recorded in Appendices B and C.6.3.2 Sample (Trench 1)Sample , taken from the primary fill, [039] and heat scorched modified natural clay[038], which lined kiln [006], produced a very small assemblage of wood charcoalfragments which were principally small in size (4mm in size, although the majority of thepieces were smaller (

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190comprising pottery, CBM, fired clay, metal, a possible lead object, burnt and unburnt flint,glass and industrial debris (slag and vesicular material).6.3.4 Sample (Trench 2)A small assemblage of charcoal consisting mainly of small-sized fragments

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190surfaces. The charred chaff elements - and a significant proportion of the charredwild/weed seeds - were also fragmented, suggesting that the assemblages of charredmacroplants have been subject to repeated phases of deposition or redeposition.6.4.3 These four features produced relatively similar assemblages of charred macrobotanicals,including a small quantity of wheat grains and barley as well as infrequent chaffcomponents, leguminous seeds and wild/weed seeds. The poor preservation of thecharred caryopses of wheat prevented any identifications beyond the genus level,although they probably included spelt, as the species was identified from the chaffelements. Spelt wheat (Triticum spelta) tends to characterised the main hulled wheatspecies recovered from Roman sites (Greig 1991). However, given that the remainsoriginated from post-medieval features, free-threshing wheat might also be representedin these assemblages. The presence of charred processing residues (chaff componentsand wild/weed seeds) is highly indicative of domestic activities relating to cropprocessing. In order to protect the grains, hulled wheat was sometimes stored in spikeletform, the grains being routinely separated from the glumes before being ground (Hillman1981). However, no significant assemblages have been observed and this activity couldhave taken place elsewhere.6.4.4 The assemblage of macrobotanical remains provides limited evidence for the use of arange of crops and for processing activities; however, the small quantity of charredmacroplants probably represents scattered detritus derived from accidental burningevents. The debris would have been incorporated unintentionally in the post-medievalfeatures as part of the backfills.6.4.5 Wood charcoal fragments were found in all five samples. However, the assemblageswere very limited. The fragments were principally small and the preservation was poor.No identifications have been undertaken as the data would be limited and provide limitedindication of the woody taxa targeted for fuel or of the vegetation environment. Vitrifiedfragments of charcoal were noticed within the assemblages. Vitrification of woodcharcoal can result from charring at high temperatures. These are often associated withfires used for industrial purposes. For example, making lime requires temperaturesreaching up to 900°C (Hale, J. et al. 2003, Tierney M. et al. 2009) and although no largeassemblage of charcoal was found in the basal layer of the kiln, some of the vitrifiedcharcoal could still be associated with this activity. However, large quantities of charcoaland lime residues, which might be expected at the base of such a feature, were notencountered, perhaps suggesting that the kiln was cleaned out following its final use.Context [38/39] produced hard fragments of natural deposits displaying thin grey layers,suggesting repetitive baking at high temperatures.29© Archaeology South-East

7.0 DISCUSSIONArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111907.1 Introduction7.1.1 The nature of the excavation as a televised outreach project to elucidate thearchaeology of St Albans and the methods and experience of archaeology meant thatthe features encountered were under no unavoidable threat. The restricted budget fordealing with artefact assemblages and stratigraphy also meant that a low impactexcavation strategy was adopted. As a result there was very little excavation of stratifieddeposits and features, and where this was undertaken it was in the latest phases of thesite history and the overburden.7.1 Relationship of Roman Structures to the Previously Identified Buildings (Fig 8)7.1.1 Significant stratified archaeological features were identified relating to the Romandevelopment of St Albans. Most significantly, these relate to the building previouslyidentified in the 1970’s as a possible bath-house. The site archive of the previous SixBells excavations was not available and so it was not possible to make any assessmentof the levels at which the Roman structures were encountered and any correlations areonly made from plan data. Furthermore the synthesised reports of the earlierexcavations available often treated the stratigraphy in generalised terms and the drawnplans available were georeferenced from obscure scalings to the architect’s drawings ofthe pub and from these to the ordnance survey plans. For this reason, direct correlationsare not possible.7.1.2 It is clear however, that the north-west south-east orientated wall, [018], is on the samealignment as Walls ‘C/D’ of the proposed bath-house in Saunders’ (unpublished) report.In terms of construction, wall [018] matches ‘Wall D’, which ‘was built of neatly coursedbricks’ whereas the outer part (Wall C) had been ‘formed of mortared flints’ (ibid). Thiswas interpreted as the inner wall of a sunken pool, forming the frigidarium of a bathhouse.The wall was suggested to divide the pool from an ambulatory, runningalongside.7.1.3 Whilst it is not absolutely certain that both are from the same building, it seems likely thatthey form part of a complex of a significant size, extending along this axis for at least 24metres. However, the presence of wall [037], which clearly forms an internal partition,suggests that, if the space between walls A and C/D was an ambulatory, it did notextend beyond [037].7.1.4 Only a very small amount of possible box flue or pilae tile was recovered, so the currentexcavations did not provide clear supporting evidence for Saunders’ bath-houseinterpretation. Having said this, the presence of painted wall plaster, probably fromseveral different painted walls certainly suggests a building of some status and, if therecorded masonry is all from the same structure, its very large size may suggest animportant public building.7.1.5 There was no sign of the external pilastered wall (‘Wall A’ in Saunders’ report) withinTrench 2, but this was to be expected as the alignment would put it beyond the westernend of the trench.7.1.6 Trench 1 showed no signs of Roman structures and this therefore seems to confirm theinterpretation of ‘Wall A’ in the 1970’s excavations as an external wall, and furthersuggests that there were no structures within 5.5 meters of the Roman building complex30© Archaeology South-East

on its western side.Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111907.1.7 Within Trench 1 there was no surviving trace of the earliest clay wall and timber structureidentified in the earlier excavations (‘Wall A’ – Fig. 8). This wall was orientated northeastto southwest and to the southeast of the trench. However, several fragments of daub,thought to derive from early structures, were recovered from the upper fill of the postmedievallime kiln in this trench.7.2 In Situ Collapsed Plaster7.2.1 It is unclear exactly where the painted plaster layer, [010], originated; it appears that thelimit of this deposit is closely associated with wall [018] but it is possible that it originatesfrom an unidentified wall to the east of Trench 2 or from a ceiling; however the wallplaster itself was considered more likely to be from a wall than a ceiling (see 5.5.4).7.3 The Later Roman to Medieval Period7.3.1 Although it is likely that the walls in Trench 2 were constructed in the early Romanperiod, no dating material was recovered from probable Roman floors or layers buttingthese structures. The lack of later Roman pottery may suggest that the building went outof use in the 2 nd century, although the presence of 4 th century coins from the overburdenidentified by metal detecting may allude to later Roman phases.7.3.2 The Roman deposits were directly overlain by a deposit, [011], containing post-medievalpeg tile. Although two sherds of medieval pottery were recovered as residual finds, therewas no evidence of substantial activity relating to this period.7.4 Post-Medieval Activity7.4.1 The three post-medieval postholes in Trench 2 are likely to be from the same structure,although its overall form and extent was not determined, so its function remainsuncertain. Although one (possibly intrusive) fragment of 19 th -20 th century glass wasrecovered, the rest of the limited finds assemblage may suggest this structure is as earlyas 17 th century in date.7.4.2 At some point in the Victorian period, the area of Trench 2 may have changed in functionfrom containing at least one structure to being used as an outside space, represented bythe thick deposit of garden soil. The latest features cutting the garden soil are likely to berefuse pits or other garden features.7.4.3 Feature [006], identified in Trench 1, is suggestive of a lime kiln that fell out of use in the18 th or 19 th centuries. Its characteristics are of a heavily, and apparently repeatedly,burnt pit some 2.60 metres in diameter, with near vertical sides and with a thick richchalky deposit at its base. Even though the pit was not excavated to its base, the augersounding penetrated through the chalky deposit and into a burnt clay deposit and thisboundary was interpreted as the base of the cut; no lining material was encountered.7.4.4 However this interpretation is not without problems. It would be usual to see a lining ofvitrified bricks in a lime kiln of this date and none was observed in the sides or in thebase. Similarly, surprisingly little charcoal was recovered from the environmental sampleof the primary fill of this feature, although this might be explained by thorough cleaning ofthe feature after its final use. The presence of vitrified charcoal in environmental samplesis however, suggestive of industrial processes, involving burning at high temperatures,31© Archaeology South-East

taking place in the vicinity.Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 20111907.4.5 There were no other structures associated with the kiln, so it is difficult to place it intoany wider context of land-use. The significant quantity of butchery waste, relating to theextraction of marrow, recovered from [005], the upper fill of this feature, is however, ofsome note. Although it is considered unlikely that this feature was used as a primaryrubbish dump for butchery waste and it is quite feasible that the animal bone wasredeposited from Roman layers, it nevertheless provides some possible evidence forvarious different activities happening in quite close proximity in the post-medieval period.7.4.6 It is unclear whether the post-medieval structure or any of the cut features have anyassociation with The Six Bells. The presence of an industrial feature in Trench 1suggests that this lay beyond any external space directly used by the pub. By theVictorian period, Trench 2 seems to have been an open exterior space although it ispossible that rubbish pits cut through the Victorian garden soil were dug toaccommodate waste from the pub.32© Archaeology South-East

BIBLIOGRAPHYArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190ASE 2011, Written Scheme of Investigation: The Six Bells, 16-18 St Michael’s Street, St Albans,Hertfordshire AL3 4SH, Unpublished documentAtkinson D R and Oswald A 1969 London clay tobacco pipes, J British Archaeol Assoc 32, 171–227.BGS 2011, British Geological Survey, Geology of Britain Viewer, Accessed online 24.08.11 athttp://maps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyviewer_google/googleviewer.htmlBlackmore, L, and Pearce, J, 2010, A dated type-series of London medieval pottery : Part 5.Shelly-sandy ware and the greyware industries MOLA Monograph 49Blinkhorn, P, 2005 The Saxon and Medieval Pottery in A Maul and A Chapman 2005, AMedieval Moated Enclosure in Tempsford Park. Bedfordshire Archaeol Monog 5, 53 – 70Boessneck, J, Muller, H-H and Teichert, M, 1964, Osteologische Unterscheidungmerkmalezwischen Schaf (Ovies aries Linne) und Ziege (Capra hircus Linne) Kuhn-Archiv 78, 5-129.Cappers, R.T.J., Bekker R.M. & Jans J.E.A. 2006. Digital Seed Atlas of the Netherlands.Groningen Archaeological Series 4. Barkhuis, Netherlands.Crowley, N. 2005 Building materials. In B. Yule (ed.) A Prestigious Roman Building Complex onthe Southwark Waterfront. MoLAS monograph 23: 90-103.Crummy, N, 1983 Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman Small Finds fromExcavations at Colchester 1971-79, Colchester Archaeological TrustCrummy, P., 1984 Excavations at Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane and Middleborough, Colchester,Essex, Colchester Archaeol. Rep. 3 (Colchester Archaeological Trust)Davies, B.J., Richardson, B. and Tomber, R.S. 1994. A Dated Corpus of Early Roman Potteryfrom the City of London. The Archaeology of Roman London Vol 5. CBA ResearchReport 98Frere, S 1984 Verulamium Excavations Volume III Oxford University Committee for ArchaeologyMonograph 3 OxfordGreig, J. R. A. 1991. The British Isles. In van Zeist, W., Wasylikowa, K., and Behre, K.-E.,editors, Progress in Old World Palaeoethnobotany: A Retrospective View on theOccassion of 20 Years of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany, pages299-334. A. A. Balkema.Going, C.J. 1987. The Mansio and Other Sites in the South-Eastern Sector of Caesaromagus:The Roman Pottery. CBA Res. Rep. 62: LondonHale, J., Heinemeier, J., Lancasre, L. Lindroos, A. and Ringbom, A. 2003. Dating ancientmortar, American Scientist 91 (No 2) 130-137.Hillman, G. 1981. Reconstructing crop husbandry practices from charred remains of crops. In R.Mercer (eds) Farming practice in British prehistory. Edinburgh University Press,33© Archaeology South-East

Edinburgh.Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190IFA, 2000 Standard and Guidance for the collection, documentation, conservation and researchof archaeological materials,www.archaeologists.net/modules/icontent/inPages/docs/codes/finds%20standard%202001.pdf accessed on 25/09/07IFA, 2008, The Institute of Field Archaeologists, Standards and guidance for an archaeologicalfield evaluation published online at www.archaeologists.net Accessed 24.08.11Jacomet, S. 2006. Identification of cereal remains from archaeological sites. 2 nd ed.Archaeobotany laboratory, IPAS, Basel University, Unpublished manuscript.Marsh, G. and Tyers, P. 1979. The Roman pottery from Southwark, Southwark Excavations1972–74. LAMAS and Surrey Arch reprintMellor, M, 1994 Oxford Pottery: A Synthesis of middle and late Saxon, medieval and early postmedievalpottery in the Oxford Region Oxoniensia 59, 17-217MoLAS, 1994, MoLAS Archaeological Site Manual; Third Edition (1994)NIAB. 2004. Seed Identification Handbook: Agricultural, Horticulture and Weeds. 2 nd ed. NIABCambridge.Orton, C, 1988 Post-Roman Pottery in P Hinton (ed.) Excavations in Southwark 1973-76 andLambeth 1973-79. MoLAS and DGLA Joint Publication 3, 295-364Peacock, DPS, and Williams, DF, 1986, Amphorae and the Roman economy: an introductoryguide, Longman: London and New YorkPearce, J, 1988, Border Wares HMSOPringle, S. 2006 Early Box Flue Tiles from London London Archaeologist (Summer 2006)Saunders, C. Unpublished Excavations in Verulamium Insula XIX(The Six Bells, S. St Michael’s)1974-5.St Albans District Council (SADC) 2005, An Archaeological Strategy For Historic Centre Of StAlbans, unpub grey literature reportStace, C. 1997. New Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Stead, IM, and Rigby, V, 1989, Verulamium: the King Harry Lane site, English HeritageArchaeological Report no 12: LondonTierney, M., Johnston P. and Harte A. 2009. Archaeological Excavation Report, E0626,Bricketstown , Co. Wexford., Kiln and Field systems., Echtra Journal, Issue 4.Tomber, R. and Dore, J. 1998. The National Roman Fabric Reference Collection: a Handbook.Museum of London Archaeology Service: LondonTurner-Rugg, A, 1995 Medieval Pottery from St. Albans Medieval Ceramics 19, 45-66Vince, AG, 1985, The Saxon and Medieval Pottery of London: A review Medieval Archaeology34© Archaeology South-East

29, 25-93Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Wilson, DM, and Hurst, DG, 1969, Medieval Britain in 1968, Medieval Archaeology 13, 230-87Wilson, DR, Wright, RP, Hassall, MWC and Tomlin, RSO, 1975, Roman Britain in 1974,Britannia 6, 221-28335© Archaeology South-East

AcknowledgementsArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190ASE would like to thank Oxford Scientific Films for commissioning the work and Simon West, StAlbans District Archaeologist for his continued guidance throughout the project. Thanks are alsoextended to all the staff at The Six Bells pub.36© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Appendix A: Quantification of findsContextPotterywt (g)CBMwt (g)Bonewt (g)Shellwt (g)Flintwt (g)FCFwt (g)Stonewt (g)Ironwt (g)Wall plasterwt (g)F Claywt (g)CTPwt (g)Glasswt (g)Leadwt (g)plasticwt (g)1 5 190 5 900 1

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Appendix B: Residue quantification (* = 1-10, ** = 11-50, *** = 51-250, **** = >250) and weights in gramsSample NumberContextContext / deposit typeSample Volume litressub-Sample Volume litresCharcoal >4mmWeight (g)Charcoal

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Appendix C: Flot quantification (*=1-10, ** = 11-50, *** = 51-250, **** = >250) and preservation (+ = poor, ++ = moderate, +++ = good)Sample NumberContextweight g1 12 40Flot volume mlUncharred %sediment %110 55 10seeds uncharredCharcoal >4mmCharcoal

40Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190© Archaeology South-EastSample NumberContextweight gFlot volume mlUncharred %sediment %seeds uncharredCharcoal >4mmCharcoal

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Appendix D: Coin catalogueNo RF no Denomination Reverse legend Reverse type Emperor Obverse legend Obverse type Reece period Diam mm DAM Cxt1 7 Nummus[VICTORIAE DDAVGGQ NN] Two victoriesHouse of Constantine,343-48 Illeg?Diademnedbust r. 17 13.4 6 u/s2 6 Nummus[FE]L T[EMPREPARATI]OSoldier spearing?barbarianHouse of Constantine,343-61 Illeg?Diademnedbust r. 18 14.2 6 u/s3 8 Nummus[FE]L T[EMPREPARATI]OSoldier spearing?barbarianHouse of Constantine,343-61 Illeg?Diademnedbust r. 18 13.3 6 u/s4 5 Nummus Illeg Illeg Illeg, 294-402 Illeg Illeg 12.6 u/s5 9Radiate ornummus Illeg Illeg Illeg, 260-402 Illeg Illeg 19.3 u/s41© Archaeology South-East

SMR Summary FormArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Site Code SXB 11Identification Name The Six Bellsand Address 16-18 St. Michaels StreetSt Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4SHCounty, District &/or St AlbansBoroughOS Grid Refs. NGR 513677 207398GeologyUndifferentiated River Terrace Deposits over Lewes Nodular andSeaford Chalk FormationsArch. South-East 4872Project NumberType of Fieldwork Eval. Excav. Watchingbrief.StandingStructureSurveyOtherType of Site Green Shallow Deep OtherField Urban UrbanDates of Fieldwork Eval. Excav. W.B. Other11-08-11to15-08-11Sponsor/Client Oxford Scientific FilmsProject Manager Jon SygraveProject Supervisor Dylan HopkinsonPeriod Summary Palaeo. Meso. Neo. BA IA RB AS MED PM Other ModernThe site lies within the walls of Roman Verulamium and Roman structures interpreted as a bathhousehad been previously identified on the site during the extension of the pub buildings in 1974-5. Two trenches were excavated by Archaeology South-East in order to further assess the extentof these structures, and to demonstrate archaeological procedures and local history to the widerpublic.According to the British Geological Survey (Sheet 239 - Hertford) the site lies on an area ofundifferentiated River Terrace Deposits which rise to the south west from the current alluvial floodplain of the River Ver. The underlying solid geology comprises Lewes Nodular and Seaford ChalkFormations. Trench one encountered clay Brickearth deposits at a depth of 81.97m. The limit ofexcavation in trench two was at 81.62m AOD where a small post medieval pit exposed a layer ofRoman gravel rich clay containing plaster fragments, natural deposits were not encountered in thistrench.Trench two to the rear of the car-park identified two abutting Roman walls, one of which shared thesame alignment as the NW-SE wall of the earlier excavations under the public house. Roman floorsurfaces were also identified associated with these walls. A deposit of painted plaster wasidentified face down as it had fallen from a wall or ceiling. These Roman levels had been sealed bya post medieval deposit that was cut by a number of refuse pits and postholes and the trench wassealed by a deep deposit of Victorian garden soil and the car-park surface.Trench one identified a large circular cut feature with fire scorched edges and a decayed chalkdeposit at the base, this was interpreted as a post-medieval lime kiln thought to have gone out ofuse during the 18 th to 19 th centuries.42© Archaeology South-East

OASIS ID: archaeol6-108232Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Project detailsProject nameShort description ofthe projectThe Six Bells Pub, St AlbansThe site lies within the walls of Roman Verulamium and Romanstructures interpreted as a bath-house had been previously identifiedon the site during the extension of the pub buildings in 1974-5. Twotrenches were excavated by Archaeology South-East in order tofurther assess the extent of these structures, and to demonstratearchaeological procedures and local history to the wider public.Trench one encountered clay Brickearth deposits at a depth of81.97m. The limit of excavation in trench two was at 81.62m AODwhere a small post medieval pit exposed a layer of Roman gravelrich clay containing plaster fragments, natural deposits were notencountered in this trench. Trench two to the rear of the car-parkidentified two abutting Roman walls, one of which shared the samealignment as the NW-SE wall of the earlier excavations under thepublic house. Roman floor surfaces were also identified associatedwith these walls. A deposit of painted plaster was identified facedown as it had fallen from a wall or ceiling. These Roman levels hadbeen sealed by a post medieval deposit that was cut by a number ofrefuse pits and postholes and the trench was sealed by a deepdeposit of Victorian garden soil and the car-park surface. Trench oneidentified a large circular cut feature with fire scorched edges and adecayed chalk deposit at the base, this was interpreted as a postmedievallime kiln thought to have gone out of use during the 18th to19th centuries.Project dates Start: 11-08-2011 End: 15-08-2011Previous/futureworkAny associatedproject referencecodesType of projectSite statusSite status (other)Current Land useMonument typeMonument typeSignificant FindsSignificant FindsSignificant FindsSignificant FindsSignificant FindsYes / NoSXB 11 - SitecodeField evaluationNoneJust outside the Verulamium Sheduled Monument AreaOther 15 - OtherBUILDING RomanLIME KILN Post MedievalPOTTERY RomanCBM RomanPAINTED PLASTER RomanCOINS RomanSEAL BOX Roman43© Archaeology South-East

Significant FindsMethods &techniquesDevelopment typeDevelopment typePromptPromptPosition in theplanning processCLAY PIPE Post Medieval'Augering','Targeted Trenches'Car park (flat)Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Excavation in a car-park not due to development pressuresVoluntary/self-interestFor a television programmeNot known / Not recordedProject locationCountrySite locationPostcodeStudy areaEnglandHERTFORDSHIRE ST ALBANS ST ALBANS The Six Bells PubAL3 4SH590.00 Square metresSite coordinates TL 13677 07398 51.7532609150 -0.352948015112 51 45 11 N 00021 10 W PointLat/Long DatumPosition derived from chartsHeight OD / Depth Min: 81.62m Max: 81.97mProject creatorsName ofOrganisationArchaeology South-EastProject brieforiginatorArchaeology South-EastProject designoriginatorArchaeology South-EastProjectdirector/managerJon SygraveProject supervisorDylan HopkinsonType ofsponsor/fundingbodyprivate clientName ofsponsor/fundingbodyOxford Scientific FilmsProject archivesPhysical ArchiveLocal Museum44© Archaeology South-East

ecipientPhysical ContentsPhysical ArchivenotesDigital ArchiverecipientDigital ContentsDigital MediaavailablePaper ArchiverecipientPaper ContentsPaper MediaavailableArchaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190'Animal Bones','Ceramics','Glass','Metal','other'Painted Plaster Metal Small FInds including coins and seal box baseLocal Museum'Stratigraphic','Survey''Images raster / digital photography','Survey','Text'Local Museum'Stratigraphic','Survey''Context sheet','Drawing','Matrices','Plan','Report','Section'Projectbibliography 1Publication typeTitleGrey literature (unpublished document/manuscript)An Archaeological Evaluation at The Six Bells public house,Michaels Street, St Albans, HertfordshireAuthor(s)/Editor(s) Hopkinson, D.Other bibliographicdetailsReport Number: 2010193Date 2011Issuer or publisherPlace of issue orpublicationDescriptionArchaeology South-EastPortslade, Brighton40 page A4 bound report with colour illustrations and photosEntered by Dylan Hopkinson (dylan.hopkinson@ucl.ac.uk)Entered on 22 August 201145© Archaeology South-East

Archaeology South-EastThe Six Bells Public House, St Michael’s Street, St AlbansASE Report No: 2011190Project archivesPhysical ArchiverecipientPhysical ContentsPhysical ArchivenotesDigital ArchiverecipientDigital ContentsDigital MediaavailablePaper ArchiverecipientPaper ContentsPaper MediaavailableLocal Museum'Animal Bones','Ceramics','Glass','Metal','other'Painted Plaster Metal Small FInds including coins and seal box baseLocal Museum'Stratigraphic','Survey''Images raster / digital photography','Survey','Text'Local Museum'Stratigraphic','Survey''Context sheet','Drawing','Matrices','Plan','Report','Section'Projectbibliography 1Publication typeTitleGrey literature (unpublished document/manuscript)An Archaeological Evaluation at The Six Bells public house,Michaels Street, St Albans, HertfordshireAuthor(s)/Editor(s) Hopkinson, D.Other bibliographicdetailsReport Number: 2010193Date 2011Issuer or publisherPlace of issue orpublicationDescriptionArchaeology South-EastPortslade, Brighton40 page A4 bound report with colour illustrations and photosEntered by Dylan Hopkinson (dylan.hopkinson@ucl.ac.uk)Entered on 22 August 201144© Archaeology South-East

211000N210000209000208000The Site2070002060000 1kmReproduced from the Ordnance Survey's 1:25000 map of 1997with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office.Crown Copyright. Licence No. AL 503 10 A513000514000515000 aaa000516000© Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2011190 Drawn by: DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HouseSite locationFig. 1

1N207410Trench 214PH20740018b23207390Trench 1Six Bells Public HouseSt Michael's Street29310 5mSt Germain's Cottage513660Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO.Ordnance Survey Licence no. AL 503 10 A513670513680513690513700513710513720 Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2011190 Drawn by: DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HouseSite PlanFig. 2

N82.78mODSW04200100482.62mODNE043031046006005034006005047005047Section 182.73mODAugerlocation031042031 040006041045Section 2NE004 004033005034005047046004047 043 04504482.40mODSW006005Section 3039006038Maximum depth reached by auger82.99mOD0 1m82.56mOD001004SE004043041002003040042005NW006Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO.Ordnance Survey Licence no. AL 503 10 A0060 0.5mTrench 1, looking south-eastTrench 1, looking north-west Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2011190 Drawn by: DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HouseTrench 1Fig. 3

N82.92mODSection 4Section 582.99mODNE007SWSE007NW029Section 6011017010015Unexcavated014Section 7011013Section 8008025008026025026009 009026026Section 6Section 782.98mOD82.89mODSection 11020012SW007NENW007SE035037036Section 10010011018011Section 9008009014014008009022 026016036009028027025Section 4017015015026049Section 582.88mODSection 8 Section 982.88mOD007 007NW SE SWNE008 008009 009CBMMortarFlint0 1m01201201301382.19mODSection 10 Section 11Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO.Ordnance Survey Licence no. AL 503 10 A82.07mODSWNE022 SW020NE0 0.5mTrench 2, looking south-west, 010 in foreground and 011 inbackgroundTrench 2, looking north-east Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2011190 Drawn by: DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HouseTrench 2Fig. 4

Painted plaster fragments from context [010]Painted plaster fragments from context [012]© Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 August 2011Report Ref: 2010193 Drawn by:DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HousePainted PlasterFig. 5

Painted plaster fragments from context [005]Painted plaster fragments from context [005]© Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 August 2011Report Ref: 2010193 Drawn by:DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HousePainted PlasterFig. 6

Pot 1Pot 20 5cm© Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2010193 Drawn by:FEGSt Alban’s, Six Bells public houseSelected potteryFig. 7

1N207410Trench 2207400Extension of wall[018] from trench 2PH14Flint 'Wall C' from1970's excavationsTile built 'Wall D' from1970's excavations18b207390Flint 'Wall A' from1970's excavationsTrench 1Six Bells Public HouseSt Michael's Street2923ClayCBMMortarFlintClay wall from1970's excavations310 5mSt Germain's Cottage513660Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO.Ordnance Survey Licence no. AL 503 10 A513670513680513690513700513710513720 Archaeology South-EastProject Ref: 5024 Aug 2011Report Ref: 2011190 Drawn by: DJHSt Albans, Six Bells Public HouseSite plan showing features identified in 1970's excavationsFig. 8

Head OfficeUnits 1 & 22 Chapel PlacePortsladeEast Sussex BN41 1DRTel: +44(0)1273 426830 Fax:+44(0)1273 420866email: fau@ucl.ac.ukWeb: www.archaeologyse.co.ukLondon OfficeCentre for Applied ArchaeologyInstitute of ArchaeologyUniversity College London31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1 0PYTel: +44(0)20 7679 4778Fax:+44(0)20 7383 2572Web: www.ucl.ac.uk/caaThe contracts division of the Centre for Applied Archaeology, University College Londonc Archaeology South-East