St Saviours Church Tower - St Saviourgate

This church is now used as an archaeological visitor centre called DIG . You can just see some autumn colour on the tree on the right behind the tower strikingly lit by the low autumn sun.

DIG - St. Saviourgate

This fine looking old church of St. Saviour in St. Saviourgate houses an attraction run by York Arachaelogical Trust called DIG. You can take part in a simulated excavation and unearth items from Roman, Viking, Mediaeval and Victorian periods. It is open every day except over Christmas when it shuts 24 - 26 December.

It stands in the shadow of York's ugliest building.

Hungate - Redevelopment - Archaeology - York Bedding

Probably one of the tattiest areas within the walls is now being redeveloped. Most of the buildings in this area have been demolished now with the exception of the ambulance station, the homeless shelter and the York Bedding Company. Negotiations are ongoing with the Bedding Company, but no agreement has been reached on a purchase price for the site and the council are having to consider using compulsory purchase powers. They might do well to remember the bloody nose they got when they wanted to demolish Gillygate in the late 1960s to develop a new inner ring road and having purchased most of the properties one bed and breakfast house owner refused to sell and was threatened with compulsory purchase. Gillygate is still standing and the useless inner ring road that would have blighted the interesting Gillygate which has some listed buildings and demolished parkland at Bootham hospital.

Having aquired most of the other buildings, demolition has proceeded around the York Bedding Company, shown above and as is usual in a historic city like York, the archaeologists have moved in to excavate the site.

Convenient view holes have been left in the fencing so the curious can see the work of the archaeologists as they dig holes with paintbrushes.

Archaeology - Eastern Tower Roman Fortress

York is a very old city with evidence of former inhabitatnts under the city you see today. This means that archaeology is an important facet of life in York. Just a little further along the city wall from yesterday's photo of the Ice House you will come across a hole in the ground. here are the remains of the Eastern corner tower of the Roman fortress of Eboracum. Behind the hole you can see an old building that is the the Merchant Taylor's guild hall.