Over the past three years, archaeologists from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have been working with Leicester Cathedral to reveal the story of the 900-year-old church and the Roman city buried beneath it.
The excavations, carried out before construction of the new Heritage & Learning Centre in the Cathedral Gardens, have resulted in a remarkable archaeological archive of regional and national significance.
Discoveries include a highly unusual, continuous 850-year sequence of burial activity, as well as Anglo-Saxon, Roman and prehistoric activity dating back over 15,000 years.
The archaeology is currently in the post-excavation assessment phase and the results have the potential to tell powerful and engaging stories about Leicester's past which, we hope, will capture your imagination.
Find out more about the archaeological discoveries via ULAS' blogs below.
You can catch up with the latest news from the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project here.
The Leicester Cathedral Revealed project has been made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.
13 September – The Living Churchyard
2 August 2024 - Roman pottery discoveries
4 July 2024 - Animal bone discoveries
31 May 2024 - St Martin’s and the 1645 Siege of Leicester
28 March 2024 - The story is in the stratigraphic sequence
22 February 2024 - Discovering more about John Wilson Ottey
11 December 2023 – Leicester Uncovered
7 March 2023 - A Roman shrine beneath the Cathedral?
27 January 2023 - A Curious Case of a Lead Coffin
22 December 2022 - The Romans are coming!
21 November 2022 - Archaeology: The story so far
21 September 2022 - Searching for the medieval church
5 August 2022 - A tragic case of manslaughter
24 June 2022 - Telling Leicester’s life stories
24 May 2022 - Archaeologists expand excavations
29 April 2022 - Church walls and hints of Roman remains
10 March 2022 - It’s the coffin they’ll carry you off in
31 January 2022 - Anne Barratt (1786–1855)
22 December 2021 - One person’s rubbish is an archaeologist’s treasure!
29 November 2021 - John Wilson Ottey (1810–1851)
16 November 2021 - The 19th century burial ground
5 November 2021 - Archaeological excavation begins
