11 December 2023 – Leicester Uncovered

In this blog, excavation director Mathew Morris reflects on the significance of the excavation, what it means for the story of Leicester, and what happens next.

It's been a while since we posted about the archaeology at Leicester Cathedral. The digging is now done and the project has moved into its post-excavation phase, and the Cathedral has reopened its doors to the public again. This is a good time, then, to resume our regular posts on the archaeological discoveries

We wrapped up the excavation at the Cathedral in March 2023. By the time we came off site, after 10 months of digging, the team had excavated approximately 500 cubic metres of soil, recorded 1,757 unique features and layers, exhumed 1,237 skeletons and recovered 19,754 artefacts spanning over 15,000 years of history. Pretty impressive for a hole measuring just 13m by 15m!

This of course, wasn't the end of the project. Really, we're only half-way through as we now move into the post-excavation phase. This can be divided into three parts.

First, there is an assessment of the archaeological assemblage - we are currently working on this. The assessment will quantify and characterise the collected materials, identify their significance and research potential, and establish priorities for the fuller analysis stage.

Next comes the analysis itself. The skeletons, artefacts and other biofacts will undergo detailed scientific analysis. For the skeletons, this will include osteological analysis, radiocarbon dating, and DNA and stable isotope analysis, and much more. For the other finds, there will be analysis of pottery, animal bone, metalwork, wood and fabric from coffins, environmental remains and everything else we found. This takes a long time to complete, probably longer than the excavation itself.

Finally comes the reporting and archiving. Reports, articles and books will be written, significant finds conserved and readied for display, excavation records and other artefacts archived for perpetuity, and importantly, Leicester Cathedral will rebury all the human remains.

This research is nothing, however, if we do not share it, and we are thrilled to be working with Leicester Cathedral to continue delivering an exciting programme of community engagement. As the project progresses, digital and downloadable learning resources will become available via a new web-based hub within the Cathedral's own website. We will continue to regularly deliver blogs, as new insights from the analysis are revealed. And important finds will go on display in the Cathedral's new Heritage & Learning Centre when it opens in late summer 2024.

And that's just the start!

What does this mean for the story of Leicester then?

Today, thanks to new development, like that at the Cathedral, and the legal responsibilities placed on developers to protect our heritage, archaeologists have excavated 15% of Leicester's historic city centre. That is truly remarkable, given that there is still a modern city on top of it, and it means that Leicester is now one of the most excavated cities in Britain.

From Iron Age oppidum to Roman civitas capital, Anglo-Saxon bishopric, Viking burg, medieval borough and modern industrial metropolis, Leicester's cityscape has been evolving for over 2,000 years and its story is there to tell, just metres beneath our feet.

Because Leicester Cathedral is located within the heart of that Roman and medieval town it is not surprising that a wealth of exciting new information is emerging about Leicester's past.

Already there are significant discoveries:

This unassuming flint, one of thousands of objects from the dig, was worked by human hands over 15,000 years ago and is rare evidence of people in the Leicester area at the end of the last Ice Age.

We have also discovered a Roman shrine, a private, pagan place of worship preceding the Cathedral, and the first Roman altar stone ever found in Leicester. These discoveries raise intriguing questions about continuity and change in the city, as Christianity replaced older beliefs in the late Roman period.

There is rare evidence for Anglo-Saxon and Viking Leicester, suggesting that the early post-Roman presence in the town was more widespread than previously observed.

And we also have over 1,000 medieval and post-medieval burials, in an extremely unusual and significant 850-year-long sequence of burial activity dating from the late 10th century through to the mid-19th century. This means, for the first time, that we can confirm that a place of Christian worship has stood here, on the site of St Martin's, for over 1,000 years.

We are also mindful of more tragic events in Leicester's past. We are, after all, working with the dead and mass interments in the burial ground are a stark reminder that the town has previously suffered from and survived catastrophic pandemics.

Whilst the life stories of named people give us more tangible and personal connections with our past. Like the burial of Leicester surgeon Edward Wilkinson, who died of typhus in 1846. He possibly caught the disease through his work, during a period when Leicester had one of the highest death rates in the country.

These discoveries provide a window into the city's history and give us a unique opportunity to tell new stories in innovative and immersive ways. Some key research themes are also starting to emerge:

• Sacred Spaces: We want explore St Martin's Cathedral as a sacred space. To create a better understanding of its history, its connections with its medieval predecessor and earlier Roman places of worship beneath it, and its relationship with its past and present communities.

• Arrangements for the Dead: We want to investigate the arrangements the people of Leicester made for bury their dead. To explore how burial practices have changed over time, and consider what that tells us about people's changing attitudes towards death, both in the past and today.

• People of the Parish: Using the analysis of the skeletons, combined with research of named individuals, we want to tell the story of the people of Leicester over the past 1,000 years. Through them, we can explore what life was like in the city through different periods of history, and see how the health and lifestyle of its communities changed as a result of significant nationwide upheavals, such as the Black Death, the Industrial Revolution and the development of modern medicine.

Today, Leicester is recognised as one of the most multicultural cities in Britain. This is often seen as a result of the city's recent history. Now, excavations of the city's ancient burial grounds are beginning to uncover a story of ancient diversity, with hints that some of Leicester's Roman and early medieval population had African ancestry.

This is the start of an exciting new chapter in Leicester's story and the analysis of the medieval and post-medieval burials from Leicester Cathedral offers a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for us to continue this exploration and unite the city's diverse modern communities with their city's past.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all fascinated by the past. The answers to where do we come from and who are our people are fundamental in shaping our identity, as individuals and as a community. Our fascination with a medieval king of England, dead for over 500 years, is testament to that and is now an indelible part of our city's identity, as important to us as our more recent sporting successes, and woes!

If left uncontrolled, development in Leicester can put our fragile heritage at significant risk. When handled right, it gives us unprecedented access to our past. The team at ULAS and Leicester Cathedral are, therefore, really excited about partnering to share this story of Leicester Uncovered. It is both a privilege and a responsibility, so watch this space for lots of thrilling new discoveries!

Mathew Morris MA ACIfA
Project Officer
Archaeological Services (ULAS)
University of Leicester