Graveyard to the east of Structure 5.1

Inhumations cut graveyard deposit cg508 (LUB 55);

they were cut by the construction of the chancel cg534 (LUB 70).

LUB 68 Graveyard to the east of Structure 5.1.

Inhumations cut graveyard deposit cg508 (LUB 55);

they were sealed by graveyard deposit cg792 (LUB 77).

LUB 69 Graves in Structure 5.1–4. Inhumations cut floor cg507 (LUB 43) and they were sealed by floor cg701 (LUB 91). A single sherd of 10th-century date came from inhumation cg613. Inhumations which consisted of ‘pillow burial’ cg233 and in-humation cg234 cut the internal surface to the single-cell building cg230 (LUB 43) and were sealed by graveyard deposit cg700 (LUB 94).

Early medieval period

At some date during the latter part of the 12th century or later (as indicated by reused worked stone) a chancel LUB 70 (Structure 5.2B) was added to the single-cell chapel (LUB 43), cutting two generations of burials. Some time later, cutting four generations of burials, were the foundations for an extension to the nave LUB 71 (Structure 5.3A).

Buttresses were added to the nave LUB 72. A

sequence of floors was found inside the nave LUB 73. Several inhumations belong to this period of church use LUBs 74–78.

There were further alterations to the church; the chancel was widened LUB 79 (Structure 5.4B) and an aisle was added LUB 80 (Structure 5.4C) in the early 13th century dated both by pottery from this LUB and worked stone from later contexts. Several inhumations probably belong to this period, around and inside the church LUBs 81–86, and to its east LUBs 87–90.

LUB 70 The chancel – church 5.2B (Fig 9.42)

Cutting inhumations from LUBs 35 and 67 was an added chancel cg534; the chancel foundations cut through two generations of inhumations. The con-struction trenches and foundations survived to a depth of 0.70m for the south wall, 0.60m for the north wall and 0.30m for the west wall. The foundations cg534 were of roughly hewn limestone blocks, pitched on the top course and bonded by dark yellowish-brown loam with sand, limestone chips, pebbles and tile; the construction trench was backfilled with similar material. The chancel foundations were about 1m across. Its internal dimensions measured about 3.5m north–south and it added about 6m in length to the church. The top of the surviving foundations was at 65.38m OD.

Some pieces of worked stone were incorporated into the chancel extension. A fragment which prob-ably came from the head and shoulder recesses of a coffin, with pecked and striated bolster tooling (AEC) <NN4>, was found in the south wall. It joins another fragment (AMH) <NN5> which was built into the footings of the east wall of the extension.

Head and shoulder recessed coffins are generally of the 13th–14th century, and 12th century at the earliest.

A few post-Roman sherds (13), the latest of which are of Saxo-Norman date, were recovered from the foundations cg534; these would seem to be residual from the dating of the reused worked stone.

LUB 71 The nave – church 5.3A (Fig 9.43)

Cutting/sealing inhumations cg157 (LUB 34), cg527 and cg529 (both LUB 61) was the extension cg540 to the nave of the single-cell chapel (Structure 5.3A).

The foundations of the extension were constructed of pieces of flat and pitched limestone and tile fragments in a loamy matrix and set into trenches (0.70–0.94m in depth; at least 64.42m OD). These foundations would have extended the internal dimensions by about 5m to the west (4.2m wide – north–south), to a length of c 13 m.

The extended nave sealed four generations of inhumations, compared to the chancel (LUB 70 Structure 5.2B) which only sealed two generations.

172 St Paul-in-the-Bail (sp72 and sp84)

This might be taken as evidence that the extended nave was later than the chancel, possibly some time in the 12th century.

LUB 72 The nave – buttresses (Fig 9.43)

Stone buttresses cg673 were set against the west end of the nave extension cg540 (LUB 71); large externally faced limestone blocks were set in construction trenches and packed with graveyard material. The buttresses had foundations of different sizes; the

one to the south was 1.6m wide and the one to the north was 1.2m wide. There was a gap of 1.7m between them. Buttresses cg673 produced a group of pottery (14 post-Roman sherds) and other finds most of which must relate to later robbing activity of the 18th century.

LUB 73 Church 5.3A floor layers in nave (Fig 9.78) The floors within the west end of the nave sealed the lowest offset courses of cg540 (LUB 71). It is Fig 9.42 The early medieval church with added chancel, Structure 5.2B: LUB 70

Fig 9.43 The extended nave, Structure 5.3A and buttresses: LUBs 70 and 71

173 St Paul-in-the-Bail (sp72 and sp84)

only here that the floor layers of Structure 5 had survived, cut by occasional postholes and small pits. Inhumations had subsequently cut through these layers leaving only a ragged pinnacle of surviving stratigraphy at the west end of the nave (Fig 9.78).

Construction debris cg664, sealing the nave extension cg540 (LUB 71) provided an initial work-ing surface (0.15m thick); there were several burnt patches. Into this was cut a small pit cg665 (un-planned). The debris was sealed by mortar cg666 (0.03m thick) over which was a sandy clay layer cg667 (0.07m thick); these only survived as a pillar cut around by inhumations. Also sealing debris cg664 was a silty sand make-up layer cg668 (0.34m thick);

over this was pebbly make-up or repair cg669. In one area, a small pit cg670 cut layer cg668. Also sealing cg664 were several layers of silty sand cg671 (0.01m thick), sealed by compact clay cg672 (0.02m thick) and sandy silt cg676, burnt heavily in places (0.01m thick). Sealing all this initial activity was a sequence of deposits. First a series of ashy layers cg677 (0.01m thick); then layers of very fine silt cg678 (0.02m thick) sealed by sandy silt with building debris fragments cg679 (0.02m thick), over which was compacted reddish-yellow sand cg680; these layers were sealed by sand with pebbles, building debris and carbon flecks cg681.

Layer cg681 formed the surface for alterations as indicated by postholes cg683 and cg684, as well as pit cg682 and cg687; all four cut layer cg681. Sealing the postholes was a coarse rubble deposit cg685 (0.03m thick) and over pit cg687 was a pebbly layer cg686. These two layers were sealed by compacted sand cg688 (0.01m thick) which was itself cut by a pit cg689 containing broken slabs of limestone.

Pits cg687 and cg689 were sealed by a whole sequence of thin layers cg690 which were allocated a single context code; in sequence – clay, mortary sand, ashy charcoal, silty clay, sandy clay, mortary sand and then sandy clay.

Cutting layers cg690 was a pit cg693 with a fill of silty clay cg694; contemporary with this was ash with pebbles cg692. Sealing the pit fill was a layer of sand with limestone fragments cg695, over which was a sequence of deposits – ashy clay, silty clay and red sand cg696.

Layers cg692 and cg696 were sealed by two layers of sandy mortar cg697. Over this was a layer of black charcoal cg990, sealed by at least five or six layers cg991 including sandy clay, mortar, ash and sand. Next was a layer of sandy mortar cg992 (0.01m thick).

Cutting sandy mortar cg992 was a posthole cg993; it was sealed by ash and charcoal cg994 (0.01m thick). It was sealed by sandy silt cg995 (0.01 thick) over which was a fine mortary deposit cg996 with burnt patches; layer cg996 was cut by a

stake-hole cg997 and sealed by a patch of sand cg1023.

Sealing the stake-hole cg998 were at least five layers of silty sand cg998. They were sealed by sandy mortar cg999, burnt in places, over which was a layer of compacted sand cg1019, then a thin compact layer of silty sand cg1020 and finally a layer of sandy silt cg1021.

This sequence sealed the nave extension (LUB 71) with construction debris cg664 and continued through almost to the robbing cg1025 of the early medieval church (LUB 91). The various layers and features amount to at least 33 stratigraphic events (many of the contexts were recorded as containing more than one deposit). Scrutiny of the sequence suggests several periods of building alteration to this part of the church (including the initial con-struction of the nave extension cg540); these various events are indicated both by pits and postholes – possible scaffolding holes – and by charcoal and burning. In between constructional activities were layers of sandy silt. The fill of pit cg689 included broken slabs of limestone. These may indicate that the nave of the church had been stone-flagged and that the sandy silt represents make-up or their matrix, suggesting that for each sandy layer occur-ring the flagstones had been lifted and reset.

Dating evidence for the sequence was scarce; a single medieval sherd (LSW2/3) was found in construction debris cg664; pit fill cg694 produced a single sherd of NSP of early medieval date; layers cg990 and cg996 both produced single sherds of 13th-century date.

LUBs 74–78 Inhumations and graveyard (Fig 9.99) LUB 74 Grave between nave and chancel of Structure 5.2–3. Inhumation cg612 cut the east wall of the single-cell chapel cg319 (LUB 43), was sealed by graveyard deposit cg700 (LUB 94), and post-dated the chancel extension (LUB 70).

LUB 75 Graveyard to the south and east of Structure 5.2–4. Graveyard deposit cg574 sealed LUBs 41 and 65, and was cut by inhumations, some of which, including cg790, were cut by foundations cg850 (LUB 91). A range of sherds (21) from late Saxon to medieval was found in cg574.

LUB 76 Graveyard to the south and east of Structure 5.2–3. Sealing inhumations cg562 and cg565 and backfill cg564 of drain cg563 (all LUB 65) was graveyard deposit cg566 which was cut by a number of inhumations; these were sealed by graveyard deposit cg737 (LUB 83). Cg566 produced three sherds of 10th-century date.

LUB 77 Graveyard just to the east of Structure 5.2–4. Sealing inhumations from LUB 68 was grave-yard deposit cg792; it was cut by inhumations, some of which were sealed by graveyard deposit cg807 (LUB 84) and others by cg851 (LUB 94). Cg792 contained eight sherds dating to the late Saxon to

174 St Paul-in-the-Bail (sp72 and sp84) medieval periods together with intrusive

post-medieval glass and a coffin plate.