Westgate Road, Pavilion Theatre, ditch

In 1992 some medieval ploughsoils were recorded on the site of the Pavilion Theatre. Beneath the ploughsoils, ridge and furrow plough marks were discovered. It has been claimed that these are early medieval in date (Tyne and Wear Museums 1992, 9). No dating evidence was supplied for these soils, but a second evaluation trench cut over the same area revealed a deposit of gravels over the natural subsoil into which a ditch had been dug. The excavators thought that this ditch was associated with agriculture. The ditch was sealed by several phases of occupation, the earliest represented by ploughsoils containing early 12th century pottery. Three pits had been cut into this, and contained pottery from the early 12th century to the mid 14th century. These were interpreted as latrines. The earliest ditch and ploughsoils have, consequently been dated to the late Saxon or early Norman period.