A Christian cemetery occupied part of the area of the medieval castle, lying over, and probably largely within, the Roman fort of Pons Aelius. The very few artifacts recovered suggest a date of origin of c700 AD. Stratigraphic evidence indicates the cemetery continued in use until the construction of the stone castle began in 1168. Because only the northern end of the castle has been excavated, and because there have been so many disturbances over the centuries - the most destructive being the medieval and C17 defences and the 19th century railway - the total number of burials will never be known. The outline of the cemetery, and indeed of the Roman fort, is also largely unclear. Though the absence of burials in the north-east corner of the castle suggested their limit had there been reached, no actual boundary of the graveyard has been recognised anywhere. Between 1977 and 1992 660 burials were excavated west and north of the keep, beneath and north of the railway viaduct. While some skeletons were complete others were fragmentary, cut by later graves and disturbed by the large-scale developments mentioned earlier. The burials were particularly dense on the north side of the keep, and here up to six generations, or layers, could be detected. Many of the graves were just holes in the ground accommodating bodies with or without shrouds. A number of burials had been contained in wooden coffins, or in wood-lined graves, and some were in long stone cists. Slots in the subsoil suggested that a few of the earliest graves had had head markers, and possibly foot markers, of stone or wood. These had not survived later grave digging. Those headers and footers, none decorated, which remained in situ were associated with recumbent slabs which covered the latest burials. A few burials were covered with stone slabs, mostly plain, one heavily decorated, one ribbed and one bearing a cross in relief on a re-used millstone. In a few graves the skull had a support, cover or ear-muffs of stone. Age at death ranged from "pre-term neonates" of 32 weeks to "old" 45+ years. Both sexes were represented. Earlier burials were more commonly on their right sides, the later supine. A few were prone, and a few flexed. There were occasional instances of double burials. The cists, which were probably the latest graves, were concentrated on the north side of the keep, perhaps suggesting a movement in that direction, perhaps to the south side of the postulated church. Some burials were undoubtedly respecting existing buildings or paths. There is at least one instance of a Roman road being kept in repair, and with graves neatly arranged along its edge until the last burial in this area was cut into the road surface. It has been suggested that a building, of which fragmentary remains survived, may have been a church, possibly rebuilt after the Conquest, and there were also traces of other stone structures of uncertain function which went out of use before the cemetery was abandoned. It appears that the cemetery went out of use before, or possibly contemporaneously with, the construction of the stone castle, 1168-78. The earliest part of the fabric of the parish church of St. Nicholas, to the north of the castle, can also be dated to the third quarter of the C12, and can reasonably be seen as a replacement for the church or chapel in the castle garth.

Recent excavations have located a round house and pits of late Iron Age date from beneath the parade ground {1}. Excavations during 1992-94 and 1999 revealed part of an iron-age farming settlement. A roundhouse dominated the east corner of the area excavated. An extensive system of narrow rig cultivation lay 10m south-west of the house. This was later cut by a boundary gully and bank. The roundhouse was 8.75m in diameter. The wall-slot was 0.20m wide and 0.33m deep. Circular post-impressions survived in places in the bottom of the slot, confirming that it had held closely-spaced uprights. The slot was filled with sand containing charcoal and daub flecks, probably representing a mixture of the decayed wall base and destruction deposit. A gully, 1.20m wide and 0.84m deep lay beyond the slot. Between the slot and gully was a clay bank with postholes cut into it. These presumably supported the eaves of the conical roof. Inside the house was a central hearth. There was a scoop or hollow inside the door, containing ash and burnt wattle. The wattle may have been from a basket for carrying grain, which was left in the house when it was destroyed. A number of other hollows in the house contained metal artefacts including an adze head and copper alloy fragments. The adze had been buried, with its haft broken off, against the interior face of the wall. The roundhouse was destroyed by fire. The burnt remains of a spelt wheat crop was found outside the house. The destruction of the settlement took place some time between 390 BC and 170 BC {2}.

The town moor is presumably Sunderland's common, and was apparently granted in Bishop Puiset's borough charter. Though its original extent is unknown, source 3 says that in 1718 it had been divided into 3 - Great Moor, North Moor and Intake, - three of its boundaries seem fairly clear, the River Wear (for the north), the sea (for the east), and Robinson's Dene (to the south). In addition to pasture, it had a multitude of uses - net drying, sports, preaching, and there are supposed to have been forts, batteries and brickpits on it.
It was steadily reduced in size, through 18th and 19th centuries, by various encroachments - the sea, barracks (1794), railway sidings (1836), the docks (1850), streets, Hendon Lodge, Holy Trinity Church and the Gray National Schools. By Act of Parliament in 1853 the Freemen handed over their assets to the Trustees of an Orphan Asylum to be built on the Moor. Each of the 12 freemen occupying a house had commonage for 2 horses and 4 cows, and each of the 18 stallingers for 1 cow. McCombie (1997) mentions a number of features upon the moor, including ponds (subsequently infilled with ballast), boundary ditches and walls and buildings on its south-west edge, at Hendon Lodge. She also adds limestone and clay quarrying and rope-making to the list of activities carried out there. Shrove Tuesday football was played on the town moor. Two teams would fight for possession of a stuffed ball. In 1667 one such game resulted in the death of Richard Watson. The moor was also a regular venue for bull, badger and bear baiting in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sunderland's last recorded baiting took place in May 1822. It was banned by government statute in 1835. Horse racing took place on the town moor from 1724 until the 1740s. Other activities included cock fights and gambling. After the horse racing ceased, other sports took place - potshare bowling (a small bowl was hurled along a roped off course known as the mile), wrestling and archery. In the 19th century The Moor Cricket Club played on the town moor. They were driven onto the beach when the freemen wanted to graze their cattle. Despite the development of the Hudson Docks (1837-50) and the laying out of railway sidings on the eastern portion of the racecourse, large tracts of the moor and the former Coney Warren (name suggests rabbit farming) remain as open ground in-between modern housing and industry. Dated C12th.

Mineral Railway from the Havannah Drift (SMR 4354) to the site of Hazlerigg Colliery and the junction with the old Fawdon wagonway at NZ22907190. Constructed when the drift was opened in the 1950s and taken out of use when the drift closed in September 1977.

The two adits which gave access to the mine were opened by the National Coal Board in the early 1950s and gave employment to approximately 450 people. The small scale operation worked only one coal face. By June 1976 reserves of coal were low and geological problems were being encountered. The drift was abandoned in September 1977. The pit heaps were landscaped and planted by Tyne and Wear County Council and now form the Three Hills Picnic Site. The woodland is well established and part of the site is now a local nature reserve. A number of former colliery buildings are still in use as industrial workshops.

Robert Pit Shaft marked on the British Geological Survey and shown on OS third edition of 1919. Closed in 1966. Owned by East Walbottle Coal Company Ltd until 1947 when it was taken over by the National Coal Board. Pit Head Baths dating to early 1960s survive.

Sandstone Quarry, immediately east of Morley Hill Farm, marked as Old on the British Geological Survey.

A set of three shafts, closely grouped in a line on a North-South axis featured on the British Geological Survey adjacent to an area of infilled pitfalls, but not shown on 1st or 2nd edition OS mapping.

Short length of wagonway relating to the Williams Pit, possibly for the removal of spoil. Survives in the area immediately east of converted engine house.

Williams Pit, probably part of Dinnington Colliery, dating from the 1930s. The British Geological Survey show two shafts Williams 1 and Williams 2. An engine house, which held an electric winder probably dating from the opening of the mine, now converted to a dwelling, survives on the site. Marked on current OS map as "mine, disused" {1}. The engine house is one of only two colliery winding engines which still survive in the Newcastle district. Of the two extant houses this is the better preserved - the other, at Blucher, suffers from decaying brickwork and roof covering and has had its windows and opening blocked. The engine house at Mill Hill is typical of inter-war and immediately post war design of colliery buildings in general and engine houses in particular. The tall rectangular building would have been built to house an electric winder, the mountings of which can still be seen on a brick platform within the house. This distinguishes it from the example at Blucher which was probably built for a steam winder. The tall structure with a brick frame of beams and supports, corbels and recessed brick panels would have been built for economy but also provides a more decorative appearance than the later totally functional metal clad houses of the 1960s and 1970s. This house is built of colliery brick, stamped HMC for Hartley Main Colliery Company which came into being in 1929 amalgamating a number of declining coal companies in the area north of Newcastle around Seaton Burn, Cramlington and Dinnington. The winding house now stands isolated, however there were previously mine buildings to the east of the structure, notably one long building on an east-west axis which survived until recently.