ARCHAEOLOGISTS at a site in York have found glass, tiles, pots, pipes and human remains.

Members of the Archaeology Live dig at All Saints Church in North Street has recently found items dating back to the 12th century, including cattle horn and skull fragments which were by-products of leather production from the early 19th century.

Now, all the items found are being placed into bags ready to be analysed, with trainees keeping records which will serve the trust for many years to come.

A spokesman said: “The benefit of being quite so fussy is that the records go on to make up our final site archive – nothing is re-done and it is this archive that forms the basis of the final site report.”

During the dig, international volunteers helped identify a grave from the 19th century, along with other finds – including shards of pots and tiles – which suggest the site could have held a building, and the team hoped their analysis could help clear up the history of the dig.

The spokesman said: “The grave cut the team were investigating proved to be a number of intercutting infant and juvenile grave cuts. Unlike the adult graves that all appear to respect each other’s position, the burials of the younger individuals seem to have been crammed into this area, cutting through pre-existing burials.

“As church records for this phase of burials do not survive, it will be the task of our team to gain an understanding of this period. Could we be seeing family plots being repeatedly returned to? Could some form of pandemic have caused a surge of infant mortality? Either way, our findings over the coming weeks will hopefully clarify what was happening along Church Lane in the 1820s-1850s.”