Interactive 3D model reveals what lies beneath historic archaeological dig in Hull
Video from National Highways
Archaeologists in Hull are using an innovate tool to help them to discover more about what lies beneath an ancient burial ground.
The city centre site is believed to be the north's largest post-medieval burial ground dig, which was once the home of an 18th century prison.
During the pandemic the archaeology and project teams behind National Highways’ £355m major improvement work to the A63 in Hull have been made a number of discoveries at the city’s Trinity Burial Ground.
A virtual tour has now been launched by Oxford Archaeology, with support from Humber Field Archaeology, National Highways and Balfour Beatty, providing visitors with an interactive 3D model of the current and concluding on-site phase of the archaeology work.
It focuses on a former jail and what the area to the north-east of the burial ground was used for throughout the years. Archaeologists are currently excavating structures on site and comparing them to maps showing its changing use.
National Highways Project Manager of the A63 Castle Street improvements, Fran Oliver, said:
She added: "We’ve had so much interest from local residents fascinated by the city’s history, archaeology students and people getting in touch from abroad, who have helped us piece together how society in Hull lived all those years ago."
Evidence shows that the former jail, known as New Gaol, closed in 1829 when a new, larger jail was built along Kingston Street. According to Archaeologists, it housed men and women awaiting trial, debtors, those incarcerated for minor offences, and those due to be transported for more serious crimes.
The plot later became a timber yard in the mid-19th century, then a sawmill, processing the Baltic timbers that entered Hull’s docks. By the early 20th century, the eastern side of site was occupied by a brass and copper works, its western part by a lead plant.
Stephen Rowland, project manager for Oxford Archaeology North, explained:
He added: "Except in this case there are several jigsaws on top of each other, some of the pieces are mixed up, and others are missing.
"The remains of the foundries, which form the uppermost ‘jigsaw’, are generally robust, comprising machine-moulded bricks and concrete. Lying between and beneath them are earlier structures made of thin handmade bricks, similar to those in the graveyard walls.
"These look to be the remains of the gaol’s foundations and its previously undocumented basement. We hope to reveal more of them to enhance our understanding of the construction and internal organisation of this unusual and short-lived place of incarceration."
Archaeology work at the site is expected to be completed by the autumn.