EAA 133, 2010: Life and Death on a Norwich Backstreet AD 900–1600: Excavations in St Faith’s Lane Norwich

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Excavations and a watching brief by Northamptonshire Archaeology at St Faith’s Lane uncovered part of a 10th- to 12th-century street frontage comprising incomplete remains of timber structures, pits and ditches. Finds relate to domestic occupation and a metalworking presence that may indicate a nearby forge. In the 13th century, after a period of decline and possible abandonment, the site was incorporated into the precinct of the Franciscan Friary. The Greyfriars soon began burying their dead in a cemetery laid out there, halting only to dig for minerals for a nearby building programme, probably in the 14th century. The burials have an unusual demographic profile which may relate, at least in part, to a Franciscan school of international renown. The site was fully enclosed by a precinct wall in the early 16th century, and after the Dissolution was predominantly garden until redevelopment in the 19th century. Fittingly, the site is now part of a school once more.

Full reference:

Soden, I., 2010, Life and Death on a Norwich Backstreet AD 900–1600: Excavations in St Faith’s Lane Norwich, East Anglian Archaeology 133

A4, 75pp

ISBN 978 0 9555062 1 5