Steane Kate, Darling Margaret J., Jones Michael J., Mann Jenny, Vince Alan, Young Jane. The Archaeology of the Lower City and Adjacent Suburbs

Oxbow Books, 2016. — 565 p. — (Lincoln Archaeology Studies 4).The area that is the subject of this volume extends from the steep clay hillside immediately to the south of the upper enclosure down to the gently sloping sandy terraces immediately north of the River Witham. Although no prehistoric occupation has yet been discovered, there was certainly activity here associated with the Roman legionary occupation in the mid to late 1st century AD. It is clear that a street grid was laid out before the middle of the 2nd century, and apart from a period of relative desertion in the 5th to 8th centuries, it has been the setting for urban activities ever since. The lower walled enclosure at Lincoln still contains the remains of ancient houses, including two celebrated examples of Norman date, and the 13th-century Greyfriars (the city’s museum for a century from 1906). Its surviving Roman and medieval walls and gates had been noted by early antiquaries: contemporary maps and accounts indicate that the city wall was still surviving in places to a height of 5m or more until well into the 18th century (Stukeley 1776; M J Jones (ed) 1999, 255). The medieval Bishop’s Palace, which was inserted into the north-eastern corner of the lower enclosure in the mid 12th century, suffered serious damage during the Civil War and subsequent neglect until a programme of repair was instituted (Coppack 2002).