The Old Coal Yard and Exhibition Centre re-development at the Railworld Site, Peterborough

On April 1st and 2nd 2009 Oxford Archaeology East carried out a pre-determination evaluation at the Old Coal Yard and the Railworld site. Three test pits were excavated by machine, two on the north side of the river and one on the south. The test pits revealed between 1.6m and 4.8m of made ground beneath which were peat and alluvial clay deposits. The upper peaty layer was dated to the second half of the 19th century when the land would have been modified to accommodate the railway. The earlier peat and alluvial layers remain undated and represent deposits laid down by the River Nene. No archaeological features were identified within the test pits.