Sewer Diversion Excavation, Coronation Street, South Shields, Tyne and Wear- Assessment of Osteoarchaeological Watching Brief

As part of enabling works associated with the redevelopment of land at Coronation Street, South Shields, Tyne and Wear (NGR NZ 360 670), Henry Boot Developments (HBD) found it necessary to adjust the existing sewerage network and redirect it from the pumping station on Old Coronation Street westward along the southern edge of the thoroughfare of Coronation Street itself. The trench for the new rising main, and a number of manholes, was to be some 100m long, 2m wide and was to be excavated to a maximum depth of 2.2m below the existing road surface. The route of the rising main passes through the southern part of the former cemetery of St Hilda’s Church, a
site that is known from previous investigations to have been heavily utilised. Consequently, the Tyne and Wear Archaeologist advised South Shields Borough
Council that, in accordance with PPG16 (DoE 1990), a planning condition of the
development should be the undertaking of a programme of archaeological mitigation during any intrusive groundworks and an appropriate programme of post-excavation assessment and analysis.