Castle Way, Carlisle Castle, Carlisle, Cumbria - Archaeological Watching Brief

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) at Carlisle Castle, Cumbria (NY 395 564), on behalf of Balfour Beatty Utilities during the excavation of location pits preceding the rehabilitation of a water mains. The work was situated on the grassed area adjacent to Castle Way, to the south-east of the Castle entrance, but within the scheduled area of the Castle (SM no. 27657). English Heritage requested a permanent archaeological presence during groundworks under condition 3 (iv) in the Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC). The watching brief was undertaken on 16th and 17th of August 2007, and comprised four small pits (Pits 1-4), of which the largest was 1.3m by 0.9m, and 0.9m deep. None of the pits were excavated beyond the made ground adjacent to Castle Way, and thus no features of archaeological interest were revealed.