Pembroke College Old Court, Cambridge: Archaeological Monitoring.

Abstract

A lift-pit was excavated within the cellar of the hall of Pembroke College, Cambridge, on the 3rd of August 2011. This measured 1.55m by 0.88m in extent. Within the lift-pit, a series of four 19th to 20th century floor surfaces were identified. The earliest of these surfaces consisted of a layer of large limestone flags, which had subsequently been overlain by two succeeding layers of concrete. The sequence was finally capped by a layer of modern quarry tiles. No evidence of the original, 14th century hall - which was demolished and replaced with the present standing structure in 1875-77 - was uncovered. Neither was any evidence of pre-collegiate, domestic occupation at the site identified. It therefore appears that the entire pre-19th century archaeological sequence was destroyed when the hall was rebuilt.