This volume describes what lay below the Highcross Leicester Shopping Centre, the largest area to become available for investigation in the core of the historic town, a model development-led project undertaken by University of Leicester Archaeological Services from 2003–6 and funded by Hammerson. These and earlier excavations in the north-east quarter have illuminated the evolving story of the town, presented here in the most comprehensive book ever written on the archaeology of Leicester.

Richard Buckley, Nicholas J. Cooper and Mathew Morris
ISBN: 9780957479265
University of Leicester, 2021
640 pages, colour, hardback.

£49.95

Detailed Description

Leicester Archaeology Monograph 26

Leicester’s Roman and medieval past lies largely hidden beneath the modern city, but continual development has allowed us to explore the ancient settlement, from its origins by the River Soar to the recent past, and examine the lives of the population at different times. This volume describes what lay below the Highcross Leicester Shopping Centre, the largest area to become available for investigation in the core of the historic town, a model development-led project undertaken by University of Leicester Archaeological Services from 2003–6 and funded by Hammerson. These and earlier excavations in the north-east quarter have illuminated the evolving story of the town, presented here in the most comprehensive book ever written on the archaeology of Leicester. The findings inform the wider development of the Roman and medieval townscape and the evolution of the built environment. The lives of the inhabitants are also examined, from how they made a living, what they ate and drank, to how they worshipped and were finally laid to rest.

For the Roman period, we explore opulent townhouses, the collapsed market hall, workshops and the northern town defences. Objects, including two important lead curse tablets, have transformed our understanding of who lived in the Roman town and their links to the wider Empire. A range of Anglo-Saxon and medieval buildings are investigated, including a brewery, and the ‘lost’ parish churches of St Peter and St Michael. Their cemeteries, containing nearly 1,600 burials, reveal much about the lives and deaths of the medieval population. From the vast array of artefacts and pottery recovered, and the remains of the plants and animals cultivated and consumed by the inhabitants, fashions in dress, craft and industry, patterns of trade, and evolving diet are reconstructed.