7656 King's Lynn, Norfolk Urban Archaeological Database

Tender description

Throughout the Medieval period King's Lynn was one of the most important ports and commercial centres on the east coast, trading goods across the North Sea with mainland Europe. This brought great wealth to the town reflected in its surviving historic buildings. With its low lying location there is high potential for deeply stratified water-logged deposits with associated artefacts and environmental deposits, which will be able to elucidate life in the town and its trading connections. Extensive rescue excavations were undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s, but relatively little work has been subsequently undertaken to understand the nature of archaeological deposits and historic assets in the town. This project will produce an Urban Archaeological Database (UAD) for the town of King's Lynn (Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Norfolk) with the aim of improving the understanding of the nature and potential of buried archaeological deposits and the town's historic buildings. This is critical to inform future development and to ensure one of the town's outstanding assets, it historic environment, is safeguarded and enhanced. The project is part of the wider Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) project for King's Lynn being undertaken by Historic England in partnership with the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk (BCKLWN). The completed UAD will cover the whole of the HAZ area and will be fully integrated into the Norfolk HER and will not be a standalone system. Charlie