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Trace element compositions of raw clay, fired clay and Roman ceramic building material (CBM) from Carpow Roman fortress, Newburgh, Scotland and the city of York, England have been determined through the use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS). It is confirmed that the firing of clay does not disturb any of the sample’s trace element composition and that trace element protolith identification is an applicable tool for fingerprinting the source of material used in CBM construction. It is also demonstrated through the particular proportions of LREE/HREE; Th/Co; La/Sc; La/Lu; Eu/Sm values on CBM from Carpow that these material were likely manufactured from clay used in the York Roman tile manufacturing industry, therefore suggesting importation. The transport of CBM from York to Carpow provides a useful addition to known examples of the long-distance shipping of CBM. It is postulated that similar analysis to that conducted here could be used to identify important trade networks within the Roman Empire.

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken on 31st March-2nd April 2015 at 2a Trentholme Drive, York. A trench 1m x 2m in size and three test pits roughly 0.6m² were excavated to determine whether any burials from a Roman cemetery known to exist in the area survived. One burial was present in the garden to the rear of the property, while the remaining three trenches contained deposits interpreted as the backfill of archaeological excavation trenches dating to the 1950s.

A watching brief was undertaken on 24th March 2015 on works associated with the rebuilding of the RNLI lifeboat facility at Scarborough, North Yorkshire. A 7.8m length of the West Pier wall was recorded, as this will be obscured when the new lifeboat facility is constructed. This wall dates to sometime between 1890-91 and 1910, and is constructed of concrete.