ABSTRACT
Two trenches were excavated in the central part of the nave in 1992-93. Both ran the length of the nave on the side of the main arcade towards the central space. The nominal trench dimensions specified for the heating ducts were 1.2m wide by 1.1m deep, but opportunities were taken to excavate deeper to investigate particular features. A number of features was recorded which pre-date the construction of the first cathedral. These include burials, two ditches, a hearth and a single posthole. The earliest feature on the site was a grave (456) which pre-dates the cathedral by some four or five centuries. Few artefacts were recovered from these features and none could be used to date the foundation. The nails from the upper fill of ditch 402 seem to derive from later coffins. The earliest masonry building fragments consist of a wall (368/589) running N-S between the third and fourth bays of the nave.
