Leather scraps, pottery and fish bones dating back around 500 years have been uncovered during an archaeological dig in Grimsby, shedding light on life in the town during the medieval period.
The finds were made by York Archaeology at the Freshney Place redevelopment site near the historic Flottergate area, amid the ongoing Freshney Place Leisure scheme.
Discovered two to three metres below sea level, the items are believed to be linked to a former leather workshop that once operated in what was a busy marketplace at the heart of the town.
The dig, which ran from October until early February 2026, was carried out following recommendations from the local planning authority and council heritage officer to assess whether important remains survived before construction began.
The artefacts have now been taken to York Archaeology’s conservation lab for cleaning and further analysis, with plans for them to return to Grimsby for public display in the future.
Louise Jennings, the Council’s Heritage Officer, said: “On first inspection, it looks like this might have been a leather working area – a bit like some of the areas we’ve found in previous digs in the past in other areas of the town.
“You could imagine that people are making leather aprons or shoes on the site, for example. Being so close to the sea, it’s understandable that people would have fish and shellfish as a big part of their diet, so the appearance of oyster shells and fish bones isn’t surprising.
“It may be that this area was home to a leather working workshop, and you can imagine people working in the workshop, having fish for their lunch.”
Councillor Hayden Dawkins, Cabinet member for tourism and heritage, added: “This is wonderful to see – knowing that a whole world is right under our feet is truly fascinating and being able to find out so much about it is a privilege for us as a Council, but also for the borough as a whole.
“I’d love to see these items come back to the town and put on show as part of a future exhibition so people can see them, and possibly handle them, too.
“It’s so important that we understand our past and have the ability to teach younger generations about how the Grimsby of today came about.”