Site Event/Activity record ESF16030 - Excavation, Greyfriars Road (Island Site), Ipswich, (IAS 5204).

Circumstances of excavation Planning permission for the redevelopment of this site was first granted in 1982. The site lay between the old Greyfriars Road (now a cul-de-sac) to the south and the new Greyfriars Road (realigned in 1982) to the north. Permission was granted to the Suffolk Archaeological Unit to excavate the site prior to its proposed development in 1989. Site constraints This site and the Greyfriars Road (Novotel) site (IAS5203) were both part of the same land parcel, prior to the construction of the new stretch of Greyfriars Road through it, and the whole was scheduled as an Ancient Monument (Suffolk County No 193). Scheduled Monument Consent for the excavation was granted by the Secretary of State for the Environment. A major sewer ran north-south through the middle of the site which was to be retained and avoided by the excavation. Consequently, the excavation was conducted in two halves, with the half east of the sewer excavated first. The geological subsoil comprised water-laid sands and gravels, which sloped gently from north-east to south-west (2.4-2.1m OD). Funding bodies The excavation was funded by English Heritage and Suffolk