Site Event/Activity record ESF22114 - Evaluation, St Mary's church

An archaeological evaluation was conducted for Suffolk Mind ahead of a proposal to redevelop the redundant church of St Mary at the Quay, Key Street, Ipswich, Suffolk including the construction of a new extension to the east end of the church. A trench measuring 3m by 2m was excavated through the archaeological sequence to test the archaeological remains and density of burials present at the site. A total of eleven articulated burials were located within the trench which range in date from Middle Saxon to late post-medieval. Near the present street frontage a metalled deposit may represent an earlier surface of what is now Key Street. A clay and chalk deposit also located near the street frontage may represent a floor associated with a medieval building. Dumped midden deposits of Middle Saxon date were located near the base of the trench probably in a marsh environment which may have been periodically inundated with water from the tidal estuary. The deposits were probably laid down as part of an attempt at land reclamation close to the Saxon foreshore. An unconventionally aligned and positioned skeleton was found within the midden deposits. It was unclear as to whether the skeleton was associated with an earlier graveyard or whether the body was dumped or possibly washed up on the foreshore. A possible Late Glacial-Early Holocene soil was recorded sealing the natural sand. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future Yes Associated Identifiers: HER event no. IPS 661 Contracting Unit No. BAU2915 NMR No. 1576924 Project Type: Field evaluation Development Type: Large/ medium scale extensions to existing structures (e.g. church, school, hospitals, law courts, etc.) Methods and Techniques: ''Targeted Trenches'' Position in the Planning Process: Between deposition of an application and determination Reason for Investigation: Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPS Site status: Area of Archaeological Importance (AAI) Current Land use: Other 4 - Churchyard Monument Type(s)/Period(s): PIT Medieval , GRAVES Post Medieval , GRAVES Medieval , GRAVES Early Medieval Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): TILE Roman, TILE Medieval , HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS Early Medieval , HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS Medieval , POT Post Medieval , HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS Post Medieval , POT Early Medieval , POT Roman, POT Medieval PROJECT LOCATION Area 6.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM16514409 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Services Design originator: NPS Archaeology Director/Manager: Nigel Page Supervisor: Michael J Boyle DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: NPS Archaeology Contents: 'Animal Bones', 'Ceramics', 'Environmental', 'Glass', 'Human Bones', 'Metal', 'Stratigraphic', 'Survey', 'Worked bone', 'Worked stone/lithics' Media: 'Images raster / digital photography', 'Images vector', 'Spreadsheets', 'Survey', 'Text' PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: SCCAS Contents: 'Animal Bones', 'Ceramics', 'Environmental', 'Glass', 'Human Bones', 'Metal', 'Stratigraphic', 'Survey', 'Worked bone', 'Worked stone/lithics' Media: 'Context sheet', 'Photograph', 'Plan', 'Report', 'Section' PHYSICAL ARCHIVE Recipient: SCCAS Contents: 'Animal Bones', 'Ceramics', 'Environmental', 'Glass', 'Human Bones', 'Metal', 'Worked bone', 'Worked stone/lithics' BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation at the Church of St Mary at the Quay, Ipswich, Suffolk Author(s)/Editor(s): Boyle, Michael Other Bibliographic Details: Report 2915 Date: 2012 Issuer/Publisher: NPS Archaeology Place of Issue or Publication: Norwich Description: A4 paper, double-sided, colour-printed, spiral-bound; PDF