Site Event/Activity record ESF22614 - Monitoring - Units 5-8, Gulpher Business Park, Felixstowe

An archaeological monitoring was carried on the excavation of footings for an extension to the rear of Units 5-8 Gulpher Business Park, Felixstowe, Suffolk. The development lies within the area of archaeological importance, as defined in the County Historic Environment Records. FEX 057 is an extensive crop mark complex, and there was the potential of encountering evidence of later prehistoric and Roman settlement within the area disturbed by the development. The ground works consisted of strip footings, excavated by mini digger to depth of 1 metre. The footings were examined during site visit by Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, Field Projects Team. The upper layer visible in the trenches consisted of 0.3m of topsoil, (0001) is mid brown silty sand with frequent small sub angular stones. Below this, to a depth of 0.8m was (0002) a pale brown, slightly leached, silty sand with frequent sub angular stones. This layer sat directly on to natural, (0003) and orange craggy sand which was present in the lower extent of all trenches. There was an area of disturbance in the southern most trench form an existing soak away, resulting in a quantity of modern rubble being present in the excavated spoil. Within the restricted area of these footings no archaeological features were observed. The up-cast spoil from the excavations was examined, no dateable archaeological finds were recovered. Natural subsoil was encountered at a minimum depth of 0.8m below the existing ground level. Its maximum depth was not observed. Digital photographs were taken during this site visit as an archive record. Despite the sites sensitive location no archaeological finds or features were encountered.