Site Event/Activity record ESF22854 - Excavation - Land South of Sparrowhawk Road, Holton

PROJECT DETAILS An excavation was conducted on land at Sparrowhawk Road, Holton that was focussed on two concentrations of features seen during a previous evaluation phase. The earliest activity was series of widely spaced parallel ditches and two pits dating to the early Iron Age, including a possible votive deposit of a pot in the base of a pit. In the Middle Iron Age a number of field boundary ditches or enclosures were dug. The main feature of this phase was a large entrance to an enclosure that included possible gate elements. Also dating to this phase were two or three round-houses. In the Early Roman period in the 1st to Early 2nd Century AD, some of the enclosure ditches were re-dug, and new elements were added. A distinct area for rubbish disposal within pits came into use along the eastern edge of the site. The disposal of rubbish continued in this area in the Later Roman period through the second and third Centuries AD, and a track-way and associated ditch were created across the site. The final phase of activity dates to the Late Post-Medieval period, in the 17th to 19th century, with field boundary ditches dug across parts of the site. One of these contained the remains of a demolished Late Medieval building, however this building was not present in the excavation areas. The ditches were elements of the 19th century Upper Holton Farm, and are depicted on historic maps. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous Yes, Future Not known Associated Identifiers: HER event no. HLN 009 NMR No. 1591304 Project Type: Recording project Investigation Type: ''Open-area excavation'' Reason for Investigation: Planning condition Site status: None Current Land use: Cultivated Land 4 - Character Undetermined Monument Type(s)/Period(s): PIT Late Prehistoric, DITCH Late Prehistoric, PIT Roman, ENCLOSURE Roman, DITCH Post Medieval , TRACKWAY Roman, POST-HOLE Roman, HEARTH Late Prehistoric, RING-DITCH Late Prehistoric, DITCH Roman, POST-HOLE Late Prehistoric Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): POTTERY Early Iron Age, FLINT Late Prehistoric, CBM Roman, POTTERY Roman, POTTERY Late Bronze Age , BROOCH Roman, ANIMAL REMAINS Roman, HAIR PIN Roman PROJECT LOCATION Area 3474.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM397789 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Jess Tipper Director/Manager: Rhodri Gardner Supervisor: Duncan Stirk, and Simon Cass DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: 'Stratigraphic', 'Survey' Media: 'Database', 'GIS', 'Images raster / digital photography', 'Survey', 'Text' PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: 'Stratigraphic' Media: 'Context sheet', 'Drawing', 'Microfilm', 'Plan', 'Report', 'Section' PHYSICAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: 'Animal Bones', 'Ceramics', 'Environmental', 'Worked stone/lithics' BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Land south of Sparrowhawk Road, Holton, Suffolk HLN 009 Post Excavation Assessment Author(s)/Editor(s): Stirk, D., and S. Benfield Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report 2010/088 Date: 2010 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Bury St. Edmunds