Monument record CDD 050 - Shrubland Quarry phases 2 & 3; Smyes Corner (IA)

December 1995: Phase 2 evaluation trenches in proposed mineral extraction area. LIA occupation site identified towards north of site. Features include pits, ditches, post holes and post pads (pottery, struck flints, worked flint, fired clay, burnt flint/stone, animal bones). Finds located in spoil (hooked tag, dress fastener, ring & dot decoration (?Msax) and EMed key, possibly 16-19th century). Main features appear to be `IA' ditches and pits - details in (S1).
November 1996: Field boundary ditches. See (S9) for more detail on this year.
October - December 1999: Phase 3, c.31,000 sq m fully excavated by SCC Archaeological Service. For pre-asssessment report see (S2).
2002: updated assessment and project design (S6).
Struck flints: A total of 136 pieces of struck flint, probably mainly of (Early?) Iron Age date, were recovered from the site. The flint is mainly mid to dark grey in colour with a small number of pieces being a pale greyish brown. Cortex, where present, includes occassional white already patinated surfaces or cortex and various dirty white to orangey cream from gravel nodules. For discussion see (S7).
Pottery: a total of 1,730 sherds of Later Prehistoric pottery,some LNeo/EBA ( 20 sherds) but mainly (1705 sherds) EIA. Details in (S8).
Also Sax.

The mechanical stripping of topsoil in a 3ha extension to the quarry was monitored. Several concentrations of archaeological features were identified and excavated . Post-excavation analysis is still in progress, but it is already clear that there were two important phases of activity on the site:
1) An Iron Age settlement characterised by sparse scatters of pits and hearths within a series of shallow ditches that probably defined field boundaries. No structures were positively identified. Artefactual evidence (mainly pottery) indicates occupation through the Iron Age and, seemingly, into the Early Roman period. In the north-east corner of the site, three circular shafts were excavated to a depth of over 5m – while these features included Iron Age pottery in their upper fills, their purpose has yet to be determined.
2) In the N.W. corner of the site, fifty Anglo-Saxon inhumation burials were found, associated with four ring-ditches that indicate the sites of small ploughed-out barrows. The presence of grave goods in about half of the graves indicates a pagan cemetery. Of particular interest are two ‘chambered’ graves with significant ‘warrior’ assemblages. A third grave of this type contained the remains of a woman buried on a wooden bed with iron fittings. The artefacts indicate a 7th-century date for the cemetery. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 1999 (S11).