Monument record WMH 033 - 7-14 Narrow Way, Wenhaston

Six trial trenches were excavated in arable land beside the village of Wenhaston. A number of ditches including a possible palisade trench were recorded, as well as some discrete pit and post-hole features. Some of the ditches are likely to be medieval or later, but the possible palisade trench, a ditch, pits and the post-holes may be Iron Age, Romano-British or Saxon in date. Finds and features from the Roman, Early Saxon (?, including hall like structure), Middle Saxon and medieval periods were collected (S1)(S2).
2009: An excavation was conducted in April and May 2009 at the site following an evaluation phase in January 2009. Residual worked flint and prehistoric pottery was recovered that is typical of the background scatter of prehistoric activity in the region. Two Roman phases of activity were recorded. In the earliest phase the site is occupied by various timber buildings that share an alignment with a SW-NE aligned boundary ditch. This general phase may date to the late 1st century or more likely the early 2nd century. A later phase of buildings and ditches on a similar alignment, including a curving enclosure ditch around a timber building in the northern end of the site, and a ditch at the southern end of the site may date to the later 2nd into the 3rd century. At some stage, possibly in the Roman period or possibly in the Anglo-Saxon period, the site was reorganized with a large E-W aligned ditch cutting across some of the early phase buildings. Matching this alignment was a single building, which occupied the centre of the excavation area. Other structural elements may represent other buildings or fence lines in this phase. Middle Saxon pottery was recovered from the top of the ditch/palisade trench, as did a pit near the building. A boundary ditch located along the southern site boundary was undated, and may be medieval in origin, which is the presumed date for the adjacent track. This ditch was respected by a slot and a pit which may also be medieval in date (S3).