Monument record EYE 094 - New MUGA Pitch, Hartismere High School, Eye

2009: New MUGA Pitch, Hartismere High School, Evaluation in advance of a new sports pitch identified a spread of archaeological features, predominantly in the centre and N.E. of the site, relating to a main phase of Roman activity and a limited amount of Earlier Neolithic and Bronze Age material. The Roman finds assemblage (early and late pottery, metal finds, chiefly late coins, ceramic building material) suggests that a structure was located in the vicinity (S1).
2011: Archaeological excavation identified evidence of sporadic prehistoric activity followed by a sequence of rural occupation in the late Roman period, apparently beginning in the late 3rd century and continuing through to the early 5th. The most extensive phase was a probable field system, consisting of a series of parallel and evenly spaced ditches connecting to a single right angled ditch, which appeared to respect and pass by the position of two natural hollows. This system was replaced by a single large ditch which appears to show the amalgamation of the smaller fields into a single large enclosure. An apparent change in land-use, from open fields to a focus for other processes associated with agricultural activity then followed with flint cobble surfaces being laid down within the two natural hollows and the digging of a sizable group of pits. The evidence indicates the presence of a typical rural farmstead of local significance. A scatter of hearth pits and a clay-built oven may be related to grain processing or parching and, although no buildings were identified, the CBM finds assemblage suggests that a building of some status was demolished in the vicinity towards the end of the Roman period. The Roman pottery is typical of rural assemblages, being mainly local or regional in origin with no particular indication of significant or unusual status. There is no evidence for a continuation of occupation beyond the end of the Roman period. The nationally important Early Anglo-Saxon settlement seen at EYE 083 to the south appears to be spatially distinct and the principal value of the site may be in a study of the Roman/Anglo-Saxon transition period and its relationship with EYE 083 (S2).