Monument record DBN 132 - Bronze Age Cremations and Early Anglo Saxon Pits at Cherry Tree Public House, Debenham

2010: An archaeological evaluation was carried out at the Cherry Tree Public House, Debenham, in advance of a small residential and commercial development. Five trenches, with a total length of 110m, were excavated across the proposed development site. Two ditches, a small number of indistinct features, which may have been postholes but were at too great a depth to safely examine, and two Bronze Age cremation burials, one of which was urned, were identified and recorded (S1). Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2010 (S2).

2012: Archaeological excavation in advance of the construction of new housing at Cherrytree Inn, Debenham revealed the presence of five urned (Deverel-Rimbury urns) and five unurned cremations of middle Bronze Age date. Two radio carbon dates were obtained from cremated bone from two features and these were dated to 1425-1263 and 1417-1257. The liminal nature of the topography of the site suggests that the burials fit in with a wider noted trend in Bronze Age burial practices for cemeteries to be located on the edges of landscape features, and often in relation to rivers and/or bodies of water.
A number of pits of early Anglo-Saxon date were located with some containing domestic hearth debris and one contained a glass bead of Knoch type 34. The presence of defined features of Anglo-Saxon date is the first time that stratified remains have been identified of this period in/around Debenham and may point to further Anglo-Saxon deposits being located to the south of the present town (S3).

2014: Excavation identified a further 4 un-urned and 1 urned cremations and a medieval ditch (S4). Radiocarbon dates were taken from two bone samples and were dated to 1349 cal BC and 1235 cal BC

Radiocarbon dates for 5 samples of the cremated human bone gave dates of between 1425-1193 cal BC (S4).

2011: Monitoring during development work revealed eight cremation burials (some thought to be of Early Bronze Age date and others possibly Saxon), at least three hearth-debris pits and some potential structural deposits. A Saxon bead was recovered from one of the hearth-debris pits. A previous archaeological evaluation suggested that the site contained a dispersed cremation cemetery and the monitoring has confirmed this. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2011 (S5).

2013: A second phase of archaeological monitoring revealed the presence of four un-urned and one urned cremations of Middle Bronze Age date. These remains can be added to those found during monitoring works in 2012 (five urned cremations containing the remains of seven individuals and seven unurned cremations containing remains from fifteen individuals) and the initial evaluation in 2010 (one urned and one unurned cremation, both of single individuals). The cremation burial site now occupies an area measuring some 30m by 70m with the likelihood that it extends still further. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2013 (S6)