Monument record LKH 344 - Half Moon Public House, Lakenheath

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Summary

Evaluation and excavation identified ditches, pits and finds all of medieval date and post medieval date as well as Neolithic and Roman finds.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 7119 8317 (29m by 37m)
Map sheet TL78SW
Civil Parish LAKENHEATH, FOREST HEATH, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (11)

Full Description

2012: Four evaluation trenches at the former Half Moon pub in Lakenheath, Suffolk, revealed well preserved medieval ditches and pits, which produced pottery, ceramic building material (CBM) and animal bone. These features were cut into the top of a peat layer, which spread across the whole site. A clunch and mortar built well and structure were also uncovered and are thought to possibly be post-medieval. Further finds of medieval pottery were present within the very top of the peat matrix, whilst Roman pottery, animal bone and mussel shell were found near the base of the peat in one trench (S1).
2012:Excavation identified small quantities of Neolithic flint were found underneath the peat that overlaid the natural. Underlying the peat was a series of small pits and possible postholes that produced no datable material. 11th/12th century pottery was recovered from the top of the peat, although the main phases of occupation appear to be later medieval and post-medieval. These phases produced pits, postholes and ditches, as well as two wells, which were all cut into the upper layers of peat. The features produced medieval and post-medieval pottery and CBM, animal bone, as well as three pieces of wood, belonging to a fence line and a more significant timber structure. The environmental samples and column sample indicated that the site was a wet fenland area (with a pollen residue indicating an Iron Age/Roman formation date). This eventually dried out in the 11th/12th century onwards and was then used for arable farming, with evidence for nearby domestic activity provided by very small charcoal fragments recorded throughout the environmental record. Both types of sampling indicated that the soil profile did not form as a continuous peat sequence, but was also made up of silty-sandy mud layers across the site (S2).

Sources/Archives (2)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Brooks R. 2012. Archaeological Evaluation Report, Half Moon Public House, Lakenheath.
  • <S2> Unpublished document: Brooks R. 2013. Post-Excavation Assessment Report, Half Moon Public House, Lakenheath , Half Moon Public House, Lakenheath..

Finds (11)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Aug 3 2013 4:20PM

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