Monument record ERL 222 - Iron Age pits and ditches, Land off of Lords Walk, Eriswell

2012: Evaluation, three trial trenches were excavated on land off of Lord's Walk, Eriswell on the 20th of February 2012. The evaluation was conducted as a condition for planning application F/2011/0163 in advance of the construction of a new Bio-fuel plant. Previous excavations in the area have identified a wealth of archaeology in the vicinity that includes prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon occupation and funerary activity. A collection of three pits and three ditch features were identified in Trench 3 whilst a single outlying pit was also recorded in Trench 1. The finds assemblage is consistently Iron Age in origin and predominantly came from the features in Trench 3 (S1).

2013: The excavation stage of the project identified the full extent of the known pits and ditches, present within the development area, as well as an unexpectedly dense archaeological horizon concentrated towards the central and western end of the area. The horizon included twelve ditches forming various enclosures and boundary systems and up to sixty pits arranged in a central cluster and extending westwards. Pottery evidence recovered from the majority of features is of Late Iron Age date which continued from between the early third to early first century BC. Several phases of pitting were apparent, including a probable pit alignment and smaller clusters, although stratigraphic and dating evidence makes detailed phasing difficult at the current stage of work. The various boundary systems present on site also suggest unique phases of activity that are likely to be contemporary with or predate the pits. A pit group of a similar arrangement and date to those found during this excavation was recorded approximately 250m south-east of the development area at ERL 147, Liberty Village: Phase 1. This report quantifies and assesses the site archive and its potential and significance, as applied to specific research questions drawn from both regional and local agendas. The further work required for adequate dissemination of the evaluation and excavation results are laid out with an estimated timeframe and costing (S2).

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2012 (S3).