Monument record SNP 103 - Iron Age, Roman and Saxon Features at Land North of Blyth Houses, Church Road, Snape, Suffolk

2013: The majority of features recorded during the evaluation are undated but the majority of features are postholes or stakeholes where numerous finds would not be anticipated. The earliest feature was Pit which contained numerous (36) sherds of late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pottery. One pit contained a later Neolithic arrowhead (oblique type). Two early Roman features were recorded relatively close by a Ditch and a Pit, which contained 11 and 5 sherds of pottery respectively. The Sunken Featured Building contained the common range of domestic finds pottery , CBM , animal bone , a spindle whorl and fired clay (S1).

2013: The archaeological excavations at Snape revealed multi-phase activity, containing significant early Iron Age and early Roman-British evidence including a mid to late 1st century AD pottery Kiln located within an area of ditched enclosures. There was also evidence of early to middle Anglo-Saxon activity however, there was no continuity of activity between the Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon periods. Limited evidence of later medieval, post-medieval and modern activity was also encountered. Anglo-Saxon settlement evidence included three Sunken Featured Buildings, pottery dated exclusively to the earlier part of this period from mid 5th to mid 9th century AD, radiocarbon date range of 474-575 calAD. Radiocarbon dating was carried out for the two of the three Sunken Featured Buildings, samples of Charred grain were dated 540-575 calAD for one and the other building was sampled and dated 474-540 calAD. Two burnt flint pits containing charcoal were sampled and radiocarbon dated to 554-538 calAD. The Anglo-Saxon settlement occupied locally elevated positions on deep, free-draining sandy soils overlook river valleys. A single earth-fast structure of uncertain function existed alongside the SFBs. Finds from the SFBs include two spindle whorl fragments and a fragmented but complete antler tool handle. A series of fragments from samian ware vessels and an imported Roman storage vessel were also recovered possibly was reused. The samian ware is entirely comprised of material from east Gaul. A significant proportion of oat from one of the samples from one of the SFBs would appear to be an indication that is was also important for human consumption. The presence of pulses in a set of samples with a domestic appearance suggests that these crops were also making a significant contribution to the dietary economy at Snape, or as fodder. Settlement form and function can be illustrated by the SFBs which were the dominant form of building present. The predominance of SFBs is usual for sandy/gravelly sites and are indicative of early settlement. These SFBs also appear to be aligned perpendicular to the slope of the ground (S2, S3).

2014: As was suggested by the forerunning evaluation, the excavation revealed abundant evidence of activity dating to the early Iron Age, Romano-British and early to middle Anglo-Saxon periods. Limited evidence of later medieval, post-medieval and modern activity was also encountered. The fill of a single pit also contained six early Bronze Age thumbnail scrapers. Significant features included a Romano-British enclosure system, ?trackway, and pottery kiln, three Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured buildings (SFBs), a contemporary post-built structure and two burnt flint pits of Anglo-Saxon date. Ephemeral evidence for Romano-British post-built structures was also encountered. Finds from SFB 1 were indicative of textile manufacture (spinning). Earlier Iron Age features were less coherent and did not provide a clear picture of prehistoric activity at the site. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2014 (S4). Full report to follow.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2013 (S5)