Monument record CDD 074 - Roman Roadline and post medieval trackways at Coddenham

Test pit evaluation identified clear signs of a stone surface along the linear bank at several points, however the construction was not indicative of a Roman Road, with no Roman period finds identified,. Few Roman finds were found in other areas. A small amount of medieval pottery and brock was located in the test puts on the possible site of a building associated with St. Dennys Manor. A pit close to the Old Needham road exposed a clear stone surface (S1).

Further work was carried out to determine the relationship between the ridge across the meadow at Manor Farm, and the Roman Road (Margary34b) whose line it appeared to follow. Work in 2011 had established that there were sporadic underlying areas of packed flints but that the overlying ridge was a later construct. A new 20x1m trench revealed a flinted track at 0.3m deep, having Brown Glazed Coarse Earthenware (late 17th-19th centuries) at the base. To the W and lower down was found another track, on the downhill edge of which was a dump of building material: two large lumps of a fine building stone (identified as calcarenite), lime mortar and coarse brick from a demolished doorway or window of an unknown but high-class building. On the surface of this track was found several small fragments of Rhenish Incised Blue Ware (c.1750-70). Further digging revealed a third track directly under the first, well built with oyster shell and a small sherd of probable 13th-century coarseware. At the base of the alluvium which forms the valley floor was found a layer of dense dirty gravel between 5.0-5.25m wide, sitting on natural hard gravel at 1.25m below present turf level. Its position and construction leads to the conclusion that this is the base of the Roman road. This leaves the others as post-medieval constructs, built to counter the steady accumulation of flood deposits. Dating the three higher tracks, which are presumed to have connected to the old road to Needham Market prior to its re-routing to its present position, can only be broad, but all are after the 12th-13th century and none were in use after the building of the Rectory (now Coddenham House) in the1790s, which led to the moving of the Needham road away from the site. Thanks are due to Miss Helen Whyles, the site owner. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2012 (S2, S3).