Monument record HGH 046 - Moat and stone foundations at Haughley Castle

2010: An auger survey characterised the general sequence of deposition of the moat surrounding the Motte and Bailey castle (HGH 001). The leaf litter indicates that the moat contains material that probably dates from the abandonment of the site rather than from the working life of the castle. Documentary sources indicate that this site was relatively short-lived being destroyed during Prince Henry's rebellion in 1173. There was, however, evidence for something that obstructed the auger in the base of the moat which may relate to the destruction of the stone foundations of the keep (S1).

2012: SAM consent was given to excavate excess silts (only removing modern build up) from the moat of Haughley Castle and remove trees and vegetation from the motte and banks as part of a scheme to bring the monument back into positive management. The work was conditional on a programme of archaeological monitoring and investigation being implemented. The archaeological work was stage and included assessment and evaluation fo the moat deposits before the project started. See above for details of the intial palaeoenvironmental borehole survey (S1). Evaluation trenches were excavated across the moat fill to record the profile of the moat ditch and infilling layers. The excavation of the moat silts for the project were subject to archaeological monitoring and were done to a maximum depth of 1.5m from the centre of the moat and c.1.00m from elsehwere. Exacavated silts were stockpiled in a settling lagoon and spread on adjacent fields once they had dried out and the area was subject to field walking.The surface of the motte was also subject to a field walking survey and bonded castle fabric and spreads of building flint were recorded together with p-med interventions. Overall the survey results indicated that the moat ditch was generally c.5m deep but deeper on the western side. The fills comprised organic layers mainly made up of organic matter from overhanging trees. C14 dating of the base of the deposit showed it had been laid down within the last 150 years. At the base of the ditch was a primary fill of silts that had likely eroded off the castle motte before it became enveloped in vegetation. Barnack stone from the fabric remains of the castle keep was found in the moat at the top of this primary fill but only in a small area on the north side of the motte suggesting the keep had been dismantled in a controlled manner. The platform at the top of the mound is flat with a diameter of 27m and is 555sqm in area. It is c.9.20m above the surrounding fields and c.14.50m higher than the bottom of the ditch. The remains of the keep's outer wall was exposed in locations on the south and west sides and consisted of low stubs of bonded flint-work up to 2m thick. These fragments if joined would total a circle 27m in diameter with a circumference of 85m. Only c.13.5% of the potential wall circuit was visible. (S2)

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2011 (S3).