Monument record LWT 183 - OUTLINE RECORD: COMPASS STREET - EVAL (NPS)

Archaeological evaluation, excavation and monitoring were conducted ahead of redevelopment. The plot was initially evaluated with three evaluation trenches, all of which contained archaeological features. Trench 1 in the north-east corner of the site revealed late medieval/early post-medieval pits and a cobbled surface, the latter probably the surface of a post-medieval market place. Deposits in Trench 2 were affected by large modern utility trenches, however a layer of dumped material survived at the base of the sequence here. Trench 3 contained several post-holes and pits of probable late medieval/early post-medieval date.
The excavation area was located to the south of the site where a series of mostly small pits/post-holes and patches of clay (probably clay footings) were recorded. Several post-holes formed structural arrangements that, with the clay footings, appeared to represent traces of a timber-framed building, perhaps dismantled in the later medieval or early post-medieval period. A small annexe of this building seemed to be situated in the south-east of the site. Metal working debris in small pits located within this annexe perhaps indicated a forge or specialised metal craft area.
Monitoring of drainage trenches and a large soakaway at the centre recorded part of an 18th/19th-century cellar in the north-eastern area of the site.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2013 (S1)