Monument record RGH 086 - Iron Age settlement activity and field systems

Towards the east end of the site aa collection of ditches and pits were recorded containing a large assemblage of Iron Age pottery (Area A). The middle part of the site (Area B) contained two undated kiln/oven type features, a group of intercutting ditches, from which several prehistoric struck flints were recovered and a shallow ditch that held a single sherd of prehistoric pottery. The pits in Area B are unusual as their sizes and fill types are fairly atypical in comparison to the rest of the site’s archaeology. There is a possibility that this group of features represents evidence of natural peri-glacial scars and tree throws. This area has also been heavily affected by modern disturbance from the 1940’s. Plant macrofossils suggest that cereal and pulse production and processing and possible metalworking, all took place within the nearby vicinity and that the waste material was deliberately discarded within the archaeological deposits (S1).

2017: Excavation of four separate areas was carried out. In area 1 a single pit containing Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age pottery and a background scatter of worked flint, recovered as residual finds in later features, was recorded along with background of Iron Age activity. In Area 2, a dense concentration of Mid to Late Iron Age ditches and pits that containing evidence for domestic occupation along with limited industrial activity; including loom weights and part of a possible smelting hearth. Evidence for food production from this period, such as cereal processing and animal husbandry, was also recovered. A possible Late Iron Age/Early Roman roundhouse was recorded in Area 3 and two possible Late Iron Age/Early Roman four-post structures and a trackway were recorded in Area 4. Limited early Roman material was recovered across the four sites along with a background scatter of possibly Early Anglo-Saxon pottery. Medieval activity was identified in Area 4, close to Sow Lane, at the eastern end of the proposed road; parts of what is probably a rectangular enclosure, probably an individual farmstead, containing several medieval features, were recorded. These features generally consisted of pits and smaller ditches delineating areas within the enclosure along with a probable pond. A single line of probable postholes, presumably a fence line, were noted but no positive evidence for any roofed structures within the enclosure were identified. A large number of undated pits were noted across all four areas, but primarily in Area 1, where around fifty of these features were recorded, many contained burnt material. Similar features elsewhere in the county have been dated to the Iron Age or Anglo-Saxon period and are thought to be related to charcoal burning. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2017 (S2). Full report to follow.

2015:An area of c.18.46 hectares was evaluated by trial trenching. Sixty six trenches were excavated, revealing a moderate density of archaeological features concentrated mainly in two areas. Evidence of Iron Age, late Iron Age/early Roman and likely late/post-medieval activity was identified on the site. Towards the east a collection of ditches and pits were recorded containing a large assemblage of Iron Age pottery (Area A). The middle part of the site (Area B) contained two undated kiln/oven type features, a group of intercutting ditches, from which several prehistoric struck flints were recovered, and a shallow ditch that held a single sherd of prehistoric pottery. The pits are unusual as their sizes and fill types are fairly atypical in comparison to the rest of the archaeological features. There is a possibility that this group of features represents evidence of modern disturbance or tree throws.
The archaeological horizon of the development area is generally only shallowly surviving and it is probable that the lack of features towards the western area is due to loss through truncation and Word War II airfield construction activity.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2015 (S3)