Monument record WHR 072 - Pannington Quarry, Wherstead

2011: Post-excavation assessment report presents the evidence from an archaeological excavation at Pannington Hall. A small area excavation of c.0.73 hectares revealed a series of ditches and other features dating from the Middle Iron Age to the Early Roman period. Occasional earlier finds and features were also encountered. A Middle Iron Age ditch was near to a small concentration of pits and post- holes, some of which could be dated to this period. The ditch was cut by a rectilinear enclosure ditch partly revealed within the excavation area. The enclosure had an opposed butt-end entranceway along its eastern edge. This feature was dated by pottery to the Late Iron Age / Early Roman period. Of a similar period and within the enclosure, a four-post structure was recognised. A cremation burial was recovered cutting the fill of the enclosure ditch. A Roman ditch containing pottery dated to before the middle of the 2nd century AD was on a similar alignment to the enclosure. A Late Neolithic / Early Bronze Age pit containing Beaker pottery with comb impressions and with crowsfoot finger nail decoration was also revealed. A scatter of flint tools and flakes (mainly from unstratified or later contexts) point to a widespread utilisation of this area in the later prehistoric period. The flint assemblage contains a sizeable proportion of struck blade elements, generally associated with the Early Neolithic. No features from the post-Roman period were recognised. A number of undated features were recorded including a possible hearth. The site occupies a south-facing slope overlooking a watercourse and is in an ideal position for past occupation. Cropmarks identified to the east of the site, suggesting other rectilinear enclosures and ditch systems, could be related to those uncovered within this excavation (S1).