Monument record CAC 001 - Possible Medieval ditches at Carlton Colville bypass

Ditches of probable medieval date identified during evaluation trenching on Carlton Colville bypass (S1).

An evaluation in advance of housing development indicated three areas of potential archaeological interest. At the extreme N.E. corner of the development area a feature associated with site CAC 001 was recognised. Previous work in 2003, in advance of a new bypass, had recognised a series of enclosure ditches defining a multi-period site dating from the Neolithic to the Saxon periods (CAC 001 and 026). A ditch found during the current evaluation is probably part of the western boundary of this enclosure.
Across the central part of the development area (CAC 031), widely spaced features of probable prehistoric date were revealed. One small and one larger pit both contained early Iron Age pottery. An undated, isolated cremation is of probable Bronze or Iron Age date. Significant prehistoric features have been found to the east (CAC 001/026) and to the south (CAC 030), and it is likely that these individual features are outliers from these main concentrations and represent utilisation of the whole landscape during the prehistoric period.
A very large ditch, 3.5m in width, was recognised running N.E. to S.W. across the site. This could be the continuation of a large ditch on a similar alignment from site CAC 030 to the S.W. This feature appears to define the boundary between the sand and clay subsoils. In the extreme S.W. corner of the site, a concentration of largely undated features (CAC 032) are thought to be outliers from a scatter associated with Carlton Hall (CAC 004) to the immediate S.E.. This building is thought to be on the site of a medieval, or possibly Saxon, manor.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2003 (S2)

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2001 (S3).