Ipswich UAD child record record IPS 1063 - Building 0029 (Phase 2)

This sunken featured building, 5.6m north-south by 5.2m east-west, and 30cm deep, was created by the extension southwards of the phase 1 building 0029. It had been burnt down leaving carbonised remains of some of its timbers.
As the sunken feature was shallower than that of the phase 1 building, the fill of the phase 1 building was sealed under the northern half of the floor of the phase 2 building. The south wall of the phase 1 building had been removed and foundation trenches cut for the extended east and west walls and new south wall, which contained posts at regular intervals. There were carbonised remains of the middle section of the west wall and north end of the east wall. Where the posts had not been burnt, post impressions were clearly visible in the post holes.
There was no evidence for a clay floor but a thin band of charcoal (1474), on the base of the sunken feature, could be the carbonized remnants of an organic floor covering. A raised layer of intense fired burnt clay and chalk (0076) in the centre of the building was probably a hearth. There was a stepped entrance (2325) down to the sunken floor in the centre of the east wall.
Fire damage comprised mixed layers of ash, charcoal and fired clay filling the interior of the building above the remnants of structural posts and planking. There were in situ carbonized remains of four timbers in the west wall (0343, 0344, 0345, 0346), with planking (0347) behind, and one post (0050) at the north end of the east wall, also with planking behind it.
There were additional carbonized wood fragments (0336, 0340, 0376) in the layers of ash, charcoal and fired clay filling the interior of the building. The intensity of burning clearly varied across the building.
The life of the building appears to be restricted to the EMED period. The construction features and the final fill of the building, after its destruction by fire, are both associated with EMED pottery. The building may well have been destroyed by the same fire that destroyed buildings 2022 and 2140.
The relatively small amount of recorded woodwork in this building, compared with buildings 2022 and 2140, was probably due to the relative shallowness of the cellar pit, (S1).