Ipswich UAD child record record IPS 1217 - Well 0053

The almost vertical well pit was1.9m diameter at the top, tapering to 1.45m at its base, and 3.2m deep. The shaft had two separate linings. The upper lining, a hollowed-out oak trunk, 90cm in diameter, survived to within 2.2m of the top of the feature and was recovered in a number of separate pieces (0092, 0094, 0095, 0096, 0097, with all wood shown as 0254 on the general plan).
Below this tree trunk lining, there was a ring of staves, of narrower diameter (0089, 0090, 0091, 0093), forming a lower lining. The staves had all been cut to shape, although 0090 had the addition of a half lap joint, with a peg hole at one end, which had been found facing downwards in the fill at the base of the shaft. Stave 0091 possessed a chamfered end.
Excavation was restricted by health and safety concerns and the difficulty of pumping water from below the level of the main timber lining. As a result, the well was not fully bottomed, although the level reached was similar in depth to that of the base of the adjacent MS well (0026).
No traces of a central shaft were visible in the top 1.4m of the pit (0053), which comprised layers of backfilled sand, gravel and loam. This implies that the oak lining, above the water table, had either been removed or rotted away prior to the final filling of the feature.
As with well 0026, dating is difficult. Unfortunately, there is no additional evidence available from dendrochronology, as the oak sections could not be dated or were unsuitable for dating. However, as Thetford ware was recovered from both the well pit and lower shaft, an ELS date is most likely., (S1).