Monument record EWL 040 - Late Bronze Age pit, Saxon or medieval ditches and a pit, and 15th-16th century activity on Land off School Road, Elmswell

Following geophysical survey of a 4ha area in 2014, trial trench evaluation uncovered a low density of ditches and pits, the majority of which were identified by the previous geophysical survey. Evidence of early activity comprised a single pit of Late Bronze Age date and two ditches and a pit of Late Saxon/medieval date. A focus of 15th–16th-century activity in the NW of the site was bounded by an enclosure ditch which was used until the late 19th century. A tile-built structure represented evidence of a possible kiln or tile-lined cesspit. Other features within this enclosure included a large quarry pit and smaller undated pits which were likely contemporary and suggestive of smallscale activity associated with Elmswell Hall to the immediate N of the site.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2018. (S1)

Excavation targeted the remains of a 15th-/16th-century tile kiln that had been identified during earlier evaluation of the site (Fig. 11). The kiln may have been set up to supply tiles for constructing the roof of nearby Elmswell Hall. A clay extraction pit associated with the kiln was also identified, along with two other pits, one of which had been backfilled with domestic rubbish including a sizable assemblage of mid-14th- to mid-16th-century pottery and metal objects. A recut ditch immediately east of the kiln is shown on the 1814 Enclosure map as forming the eastern boundary of a rectangular enclosure; large quantities of tile in the recut of the ditch suggest that the enclosure was contemporary with either the kiln’s operation or demolition.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2022 (S2).

The trial-trench evaluation of the c.4ha site uncovered a low density of ditches and pits, dating to the Late Prehistoric, Late Saxon/medieval, 15th-16th century and post-medieval periods. The majority of these features were identified by the previous geophysical survey of the site. Evidence of early activity was limited and comprised a single pit of Late Bronze Age date, and two ditches and a pit of Late Saxon/medieval date within the centre and east of the site. While the finds are sparse, they provide evidence of earlier land use in this area of the site. A focus of 15th-/16th-century activity was located in the northwest of the site and bounded by an enclosure ditch, which was utilised until the late 19th century. A possible tile-built structure may represent evidence of a kiln, suggestive of small-scale industrial activity. Other features within this enclosure included a large quarry pit, as well as smaller undated pits, which likely originated from this period. These features are most likely the remains of small-scale activity associated with Elmswell Hall to the immediate north of the site. Analysis of late 18th- and 19th-century maps demonstrates that the extant boundaries and the nature of land use have not changed since at least that time, except for the removal of the bounded area during the second half of the 19th century (S3).