Monument record SPT 062 - Roman, medieval to Post Medieval undated features Chantry Vale, Ipswich (GEO) GSBSUMO

Twenty-nine trenches contained archaeological features comprising ditches, pits, postholes and an extensive debris layer, which were concentrated in the south-east and south-west areas of the site. A high degree of correlation between geophysical anomalies and below-ground archaeological features was demonstrated. No prehistoric features were recorded; however, small quantities of residual pottery and worked flint attest to a transitory prehistoric presence in the landscape. The majority of remains uncovered were of Roman date. Ditches forming two large rectangular enclosures and several pits uncovered in the south-east are considered to constitute the remains of a Roman occupation site with associated agricultural land. Artefactual material recovered is indicative of domestic occupation, with quantities of ceramic building material suggestive of nearby structural remains. Small quantities of Anglo-Saxon and medieval pottery were recovered, with a few ditches suggestive of medieval agricultural activities. A number of late post-medieval to modern ditches with the remains of parallel hedgerows correspond with field boundaries recorded on historic mapping (S1).

The Wolsey Grange Phase 2 development area comprises a 65.45ha triangular area of land, located to the south-east of Ipswich and to the immediate north of the Wolsey Grange Phase 1. A preceding geophysical survey identified a number of anomalies of probable archaeological origin, including a rectangular enclosure and ditch/trackway, a smaller enclosure and an area of possible quarrying. Sixty-seven trenches, some targeting geophysical anomalies, were excavated across the site; twenty-nine trenches contained archaeological features. The recorded remains comprised ditches, pits, postholes and an extensive debris layer within the south-east and south-west, with a particular concentration in the former. The majority of remains were of Roman date. Ditches forming two large rectangular enclosures and several pits uncovered in the south-east are considered to constitute the remains of a Roman occupation site with associated agricultural land, perhaps constituting a small farmstead, spanning the 1st–4th centuries. The debris layer contained quantities of Roman ceramic building material that may indicate the presence of a building in the vicinity.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2019 (S2).