Monument record IPS 2075 - Portman Road (multi-storey car park) (CAS) EVL

2020: Three window-sampled boreholes at the multi-storey car park site revealed a sedimentary sequence that reflects a developing riverine environment fairly typical of lowland river systems. Interbedded sand and gravel deposits suggest dynamic channel activity, transitioning towards more stable channel formation, probably focused to the E of the site, which takes on the character of accreting marshland by the Early Bonze Age. Wetland conditions appear to have endured, at least within the E portion of the site, to the end of the medieval period, confirming the historic ‘Town Marsh’ status of the area. A possible palaeochannel was recorded running N-S through the centre of the site at c.0.80m AOD. A C14 date from a wood fragment towards the base of the presumed channel yielded a date of 913–817 cal. BC, suggesting it became active during the Late Bronze Age. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2020 (S1). Full report to follow.


2021: Geoarchaeological investigation revealed extensive deposits of organic‐rich sediments of varied palaeoenvironmental potential. An interrupted pollen sequence revealed a basal zone (a possible basal palaeosoil) of early Holocene/Mesolithic date, with upper dated pollen assemblages spanning later prehistoric periods through to the medieval period. The emerging picture is of a relatively stable riverine environment supporting an open wet fen environment on the surrounding floodplain. Channel activity from the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age was identified to the W of the historical position of a now culverted watercourse (S2).