Monument record BLN 097 - Neolithic Pits, Medieval features, undated pits and a Post Medival wall line at the former Blundeston Prison.

evaluation identified three pits, six postholes and sixteen ditches in nine of the trenches. Prehistory was represented by a single pit in the southeast corner of the site, which could be Early Neolithic in date. Six postholes in Trench 17 could all be dated to the medieval period and may represent part of a larger structure. Four of the ditches, one of which was present in four trenches, could also be tentatively dated to the medieval period with the remainder being undated, as were the remaining three pits. A post medieval wall line was also identified, almost certainly associated with an extant wall stub. Modern disturbance was present in the majority of the trenches to a greater or lesser extent, particularly within the confines of the former prison where intrusions of over 2m deep were recorded, and also on the eastern edge where known buildings had stood. All the artefactual evidence recovered from the site could be assigned to individual contexts with no unstratified material identified (S1).

2020: Following a large, trenched evaluation of the former prison site, two areas of archaeological significance were identified and subsequently recorded during open excavation. A series of ditches and small enclosures were present in the main excavation area, most of which are likely to be associated with phases of medieval field systems. Within this area of activity was a circular feature, which comprised a ring of compacted clay, c.3m in diameter, around a shallow central pit. The purpose of this probable medieval feature is currently uncertain, but an agricultural function seems most likely. Approximately 10m S of this feature, the base of a circular, clay-lined oven was identified, which appeared to be located in the SW corner of a building or post-built shelter. Three phases of firing and remodelling were identified in this feature, each denoted by a layer of heat-affected clay and stone-lined floor, the earliest of which contained numerous fragments of lava stone quern. A layer of material containing late Anglo-Saxon pottery and rich in charcoal and heat-affected clay fragments, which extended across the area of the apparent structure, is likely to represent material associated with firing, cleaning and remodelling of the feature. A small number of large, post-medieval ditches were also recorded. Away from this main activity, in the S part of the site, a small number of ditches appear to be remnants of prehistoric activity. These lie close to the location of a pit found during the evaluation, which contained Early Neolithic pottery. Both excavation areas had been subject to varying degrees of modern disturbance and truncation caused by activity associated with the 1960s-built prison. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2020 (S2). Full report to follow.