Monument record NDM 058 - OUTLINE RECORD: Medieval and post medieval features at Land Phase 1 Development, Land South of Hurstlea Road (EVL) NPS

2020: Archaeological trial trenching in advance of a proposed residential development revealed that modern groundworks for a surface car park had heavily truncated any pre-existing archaeological remains at the site. The earliest evidence of human activity recovered were two struck flints, typologically dated as probably late prehistoric and considered likely to be residual in later features. The evaluation recorded a small number of pits and ditches, which based on the pottery recovered from them, dated to the medieval to early post-medieval period. A domestic waste pit of c.14th-century date indicates some medieval activity in the vicinity. Other pitting was probably due to mineral extraction, with a small number of ditches serving as boundaries and drainage for the clay soils present at the site. The site would seem to be peripheral to any significant medieval or post-medieval activity, with such activity likely to be focused to the E of the site and closer to the historic core of Needham Market. 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.