Monument record PTR 070 - Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age field system, Land off Chapel Lane,

Archaeological evaluation identified evidence for Mesolithic to Early Neolithic and Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age activity in the form of residual struck flint, most of which was recovered from the ploughsoil.
The earliest dated archaeological features encountered by the evaluation were ditches that formed part of a Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age field system. The field system, which was on a north-north-west to south-south-east axis, was continuous with prehistoric activity previously investigated immediately to the north of the site during an excavation conducted in 2014.
Artefactual evidence from the field system was limited to only a few sherds of very abraded prehistoric pottery, which is typical of field boundary ditches of this period. The evaluation also identified a possible prehistoric or Roman ditch in Trench 57, near the top of the slope, the ditch possibly surrounding a small enclosure.
The evaluation confirmed the presence of post-medieval boundary ditches shown on the 1882 OS Map. In addition, two post-medieval pits were also identified in Trenches 49 and 53. The evaluation found no evidence for the road depicted on Hodskinson's map of 1783 that was shown to extend across the northern part of the site (S1). Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2020 (S2).

Excavation targeted the prehistoric/Roman ditch, as well as segments of other, complementary ditches on a similar alignment, and several natural features. Aside from the previously identified ditch, all the features had been heavily truncated and as a result were very shallow. Finds assemblages recovered were also extremely limited. Given these limitations, the ditches did not form part of an enclosure, as had been suggested by the results of the evaluation, but probably represent the remains of a Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age field system, of a similar character to that identified across parts of the wider site in the evaluation (S3).

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2021 (S4).