Monument record SKT 131 - OUTLINE RECORD: Romano British Field system, enclosures and settlement or farmstead Diaper Farm, Stowmarket (MAG) GEO (PCA) EVAL

Evaluation and subsequent excavation uncovered evidence for a Romano-British field system and pastoral enclosures, possibly associated with a nearby settlement or farmstead. Most features dated to the Early Roman period, with evidence for several phases of activity during the 1st to early 2nd centuries AD. A large central rectangular enclosure, measuring c.1.1ha in extent, was respected by a system of cultivation channels around its exterior. The enclosure contained subdivisions that were redefined over time; there was also evidence for several small post-built structures, as well as fence lines and small pit groups, but no sign of substantial buildings. In the later Roman period several large midden layers accumulated in the central part of the enclosure. The layers covered an area c.70m long and up to 15m wide and were c.0.2–0.3m thick. The deposits contained 4th-century coins, a set of shears and other metalwork, mainly in the form of mount fragments. Of particular interest is a pit which produced a cast copper-alloy mount depicting the face of a god (possibly Pan) and a jet dress pin, alongside pottery, animal bone and ceramic building material. Features preceding the Roman activity consisted of two small Bronze Age pits in the NW corner of the site. The site was in agricultural use during the medieval period, when field boundaries followed the alignment of the Roman ditches. The layout of the landscape altered slightly in the post-medieval period, with one large boundary positioned parallel to the modern Stowupland Road (S1).