Monument record DAR 061 - Multi-period activity at Land south of Darsham Station, Darsham

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Summary

Archaeological finds and features of prehistoric, medieval, post-medieval, and modern date were revealed during an archaeological evaluation.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 4031 6933 (321m by 383m)
Map sheet TM46NW
Civil Parish DARSHAM, SUFFOLK COASTAL, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (12)

Full Description

2021: Sixty-three features were uncovered during this evaluation: twenty-five ditches, twenty-three pits, seven postholes, six gullies, a charcoal-rich pit and a ditch or pit. These features were fairly evenly distributed across the site, with a concentration in its northwestern corner and a scatter through its southern half. Only a modest amount of artefactual evidence was recovered, and consequently thirty-six features could not be dated.
The presence of a small number of features producing prehistoric pottery sherds suggests that the earliest phase of human activity at the site occurred during this period. Only one of these sherds could be closely dated, to the Iron Age. An evaluation carried out by Suffolk Archaeology along the southern and eastern borders of the present site in 2018 (DAR 040) uncovered one prehistoric ditch to the northeast, and the abovementioned remains likely represent an extension of this activity.
The main period of activity at the site was during the 12th to the 14th century. The medieval features uncovered produced a modest amount of pottery, much of it derived from cooking vessels. A number of these sherds exhibited evidence of blackening, but none had any decoration or glazing. Some quern fragments and sheep or goat and pig bone was also recovered from medieval contexts. This activity was concentrated in the north of the site, which may have been related to the remains of what may have been domestic plots dating to the 12th-14th century fronting onto what is now the A12 uncovered during excavations by Cotswold Archaeologyapproximately 600m to the north in 2019 (DAR 045). In the southern half of the site, one medieval ditch produced an assemblage of daub, some of which still had traces of wattle voids, indicating that a posted structure stood in the vicinity during this period. Together, these remains suggest that a small low-status domestic settlement existed here during this period.
A number of post-medieval and modern features were also excavated. Two ditches corresponded to field boundary ditches which formerly subdivided the site depicted on early 20th-century Ordnance Survey mapping of the area. The other post-medieval or modern features uncovered were likely similarly the product of agricultural activity here during these periods. (S1)

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Hicks, E.. 2021. Archaeological evaluation: Land south of Darsham Station, Darsham.

Finds (7)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Sep 8 2022 1:14PM

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