Monument record NKT 098 - Early Neolithic pits, undated goat burial and a Post Medieval Boundary ditch at Hatchfield Farm, Fordham Road, Newmarket 'Field A'

Archaeological evaluation and subsequent targeted open area excavations, despite the relatively substantial size of the assessment site, revealed relatively few pre-modern archaeological remains. The archaeological evaluation revealed a particularly notable early Neolithic pit alignment, an undated goat burial, and a post-medieval boundary ditch. Four early Neolithic pits were exposed that appeared to form a linear arrangement orientated on a broad north-east to south-west alignment. The deposited material evidence recovered from the pits at Hatchfield Farm alludes to the site having been seasonally and temporarily occupied. Radiocarbon dates demonstrated a date range between 3629 and 3377 calBC (SUERC-105914 and SUERC-105915) (S1).

The archaeological evaluation and the subsequent targeted open-area excavations, despite the relatively substantial size of the investigation area, revealed few pre-modern archaeological remains. Excavations, however, did reveal a notable early Neolithic pit alignment, an undated goat burial, and a post-medieval boundary ditch. Four early Neolithic pits were exposed that appeared to form a linear arrangement on a broad north-east to south-west orientation. The deposited material evidence recovered from the pits indicates that it was a location where a range of archetypal early Neolithic activities occurred: local flint was knapped; pots were used, broken and discarded; oak fuelled fires were lit; cereals were processed, and wild resources foraged.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2022 (S2)