Monument record FRT 005 - Interrupted Ditch System / Causewayed Enclosure at Potash Farm

Interrupted ditch system, double ditched. Irregular but roughly circular shape. Possible entrance or gaps in the enclosure on NW, W, S and SE sides. Large, rectangular post-hole building FRT 023 is found within, close to the ditches on the NE side. A possible fence/palisade line is visible between the two ditches in places, especially on CUCAP BXY 27,29,30,32,33, BYC 30- 32,36,37 & K17 AL 115 & 116 (S1)(S2).
1976: Aerial photographs taken during 1969 and 1972 reveal cropmarks of a large interrupted ditch system, composed of 2 concentric circuits. The site was under cultivation at the time of the visit and nothing was visible on the ground. ?Third circuit discontinuously visible between 2 or more distinct ones (S11).
1981: Nothing visible. A fair scatter of good flintwork recovered, especially in area of outer circuit by Sylvia Laverton of Freston in winter 1979-1980. Thought to be in Bury or Ipswich Museum and have been seen by Stanley West. Air photographs show sub-circular double discontinuous ditches enclosing an area approximately 310m x 290m, with other linear and rectilinear cropmarks in interior. Mr Suckling says that his holding (area 2) was subsoiled several times prior to scheduling (S11).
1985: Area 1 was under winter wheat; area 2 had been ploughed and weathered and area 3 was in stubble to the N and under winter barley to the S. All were covered with a sparse scatter of `pot boilers' and struck flint, the latter consisting mainly of blades and flakes, with a few cores and scrapers. The highest density (approximately 1 piece per 10m square or rather less) was over area 2, presumably because it was not yet planted. A fragmentary barbed and tanged arrowhead (with both barbs snapped off) from approximately TM 1682 3777, in the extreme S of area 2, may well have come from over the ditches. It was given to Mr Mann; the rest of the struck flint was not collected (S11). 1991: Said to be unmaintained and at risk. "Ditch clogged and overgrown for much of its length" (S12).
An aerial photographic transcription of the site was undertaken by Carolyn Dyer of the Air Photography Unit of the former RCHME in 1995 as part of the 'Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic project' (S13) and was subsequently published in Oswald, Dyer and Barber's 'The Creation of Monuments' (S14). The transcription was used in the Suffolk Coastal NMP project.
August 2007: geophysical survey by English Heritage - details in (S16).
November 2007: Watching brief of footing for an extension carried out to the south of 2 Latimer Cottages only found a single unstratified flint (S17).
See FRT 023 for the long house located within the enclosure (S15).
Geophysical Survey identified the ditches forming the causewayed enclosure as well as a the corner of an enclosure and a number of other geophysical anomolies see FRT 063 (S19).
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2007 (S20).