Monument record ORF 088 - Oyster pits of probable Post Medieval date at the south-eastern end of Orfordness, Orford parish

Probable shellfish production pits or oyster beds, are visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards as earthworks cut into the saltmarsh at the south-eastern end of Orfordness, centred on circa TM42784860 (S1). The pits range in size from circa 2 x 2m to circa 8 x 8m and can be seen for circa 1.25 km from circa TM42624916 to circa TM43254861. Most of the pits appear to be connected either to a drainage channel that runs along the line of the flood defences, or natural creeks in the saltmarsh. The pits are not marked on either the first or second edition Ordnance Survey maps of circa 1884 or 1904, but their somewhat eroded condition and alignment along the possibly late medieval sea wall, ORF 059, suggests a Post Medieval date for their construction (S2, S3). In addition, the location of pits appears to respect the earthworks of the larger oyster pits recorded as ORF 022, that are almost certainly of Post Medieval date. The pits can still be clearly see on later aerial photography (S4, S5). Smaller pits that can be seen on the later photography are probably related to modern quarrying for repairs to the sea wall.