Site Event/Activity record ESF20780 - Excavation, Household Waste and Recycling Centre, Gisleham

An excavation was carried out following a trial-trench evaluation. The drift geology of the site is Lowestoft Till overlying glaciofluvial sand. There was no evidence to indicate that the site was occupied in the Neolithic period and the only find that is potentially of that date is a single sherd of Beaker pottery (Later Neolithic / Earlier Bronze Age) from a small pit or posthole. Earlier Bronze Age activity is represented by a pit that contains an important finds assemblage (including part of a collared urn, a flint knife, and a jet ornament of national significance) but which is not sufficient to indicate permanent occupation of the site. An increase in pit digging in the Middle Bronze Age suggests that the site was used more intensively at that time, although no buildings or structures of that date have been identified. The site was certainly occupied by the Later Bronze Age / Earlier Iron Age, as indicated by a roundhouse inside a ditched enclosure, two linear ditches, one or more external hearths and widespread pits. The site seems to have been abandoned by the Later Iron Age and was not obviously used during the Roman period, although a large quarry pit might have been dug at that time. The site was re-occupied in the Early Anglo-Saxon period, although the evidence for this is confined to a localised area within the (partially backfilled) quarry pit mentioned above. There is no evidence to indicate medieval occupation, and in the post-medieval period it is likely that the site was in agricultural use and was exploited for clay extraction for the brick-making industry. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous Yes, Future No Associated Identifiers: OASIS form ID suffolkc1-11569 NMR No. 1530695 Project Type: Recording project Investigation Type: Open-area excavation Reason for Investigation: Planning condition Monument Type(s)/Period(s): PIT Early Bronze Age , PITS Middle Bronze Age , ENCLOSURE Late Bronze Age , DITCH Late Bronze Age , PITS Late Bronze Age , OCCUPATION LAYER Early Medieval , QUARRIES Post Medieval , HEARTH Late Bronze Age , HOUSE Late Bronze Age Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): ORNAMENT Early Bronze Age , POTTERY Early Bronze Age , POTTERY Late Bronze Age , FLINT Early Bronze Age , FLINT Late Bronze Age PROJECT LOCATION Area 10000.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM52758944 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Jess Tipper Director/Manager: John Newman Supervisor: Clare McLannahan DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR ID: CAC 035 Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Environmental, Human Bones, Metal, Stratigraphic, Survey, Worked stone/lithics, other Media: Database, GIS, Images raster / digital photography, Spreadsheets, Survey, Text PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR ID: CAC 035 Contents: Survey, Stratigraphic Media: Aerial Photograph, Context sheet, Photograph, Plan, Report, Section, Survey PHYSICAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR ID: CAC 035 Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Environmental, Glass, Human Bones, Worked stone/lithics, other BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Household Waste and Recycling Centre, South Lowestoft Industrial Estate, Hadenham Road, Gisleham Author(s)/Editor(s): Heard, K Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS report number 2009/297 Date: 2010 Issuer/Publisher: Suffolk County Council Place of Issue or Publication: Ipswich Description: A4, 110 pages, wire bound