Site Event/Activity record ESF25062 - Deposit, Land adjacent to 12 Duke Street, Ipswich

IPS 653 (IAS 9007), Land adjacent to 12 Duke Street, Ipswich: An evaluation by trial trenching was carried out on the proposed site of an office block within the Neptune Marina development. A trench measuring 8.20m x 2.00m (16.40m2) was excavated, representing 3.4% of the proposed development area. The site was located in the former inter-tidal zone of the river Orwell, to the south of the medieval quay. This area of the waterfront was not developed until the 17th century, when the quay was extended and the St. Clement's shipyards were built. Natural sand and gravel deposits were not seen, confirming that the site was entirely within the river channel and that the bank must lie further to the east, below Duke Street. The earliest deposits recorded were undated layers of clay/silt alluvium, presumably representing former mudflats, and an overlying sand layer thought to have been a foreshore deposit. Subsequent horizontal deposits containing post-medieval building material were probably the result of dumping for land reclamation when the waterfront was extended and the shipyards were built. Much of this post-medieval dumping, and presumably any associated or later buildings and structures, were removed when the site was truncated in 2002-2003, prior to the construction of the Neptune Marina. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future No Associated Identifiers: Sitecode IPS 653 Planning Application No. IP/08/00626/FUL Project Type: Field evaluation Development Type: Urban commercial (e.g. offices, shops, banks, etc.) Methods and Techniques: Sample Trenches Position in the Planning Process: After full determination (eg. As a condition) Reason for Investigation: Planning condition Monument Type(s)/Period(s): ALLUVIUM Uncertain, LAND RECLAMATION Post Medieval Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): NONE None PROJECT LOCATION Area 16.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TM1706843977 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: K. Wade Director/Manager: Stuart Boulter Supervisor: Kieron Heard DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR ID: IPS 653 Contents: Stratigraphic Media: Database, Images raster / digital photography, Images vector, Text PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR ID: IPS 653 Contents: Stratigraphic Media: Context sheet, Plan, Report, Section BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Archaeological Evaluation Report: Land adjacent to 12 Duke Street, Ipswich, IPS 653 (IAS 9007) Author(s)/Editor(s): Heard, K. Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report No. 2011/163 Date: 2011 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Ipswich Description: A4, comb bound, white cover, 24 pages (also available as pdf)