Monument record SUT 022 - Probable Iron Age or Roman settlement, north-east of Sutton Hall, Sutton parish. (Rom)

Complexity of multi period cropmarks including irregular enclosure, SUT 044. Main features are system of interlinking trackways (main one running E-W) irregular rectilinear, rectilinear fields? and curving ?field boundaries and a series of small enclosures (?settlement) to SW & SE in main field (S1). For excavation of part of these cropmarks and IA pottery & Rom coin hoard, see SUT 041. For ?late Rom coin hoard on SW limit of area, see SUT 002 (CRN 03678).
Un metal detected finds by (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s) include:-
1989: lead rivet, circular lead weight, circular ?lid (drawn), for details see (S2).
See BA (pottery), IA, Rom & Sax scatters.
A probable Iron Age or Roman settlement is visible as a complex pattern of cropmarks on aerial photographs, centred on (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s). The site consists of a confusing pattern of ditched enclosures and trackways covering an area of 72 sq m. A series of small, adjacent, rectangular enclosures is visible centred on (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s). These enclosures appear to be joined at right angles to a trackway that runs on a south-west to north-east alignment and are up to 37m in length. The enclosure pattern is very complicated and it is possible that these enclosures have been recut a number of times. To the north of this series of enclosures a number of large ditches may reflect a substantial trackway that has been recut many times. This trackway runs on a south-west to north-east alignment and appears to merge with another trackway of a similar nature, at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s), that is aligned north-west to south-east This trackway way runs south-east into the next field where the cropmark disappears. Other cropmarks are visible in this field including two ring ditches. The first ring ditch, located at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s), encloses an area 16m in diameter and is around 1m wide. There are two gaps in the ring ditch but the one on the eastern side at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s) is the more convincing as an entrance. The other ring ditch is located at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s) and, although only partially visible, probably encloses an area roughly 13m in diameter. The ring ditches are probably hut circles marking the position of round houses. The curvilinear feature which cuts the second ring ditch may be natural. Another very small ring ditch is visible at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s) and encloses an area 5.7m in diameter. To the north of the series of small rectangular enclosures, a confusing pattern of curvilinear and linear ditches is visible, centred on (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s). These features appear to belong to more than one phase of activity and probably formed a number of larger rectilinear and curvilinear enclosures. The cropmarks probable represent a number of phases of Iron Age or Roman settlement. Three linear parallel ditches are visible in the field to the north of where the main cropmarks are located, running roughly north to south for around 250m and joining one of the trackways in the main field at (see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s). This feature is probably a Prehistoric trackway, although an agger may be visible on some vertical photography (S8) raising the possibility that this is a Roman feature. (S3-S7)
See SUT 149 for the villa, SUT 044 for the Prehistoric enclosure and SUT 150 for the quarry pits.

Volunteers from the Suffolk Archaeological Field Group undertook magnetometry survey of a large multi-period site within the Deben Valley, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project led by SCCAS and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The site, which was known to be active from the Iron Age to the 5th century, was found to contain extensive features, including likely Roman and Iron Age structures, along with some industrial activity (S1).