Monument record LKH 207 - RAF Lakenheath, Hospital Zone Maintenance Building, (Prehistoric)

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Summary

Excavation revealed ditches and pits.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 73225 81028 (29m by 29m) (2 map features)
Map sheet TL78SW
Civil Parish LAKENHEATH, FOREST HEATH, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Excavation along the lines of footings and services for a new Hospital Zone Maintenance building revealed ditches and pits dating to Iron Age, Roman and Early Saxon periods. These were sealed by a dark soil occupation layer containing Roman and Saxon finds. This represents a continuation of the intense IA, Rom & ESax settlement activity seen in nearby excavations, e.g. LKH 146, 192, 160 etc. Details in (S1-S2).
Also see Rom and Sax.

2001:Excavation identified Early Anglo-Saxon feautres including three sunken-featured buildings. Pottery and animal bone of both Roman and Early Anglo-Saxon was recovered from features and surviving buried soil layers. A broad line of east-west aligned ditches ran across the south end of the site and appeared to be first dug in the later Roman period and maintained into the fifth century AD. This band of ditches was found on other sites and seems to represent the northern edge of the Roman Settlement. A shallow circular pit on the extreme north eastern corner of the site contian3ed three horses heads carefully placed in a triangular arrangement. These have no associated dating evidence but are presumed to be a religious or superstitious ritual. The heads will be radiocarbon dated once fully analysed (S3).

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Caruth, J.. 2000. Archaeological Excavation and Monitoring Report. Hospital Zone Maintenance, RAF Lakenheath.
  • <S2> Machine readable data file: Caruth , J.. 2023. All Site summary Info RAF Lakenheath July 2023.
  • <S3> Unpublished document: Caruth, J.. 2005. Archaeological Excavation Archive Report and Assessment of potential for analysis - RAF Lakenheath combined report on adjacent sites LKH 191 Outdoor Recreation Centre, LKH 194 New Storage Building, LKH207 Recycling Centre, LKH223 Wells Road Resurfacing.

Finds (9)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Record last edited

Oct 17 2023 3:35PM

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