Monument record TYY 027 - Blofield Hall (Med)

Summer/Autumn 1999: Medieval manorial(?) site recorded during excavation. Large area excavated (16,000 sq m) in advance of dock development. Three phases of ditched enclosure. At least two rectangular structures with enclosed area. Thought to be site of earlier Blofield Hall. Details in (S1-S3).

An evaluation was carried out in March, prior to the development of a large container storage area associated with Felixstowe Docks. The site consisted of cultivated fields and covered an area of c.60ha. Evaluation was carried out through the mechanical excavation of trial trenches. This phase of evaluation followed on from an earlier desk-based survey and a programme of systematic fieldwalking. Trenches totalling over 6km in length were excavated revealing five individual sites of archaeological interest:
TYY027 (Area 1): An early medieval manorial site.
TYY029 (Area 2): A small site of possible prehistoric occupation.
TYY026 (Area 3): A large area of Iron Age/Romano-British settlement.
TYY032 (Area 4): An area of medieval and possibly prehistoric occupation.
TYY033 (Area 5): A small Roman site, possibly a temple.
Areas 1, 2 and 3 are situated within the main development area and were subjected to open area excavation during the summer. Post excavation analysis work is still underway and only basic interpretations are included here.
Within Area 1, the medieval manorial site, a series of interconnected ponds, a trackway, at least three buildings, indicated by beam slots and postholes, and small plots/fields, all situated within an apparent enclosure ditch were revealed. Associated field systems were also identified to the east of the main site. Artefactual evidence indicates occupation during the 11th to 13th centuries.
Excavation of Area 2 revealed a series of probable field boundaries dated to the Iron Age and Roman periods. No evidence of actual occupation within the excavated area was identified. Two rows of closely spaced postholes where recorded although no dating evidence was recovered. These possibly represent a fenced droveway or two phases of a fenced boundary.
Area 3 contained a large portion of an Iron Age settlement consisting of dwellings, a trackway, a waterhole and small enclosed plots/fields within a possible enclosure. Two buildings were identified and recorded, one was an Iron Age roundhouse with a square extension to the north-east. The other building recorded was rectangular in shape and constructed with ground beams and posts and probably dates from the Early Roman period. Other groups of postholes which probably represent further buildings were also recorded. Artefactual evidence for possible iron smelting on site was recovered. The site was occupied during the Late Iron Age and Early Roman periods.
Areas 4 and 5 are located within zones allocated for soil storage and a mitigation strategy was devised to ensure that these sites will be preserved undamaged. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 1999 (S4).