Monument record BLG 026 - SCC Highways Depot, Lodge Lane

2010: Deposits of palaeoenvironmental potential were encountered during borehole investigations at Great Blakenham Highways Depot, Suffolk in April 2010. Birmingham Archaeo-Environmental undertook palaeoenvironmental assessments on organic deposits from three cores. Pollen, plant macrofossil and beetle remains were extracted and assessed supported by three radiocarbon dates. The dates show that peat accumulation began at the end of the Romano-British/ early Anglo Saxon period However, due to likely contaminated of the upper peat through stripping and backfilling of the site no reliable date is available for the end of the peat deposition. The pollen, plants and beetles indicate a grassy meadow environment with areas ofslow-flowing or still water nearby. High concentrations of cannabis-type in the pollen record reflect the ‘retting’ of hemp on or very close to the sampling site. Retting of hemp is largely linked to the Medieval period where it was grown for fibre, particularly for canvas and rope, however there are no radiocarbon dates from this section of the peat in Core 5 therefore a precise date of retting at the Great Blakenham site cannot be provided. (S4)

2010: An archaeological evaluation identified features dating to the medieval period in just one trench. This trench was located close to the site north west perimeter where in contrast to much of the site, the ground level did not appear to be truncated. Two separate pits or butt ends of a ditch was seen which contained one sherd of 12th-14th century pottery. A ditch was revealed but no finds were recovered. Another linear feature was seend which contained four sherds of pottery. Ten sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from topsoil (S1).