Monument record CAC 037 - OUTLINE RECORD: PHASE 5, BECCLES RD - EVALUATION

2006: A small open-area excavation resulted from an evaluation conducted across this small parcel of heavy clay land to the north of the Carlton Colville Bypass. Within the excavation area a prehistoric ditch cut through an earlier large pit (of probable Bronze Age date) containing abundant fire-cracked flint. At least 5m in diameter, this pit had been severely truncated by the ditch on one side and on another side was too close to the field hedge to extend the excavation area. This feature was quarter-sectioned to reveal that its gentle sloping edges gave way to a vertically-sided, rectangular ‘tank’ at its centre. The lower fills of this part of the pit produced very profuse quantities of fire-cracked flint and an abundance of flint splinters suggesting that hot stones had been dropped into standing water, causing the stones to shatter. The feature is probably related to a class of monuments called ‘burnt mounds’ that are often found away from settlements and could be associated with cooking and feasting or with steam baths such as saunas. The best preserved comparative example from Suffolk was from Swales Fen (Martin 1988) where a wooden revetment and lining still survived. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2006 (S1).

Full report to follow.