Monument record IPS 612 - 1 Cobbold Street, Ipswich, (IAS 8520).

2009: Archaeological monitoring and excavation revealed quarrying pits of medieval date and pit digging of late Medieval to Post Medieval date. During the medieval period ploughsoil deposits accumulated over earlier ditches and there was localised quarrying of the underlying boulder clay. The infilling of the quarry and subsequent dumping of soil might indicate deliberate landscaping of the site. Intensive pit digging from the 16th century onwards was associated with the development of houses along the St Margaret's Green frontage of the site. A masonry well, cesspits (one with a stone-lining) and refuse pits were presumably located in yards or gardens to the rear of those properties. The quality of some of the ceramics from these pits supports the documentary evidence in demonstrating the relatively high-status of the inhabitants. In the post-medieval period areas of the site that were formerly used for the disposal of cess and refuse in pits were covered by layers of garden soil. During the 19th century some of these gardens were built over, and an ironworks was established in one of the buildings along the southern boundary of the site.

A substantial north-south ditch near the western edge of the site produced three struck flints and might have been of later prehistoric date. However, its location and orientation suggest that it was more likely to have been a road-side ditch associated with the Anglo-Saxon origins of St Margaret's Green. Two other stratigraphically early ditches of uncertain date are interpreted as probable field/plot boundaries (S1).

An excavation was carried out in advance of the construction of a block of flats on a site to the west of St Margaret’s Green, which is thought to be the site of the Saxon Thingstead. An undated but substantial north–south ditch near the western edge of the site is provisionally interpreted as a road-side ditch associated with a postulated precursor of St Margaret’s Green. In the early medieval period the site was open land in agricultural or horticultural use, as demonstrated by the accumulation of ‘worked soil’ deposits and the presence of two insubstantial ditches that are interpreted as field or plot boundaries. In the 13th- or 14th century a large quarry pit was dug for the extraction of the underlying natural clay. The pit was backfilled rapidly and ground level was raised with dumps of soil. Subsequently the site was divided into two by a substantial east–west fence, represented by a line of postholes. The continued accumulation of ‘worked soil’ deposits on either side of the fence indicates that the site remained in agricultural or horticultural use. Intensive pit digging from the 16th century onwards was associated with the development of houses along the St Margaret’s Green frontage. A masonry well, cesspits (one with a stone-lining) and refuse pits were presumably located in gardens to the rear of those properties. The quality of some of the ceramics from these pits supports documentary evidence in demonstrating the relatively high-status of the inhabitants.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2009 (S2)