Monument record LWT 183 - Medieval and post medieval urban activity at Compass Street, Lowestoft

Archaeological evaluation, excavation and monitoring were conducted ahead of redevelopment. The plot was initially evaluated with three evaluation trenches, all of which contained archaeological features. Trench 1 in the north-east corner of the site revealed late medieval/early post-medieval pits and a cobbled surface, the latter probably the surface of a post-medieval market place. Deposits in Trench 2 were affected by large modern utility trenches, however a layer of dumped material survived at the base of the sequence here. Trench 3 contained several post-holes and pits of probable late medieval/early post-medieval date.
The excavation area was located to the south of the site where a series of mostly small pits/post-holes and patches of clay (probably clay footings) were recorded. Several post-holes formed structural arrangements that, with the clay footings, appeared to represent traces of a timber-framed building, perhaps dismantled in the later medieval or early post-medieval period. A small annexe of this building seemed to be situated in the south-east of the site. Metal working debris in small pits located within this annexe perhaps indicated a forge or specialised metal craft area.
Monitoring of drainage trenches and a large soakaway at the centre recorded part of an 18th/19th-century cellar in the north-eastern area of the site.
Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2013 (S1) (S2).