Monument record BEG 059 - OUTLINE RECORD - Prehistoric enclosures and Saxon settlement at East Anglia One Area 23 (WB)

2017: Excavation revealed a trivallate set of ditched enclosures, with preserved timbers, which have been radiocarbon dated to the late Neolithic Bronze Age transition (Fig. 8). A notable find from this feature appeared to be a structured deposit that included an aurochs (Bos primigenius) skull. At the western end of the site a large burnt mound was discovered and has been securely radiocarbon dated to the Middle Bronze Age. In the Iron Age further activity takes the form of large triple ditches which may be part of a hill-top enclosure. A significant part of the site was subsequently overlain by a substantial stratigraphic sequence that spans the Anglo-Saxon period to the 17th century. The sequence begins with a posthole structure, furnace and oven, which were sealed by a late Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured building (SFB) containing an infant burial. The SFB is cut by a sequence of multi-phase ovens or kilns, which are in turn sealed by a series of floor layers. The floors appear to begin with small structures in the 12th-14th century, subsequently replaced by a medieval hall that is re-developed in the 17th century. The site also includes a sequence of medieval field drainage or water supply channels, some of which are lined with wooden planking. Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2017 (S1). Full report to follow.