Monument record REY 105 - Medieval ditches and pits, Green Lane, Reydon

2017: Evaluation revealed a series of primarily east-west aligned medieval ditches and a group of intercutting pits. Pottery recovered from the intercutting pits and ditches suggests activity was 13th and 14th century. The features indicate use of the area for agriculture (S1).

August 2017: Five phases of activity were revealed by the excavation, the majority of which relates to a series of ditched boundaries that were altered and realigned over a period spanning the 13th-15th centuries. Earlier activity was represented by an undated but possibly prehistoric fire pit containing burnt flint; possibly contemporary with three undated gullies. A background scatter of residual pottery and lithics along with Roman CBM was also recovered.

Much of the associated activity, mostly comprising sand extraction pits subsequently used for rubbish disposal, was concentrated in the south-eastern parts of the site. Although no structures were identified a small hearth was present and waste material from a cooking fire had been disposed of in the upper backfills of a large pit. An area of intercutting quarries had also been utilised as a midden, which produced a relatively large finds assemblage; predominantly pottery. The overall pottery assemblage from the site is primarily 13th-14th century with some 14th-15th century material present, and is typical of a rural assemblage from this region. Few metal objects were recovered, comprising iron nails and a single copper-alloy thimble of 19th century found in the subsoil. Environmental sampling produced low levels of charred cereal grains (mostly barley and rye) along with legumes, weed seeds, brambles, and charcoal. Preservation of animal bone was particularly poor due to the acidic nature if the sandy soils.

The sequence of boundaries and other features appear to relate to activity on the periphery of medieval settlement, initially associated with the green-edge development to the east and subsequently Green lane to the south. After the 15th century the site reverted to agriculture and the field boundaries remained largely unchanged until relatively recently (S2).