Ipswich UAD child record record IPS 1221 - Well 0328

This well was cut by the phase 2 ditch (0044), close to the southern edge of the excavated area. It was not possible to hand excavate the well lower than 1.80m below the top of the ditch but augering of the central shaft (0619) established a base at 0.38m O.D., 2.85m below the surface of the natural.
The well pit had a diameter of c.2.7m at the top and tapered towards the base, although it was not possible to establish the measurement at the bottom. Evidence of the central shaft was visible directly below the base of the overlying ditch.
Excavation was completed with the aid of a mechanical digger, which dredged up over half of a hollowed out tree-trunk (0630) used to line the central shaft. This was pulled out in five separate pieces from the east side of the feature, and reassembled away from the site. The remainder of the timber lining could not be reached by the excavator and was therefore left in situ.
All but one of the pieces of the lining was flat along the base. Peg holes occurred in pairs in two places around the base of the wood, with each pair at approximately 90 degrees to each other around the circumference of the wood. It seems likely that this pattern would have been repeated in two further places on the unexcavated portion of the trunk. The significance of these holes is unclear, but they may have acted as points for securing ropes, allowing the trunk to be lowered into position.
Dendro dating of the well timbers indicates that the tree trunk, from which the lining was hollowed, was felled after AD 688 (Hillam 1989), (S1).