Monument record BLX 039 - Late prehistoric and Late post Medieval activity at Lime Tree Farm, Tunstall Road, Blaxhall

2018: Geophysical Survey recorded a narrow range of geophysical anomalies, indicative of relic field boundary ditches, archaeological pits, backfilled quarry pits and agricultural furrows; anomalies of unknown derivation were further prospected in the dataset. Overall, the results of the non-intrusive survey reveal a low to moderate potential for magnetic anomalies of an archaeological origin. (S1)

2019: Following an earlier geophysical survey, a targeted evaluation, comprising eleven trenches, was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology at Lime Tree Farm, Tunstall Road, Blaxhall, Suffolk in April 2019 in advance of the construction of an agricultural reservoir. A series ditches, pits and natural features were recorded. The evidence suggests the survival of an archaeological horizon with the presence of two main phases of activity on the site; a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age phase followed by later post-medieval/modern activity. Roman and medieval finds do not date any features but, instead, evidence presence within the vicinity of the site. Essentially these phases illustrate the agricultural history of the site extending as far back as the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age and continuing into modern times. (S2)

A small excavation covering an area of 0.2ha was carried out ahead of the construction of an agricultural reservoir. The excavation was centred around two foci identified in the previous evaluation trenches and discovered four phases of past land use. The earliest feature on the site was a semi-circular gully with a diameter of approximately 11m, probably representing part of a roundhouse, which contained a small assemblage of Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age pottery. Two small pits within the gully were filled with very similar material and may be postholes associated with the building. Further sherds of similar, although considerably abraded and most likely residual, pottery was recovered from six ditches which ran from east to west across the site, three of which cut the semi-circular gully. These ditches were generally between 3.5 to 4m apart and were small and shallow with very indistinct edges, which might represent cultivation features, possibly Roman viticulture (although they were undated). At their western end, these small ditches were cut by a large north south aligned ditch, from which was recovered a very small assemblage of medieval pottery. Given the heavy soils here, it is likely that this ditch functioned both as drainage and a field boundary. This ditch was, in turn, cut by a later post-medieval field boundary which ran from east to west towards the southern edge of the excavation area.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2019 (S3)