Monument record BAA 053 - Roman agricultural activity at Land at The Broadway, Back Lane

2020: Archaeological evaluation identified two dated phases of activity. The first phase is broadly dated to the Roman period and is represented by Ditch 1004 and Layer 1014. The features likely represent outlying agricultural activity associated with the more concentrated activity noted on the adjacent sites, excavated in 2017 & 2018. Layer 1014 is interesting; it produced the largest quantity of finds on the site and would seem to be the remains of a former Roman soil. This potentially buried soil is isolated on the site and likely survived in this area as it had been introduced into the top of natural feature 1013. This is further supported by the small collection of pottery that represents some form of settled domestic activity. Neither of the two assemblages appear to be later than the 2nd century in date. The CBM recovered indicates (comparably to the adjacent site) that there is undoubtedly a significant Roman structure in the vicinity of the sites.
The second phase of activity is associated with the post medieval agricultural use of the site as a field. Subsoil 1001 was encountered in each trench and like many sites represents the turning over of the site to more intensive agriculture in the post medieval period during the expansion of the village.

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2020 (S2).