Monument record SBK 062 - Low level mult-period activity, Land to the south of New Street

The recovery of a piece of worked flint dating to the Mesolithic or Early Neolithic and two other pieces of flint-working waste indicates human activity in the vicinity during the prehistoric period, although the material was residual in later features.

The earliest dated features encountered by the evaluation were two shallow, intercutting pits in the northern part of the site, from which were recovered four small sherds of pottery. The sherds had no diagnostic features, but their fabric suggests that they may be Early Saxon in date, although the similarity in the fabric type to some Iron Age pottery fabrics precludes definitive dating of the pottery. However, a small piece of ceramic building material was also recovered from one of the pits, indicating an Early Saxon or possibly later date for these features.

Concentrated in the north-eastern part of the site was a system of small ditches, consisting of five parallel ditches on a north to south alignment, possibly associated with an east to westaligned ditch to the south. The ditches were generally small and shallow and had relatively light fills compared to those of later features. The absence of artefactual material and charcoal suggests that they were agricultural features, at some distance from any settlement. Their relationship with the subsoil was uncertain due to disturbance caused by modern ploughing.

In the southern corner of the site was a large post-medieval ditch that corresponds with a boundary shown on the 1840 Tithe map of the area, bordering the eastern edge of a former lane that once linked New Street with Wilby Road. Also shown on the Tithe map and on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1884 was another post-medieval field boundary that extended across the southern part of the site from east to west. The boundary displayed evidence of having been recut on at least two occasions and modern finds were recovered from its fills. Other than modern land drains, no other features were encountered by the evaluation (S1).