Monument record FLN 112 - OUTLINE RECORD-Mulit-period pits, field systems and possitble enclosures, post holes at Flixton Quarry, Buck Land Extension (CAS) GEO + EVAL

Evaluation was undertaken ahead of ‘Buck Land Extension’ to Flixton Park Quarry. 100 trenches were excavated, with archaeological interest in 83. 360 features were recorded, of which 210 were ditches and 145 were discrete pits, including several possible post-holes that may represent structural remains. Also identified were 4 possible clay surfaces which may be the remnants of floors, along with a similar sand deposit and a small group of flint cobbles, loosely bonded with lime mortar.
The frequency of ditches suggests the presence of a palimpsest of field systems and possible enclosures with artefactual evidence indicating that these date predominantly from the Roman and medieval periods, with discrete pits and possible post-holes associated with both periods. These were set against a background of characteristically dispersed prehistoric activity and overlain by post-medieval field boundaries. Preservation of the archaeological level across the site was generally good, although some possible modern intrusion was identified towards the floodplain to the N where the water table was occasionally visible. A prominent ridge of slightly higher ground was visible running roughly centrally through the site from its W edge and the identified archaeological deposits were more concentrated along this ridge and running off it towards the floodplain of the river Waveney bounding the site to the N. Remains were recorded across the site, although were less frequent along the S edge of the evaluated area (S1).

A fluxgate gradiometer survey was successfully completed across the majority of the survey area. The geophysical survey has primarily detected anomalies relating to agricultural practices, including drainage, cultivation, and both mapped and unmapped field boundaries. Variations within the background of the survey area relate to the near surface geology, which have in turn complicated a more confident interpretation of features and possibly obscured their full extent. Sources of interference relate to boundary features along the perimeter of the survey area as well as a modern service (S2).

A total of 100 trenches, each measuring 30m long and 2.5m wide, were excavated with archaeological deposits identified in eighty-three of them and seventeen being blank. In total, 360 archaeological features were recorded, of which 210 were ditches and 145 were discrete pits, including several possible postholes with the potential to represent structural remains. Also identified were four possible clay surfaces which may be the remnants of floors along with a similar sand deposit and a small group of flint cobbles, loosely bonded with lime mortar. The frequency of ditches recorded suggests the presence of a palimpsest of field systems and possible enclosures with artefactual evidence indicating that these date predominantly from the Roman and medieval periods, with discrete pits and possible postholes associated with both periods. These were set against a background of characteristically dispersed prehistoric activity and overlain by post-medieval field boundaries. Preservation of the archaeological level across the site was generally good, although some possible modern intrusion was identified towards the floodplain to the north where the water table was occasionally visible. This was despite varying levels of overburden with coverage ranging from 0.3m of topsoil directly over the naturally occurring sand and gravel up to 1m of colluvial material present towards the southern edge of the evaluated area. A prominent ridge of slightly higher ground was visible running roughly centrally through the site from its western edge and the identified archaeological deposits were more concentrated along this ridge and running off it towards the floodplain of the River Waveney bounding the site to the north. However, despite being less frequent along the southern edge of the evaluated area, where the majority of the blank trenches were located, heritage assets were recorded across the entire site (S3).