Monument record FML 192 - Medieval features and post medieval drainage system at St. Michaels Rooms, Church Street, Framlingham

The monitoring within the building footprint identified areas of archaeological interest, principally medieval ditches and pits. A series of service trenches immediately east of the building were cut through a thick layer of modern made-up ground, sometimes extending into the natural subsoil at the base. Where these trenches extended further north and cut deeper, extensive layers of redeposited chalky boulder clay were identified to a depth of c.1.6m, below which medieval deposits were exposed. The depth of the trenches meant that the archaeological levels could not be accessed for detailed recording, but it was possible to identify a probable oven base and a charcoal rich layer, the two of which may be related, and from which 13th-14th century pottery was recovered. The methodology of the trench excavation, where short sections were cut, recorded and backfilled may be a factor in having not been able to identify the points at which the redeposited clay layers began and ended along the length of the excavated trench. At the northern limit of the trench, a large box was excavated for services. Whilst most of this excavation had been heavily disturbed by existing services, the exposed sections showed that it cut into a large, deep feature which extended beyond the northern limit of the excavation. Although no datable artefacts were recovered from this probable pit, the articulated remains of a horse were observed towards the base, the majority of which was left in situ (S1).