Monument record WLB 010 - Possible original site of Walberswick church and settlement. (Med)

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Summary

Possible original site of Walberswick church and settlement.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 649 274 (690m by 687m) Approximate
Map sheet TM62NW
Civil Parish WALBERSWICK, SUFFOLK COASTAL, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (2)

Full Description

(see 'Not to be published on web' tab for finder/s and/or findspot/s): Original site of Walberswick church and settlement. Ploughing brings up pottery, various bronze pieces and painted glass' (S1). Also note spread of Med & PMed pottery to SE - WLB 009.
1991: Metal detected finds predominantly very late Med/PMed - see PMed (S2) - extends across two fields - see map.
1992-1993: Area of relatively intense Med pottery scatter more accurately defined (by cross hatching on HER map) during fieldwalking survey by John Newman (S3). Details to follow.
For alternative location of church see WLB 012 (Med).
See also WLB 009.
Also Rom.

The gradiometer survey has been successful in detecting anomalies of archaeological origin across the site in the form of a large overarching road and multiple examples of settlement activity, possibly from the Saxon to post-medieval period. In addition to these, anomalies interpreted as historical landscape features have been identified, expected to be related to the site's former use as a World War II military installation. The overarching road curving its way through the site, appears to follow the same orientation as several former field boundaries as well as likely continuing towards an extant field opening to the south-east. This feature appears to form the centre of activity on site, from which the surrounding archaeology all appears to stem from. A combined series of pits and ditches have been identified in the south-eastern portion of the site. The exact origin of these features cannot be interpreted from the data alone, they may originate anywhere between the medieval period to modern activity associated with World War II. The location of these findings corresponds with the presumed location of the first church, in addition to the location of several, small, medieval finds from a fieldwalking survey. The combination of these sources and survey results means there is a possibility that the combined ditched and pitted areas of LP_002 could form the remains of a DMV. The remains of three suspected enclosures have been identified, all stemming from the overarching road structure and are expected to relate to roadside settlements or defensive installations of a similar period. The northern portion of the site also contains an abundance of interconnected linear ditches of similar orientations, expected to form the remains of a wider field system. It is not certain from the geophysical data alone as to whether this proposed field system is related to the other forms of settlement activity identified on site. Evidence of the site's former military occupation has been highlighted as a larger area of magnetic disturbance found centrally on site. The area of disturbance corresponds with the known location of military occupation, visible in aerial photography from 1941. It is expected that this disturbance has been generated because of the installation's removal and return to agricultural use. An area of possible extraction has also been highlighted to the south-west of the site. The remaining anomalies are expected to be related to either geological variation or modern activity, related to agricultural practices such as ploughing and land drainage (S4).

Sources/Archives (6)

  • --- Unpublished document: Edwards, H. 2024. Letter from Walberswick Local History Group regarding an aerial survey of Manor and Track fields.
  • <M1> Unpublished document: Suffolk Archaeological Service. Parish Files. Parish file: (Easton Bavents) copy (S1), (S2), (S3).
  • <S1> Personal Correspondence: Gardner T H & Hogarth A P. 1988. Gardner T H & Hogarth A P, letter, 3 August 1988. Gardner T H & Hogarth A P, letter, 3 August 1988.
  • <S2> (No record type): Kett, P.. Kett P, per SAU (Newman J), finds ID records, received Bury June 1991, map.
  • <S3> (No record type): SAU, Newman J, map.
  • <S4> Unpublished document: Trace, A.. 2024. Geophysical Survey Report - Suffolk Geophysical Survey, Walberswick, Suffolk.

Finds (5)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 2:34PM

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