Bridge Street, Ipswich - IAS6202

Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, 2015. https://doi.org/10.5284/1034368. How to cite using this DOI

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Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (2015) Bridge Street, Ipswich - IAS6202 [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1034368

Data copyright © Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service unless otherwise stated

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Primary contact

Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service
Bury Resource Centre
Hollow Road
Bury St Edmunds
IP32 7AY

Resource identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers which can be used to consistently and accurately reference digital objects and/or content. The DOIs provide a way for the ADS resources to be cited in a similar fashion to traditional scholarly materials. More information on DOIs at the ADS can be found on our help page.

Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1034368
Sample Citation for this DOI

Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (2015) Bridge Street, Ipswich - IAS6202 [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1034368

Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service logo

Introduction

Bridge Street, Ipswich - IAS6202

Circumstances of excavation

The ‘Stoke Bridge and approaches’ road scheme in 1981 involved the construction of a new bridge across the River Orwell, adjacent to Stoke Bridge, and two new roundabouts, north of the bridge and west of Bridge Street. The scheme also included a storm water relief drain under the new carriageway. Suffolk County Council’s Highways Department gave the Suffolk Archaeological Unit permission to excavate five trenches prior to highway works.

Site constraints

The County Surveyor would not agree to excavation on the new carriageway lines other than on the route of the storm drain. Consequently, the main area of excavation (trench 0001) was located on what was to be a traffic island between Bridge Street and the replacement carriageway to the west.

Site summary

The two northern trenches were recorded as Greyfriars Road (IAS5201) and Greyfriars Road/St Peters Street (IAS5202).

This archive relates the results of the southern three trenches: IAS 6202 - Trenches 0001, 0550, and 0620.


Trench 0001

This was located west of the Bridge Street frontage with the north edge against the cellar of the Crown Inn which had stood on the corner of Greyfriars Road and Bridge Street. Shallow deposits were excavated over an area 27m north-south, by 13m east-west. Following this, the waterlogged layers below were investigated in a trench, 26m north-south by 3m wide, which required continuous trench sheeting and the pumping of groundwater.

Two timber revetment structures belonged to the Early Middle Saxon period (EMS: c.600-700) associated with 6 handmade pottery sherds. Revetment 0448 comprised a row of stakes running parallel with the bank. As there was no difference between the layers on either side of the row of stakes, it had either been heavily eroded through time or had never acted as an impervious revetment. Revetment 0404 was comprised of tree roots and cut timbers, secured by a series of vertical posts, many of which leaned towards the river, indicating dilapidation prior to replacement.

Two revetments, one replacing the other were identified as pertaining to the Middle Saxon period (MS: c.700-850), they both consisted of vertical posts interlaced with horizontal hazel withies, with the posts driven deep into the silt.

In the Early Late Saxon period (ELS: c.850-900), layer 0400/0402, an organic clay with much shell, lay over the top of the later revetment: 0439, and it is possible that another timber revetment, not reached in excavation, was constructed further into the river to consolidate this layer.

The Medieval period saw numerous repeated phases of revetting and post placements such as post group 0499: a group of vertical posts which lay on the river side of reclamations layers 0226 and 0247, containing pottery of the later 12th/early 13th century. It was not possible to excavate them to their bases and determine their date of origin but they could have been mooring posts, dating to an earlier period. The Late Medieval period (LMED: c.1200-1450) also saw the building of a stone wall (0169) which had been constructed within a timber framwork. This timber frame, inserted into the construction trench for the wall, acted as shuttering against the reclamation layers behind, during the construction of the wall. Tree ring dating of the timbers suggests that the timber framework had been constructed later than 1303 AD. The area behind wall 0169 was raised with a series of layers up to c.2m OD allowing development of the reclaimed area fronting Bridge Street. At least three ovens were located from 3-8m north of wall 0169. Although there was no evidence of their function, bread making seems most likely.

In the Late Medieval Transitional period (LMT: c.1450-1600), a series of layers predominantly composed of gravel, were laid above the demolished building (0083) and ovens (0043, 0067, 0158), raising the ground surface by c.30cm. A building or buildings were constructed on layer 0005 but floor surfaces did not survive and the wall footing remains were very shallow and difficult to interpret. Other features include a septaria and mortar lined cess pit, two drains and a timber-lined well.

There was little evidence of early Post-Medieval (PMED: c.1600-1900) occupation surviving on the site apart from one well. Well 0002 was circular, 1m in diameter, and flint and mortar lined, sitting within a construction pit (0069). Evidence of the later PMED buildings, that had fronted Bridge Street, had been almost entirely removed by the demolition contractors. The only remnants were two brick cellars, a brick wall and the edge of a brick soak-away only seen in section.


Trench 0550

This was excavated within the shoring inserted for the storm relief drain, 40m west of trench 0001.

The earliest layer at the base of the river profile was a 25cm thick layer of brownish grey sand and gravel (0597). Structure 0604, within this layer, comprised three vertical posts with horizontal withies (0601) woven against them. As no significant change in the composition of layer 0597 was detected on either side of the structure, it would seem unlikely that it had achieved any significant consolidation of the river bank. Although no artefacts were recovered, apart from a small fragment of leather, the evidence from trench 0001, to the east, implies that the earliest activity along the river bank is pre Ipswich ware (Early Middle Saxon) and this is the most likely date for 0604. There was also a second revetment structure above layer 0597, which was very similar to structure 0404 in trench 0001, implying an Early Middle Saxon date. As with 0404, it would seem unlikely to have acted as a major consolidation of the bank, although a layer of oyster shell, behind the structure, indicated that some retention of dumped material had occurred. Further revetment and post structures were uncovered and attrrbuted to the Early Late Saxon period (ELS: c.850-900).

Successive layers of reclamation were deposited above layer 0559 during the Early Medieval period (EMED: c.1000-1200) sealing the earlier revetments.


Trench 0620

This trench lay 5m north of trench 0550, within the line of the storm water relief channel, on rising ground; it contained one pit of Early Late Saxon origin (c.850-900) and one pit of Early Medieval origin (c.1000-1200). A shallow ditch which was later recut was dated to the Late Medieval Transitional period (c.1450-1600).

Further information can be found in the Site Summary which can be accessed by selecting the 'Reports' tab on the 'Downloads' page.


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