Surrey Archaeological Collections
Surrey Archaeological Society, 2003. (updated 2023) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221. How to cite using this DOI
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- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
Archaeological work at Matthew Arnold School, Laleham, in 1989-90 and 1994
GRAHAM HAYMAN and PHIL JONES
In 1989 and 1990 a scheduled earthwork discovered by William Stukeley in 1723 was planned for the first time, and an evaluation by geophysical survey and excavation proved that it was a double-ditched trapezoidal enclosure of medieval date. An adjoining enclosure that was also described and sketched in the 18th century was not positively identified, but some evidence of Late Bronze Age activity was found, both in the vicinity of the main earthwork, and to the north-east of it.
Excavation of an adjacent area in 1994 identified a building used for a short period in the early to mid-13th century. The building and finds (especially pottery) exhibited unusual features, suggesting that it was not a normal domestic site. An association with the enclosure seems highly probable, with their functions interrelated. There is, however, no certainty as to what that purpose was: suggestions relating to a hundred moot assembly and a stock enclosure/resting place near to the important market at Staines are considered.
