Title: |
Archaeological Test Pitting in Clare, Suffolk, 2011 |
Series: |
Access Cambridge Archaeology unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
accessca1-158425_1.pdf (6 MB)
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Download
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
This report presents the results of a programme of archaeological excavation of 33 1m2 'test pits' in the small Suffolk town of Clare carried out in spring 2011. The programme was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the Managing a Masterpiece project intended to engage the communities of the Stour valley in their heritage. Over four days, more than 300 people from the local area took part in the excavations. The results provided new evidence for the development of the area now occupied by the town from the prehistoric period onwards. This appears to have lightly used by humans in the prehistoric and Roman period until the mid-8th century AD when a small settlement appears to have developed near the site of the present church. By the 9th or 10th century, a larger settlement had grown in its place, extending south towards the river Stour, possibly with a church in this southern zone. By the mid-11th century the settlement had developed into a small town, which was extensively re-organised shortly after the Norman Conquest, when it acquired a planned layout including a formal market place which had a motte and bailey castle on its south side and a church on its north, with some of the late Anglo-Saxon settlement removed at this time. The Norman town flourished for a couple of centuries, leading to the creation of a new market place to the north of the church. This period of growth ceased in the 14th century, when parts of the town were abandoned and others became more sparsely occupied. Revival did not take hold until perhaps the 17th or 18th centuries, although the Norman street plan endured throughout and survives to this day. |
Author: |
Carenza Lewis
C Ranson
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Publisher: |
Access Cambridge Archaeology
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Suffolk HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2012
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Locations: |
Site: |
Clare |
County: |
Suffolk |
District: |
West Suffolk |
Parish: |
CLARE |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 577000, 245600 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
accessca1-158425 |
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Note: |
A4, plastic comb bound, 155 pages
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
18 Aug 2017 |