1113258. Cite this using datacite

Title:

Land west of Thorney Green Road, Stowupland, Suffolk

Series:

Cotswold Archaeology unpublished report series

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Biblio Note

This report was uploaded to the OASIS system by the named Publisher. The report has been transferred into the ADS Library for public access and to facilitate future research.

Licence Type:

ADS Terms of Use and Access

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5284/1113258

Publication Type:

Report (in Series)

Abstract:

Three excavation areas were opened within the site totalling 18,555sqm (1.85ha) in area and comprising of: • Area 1 (6,952sqm): located to investigate medieval settlement remains of 12th–14th century date, potentially representing settlement shift and continuation from Area 2; • Area 2 (6,061sqm): located to investigate medieval settlement remains of 11th–12th century date; • Area 3 (5,542sqm): located to investigate Middle Iron Age settlement remains. The excavation areas were positioned to investigate features recorded by the previous geophysical surveys and trial trench evaluations. A borehole standpipe accessed for monitoring groundwater was located close to the northern limit of excavation within Area 3. A small area of topsoil and subsoil deposits were left in situ around the standpipe. Heavy rain during machine excavation of the topsoil deposits within Area 1 flooded the site. A strip of topsoil located at the centre north was left in situ to act as a bund to contain the flooded area, with an intention to return and strip the small strip of topsoil once the water had subsided. Following discussions with SCCAS it was agreed the small strip of topsoil could remain in situ. Between January 2020 and November 2020, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological excavation on a piece of land west of Thorney Green Road, Stowupland, Suffolk, prior to the construction of a housing-led development on the site. Three excavation areas were opened, and the results confirmed the results of the earlier phases of work. In the north-west corner of the site, prehistoric activity was evident. Here, excavations revealed a large ditch dating to the Middle Iron Age that extended the full width of the excavation area. To the north of this, two partial and superimposed penannular gullies represented the remains of a roundhouse, associated with pits also of Middle Iron Age date. A near complete pottery vessel was recovered from a short ditch. Early Roman (and probably Late Iron Age) activity of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD was confirmed in the north-east corner of the site. Dense networks of ditches representing enclosures and field boundaries were identified, as were occasional pits and other discrete features. Closely spaced systems of parallel narrow ditches/trenches were encountered across the north of the site, and these have been interpreted as cultivation trenches. The pottery assemblage recovered mainly comprised cooking and storage jar forms with some fragments of drinking vessel, and the assemblage does not represent a high-status site. The remains of most of a pot were recovered from the terminus of a ditch. Medieval features dating from the 11th to the 14th centuries were seen in concentrations across the eastern half of the site. Here, complex systems of enclosure and field boundary ditches were recorded, with subtle changes in alignment, size and concentration through time. The main group of early (11th-12th century) rectilinear enclosures were focused on the northeast corner of the site, closest to the historic Thorney Green, and it was in this area that the majority of (residual) Late Anglo-Saxon finds were recovered. By the 13th century, the focus of activity had changed to the south-east of the site where enclosures appeared to have been aligned with frontages onto Thorney Green Road. These enclosures could represent individual dwelling plots or farmstead elements, although no obvious structures were recorded. It is likely that the widening of the road in more recent times could have removed this evidence. The assemblage of environmental remains was relatively modest, and the ceramic assemblage comprised both local and regional wares, with a fairly typical percentage of glazed wares for a rural site. The metalwork assemblage includes shears, horseshoes, nails and pieces of locks and padlocks.

Author:

Richard Mortimer

Publisher:

Cotswold Archaeology

Other Person/Org:

Suffolk HER (OASIS Reviewer)

Year of Publication:

2021

Locations:

District:	Mid Suffolk
County:	Suffolk
Country:	England
Parish:	Stowupland

Grid Reference: 606050, 259736 (Easting, Northing)

Subjects / Periods:

ROMAN FIELD BOUNDARY (Tag)

MIDDLE IRON AGE POT (Tag)

JETTON (Object England)

MESOLITHIC BACKED BLADELET (Tag)

EARLY MEDIEVAL STYLUS (Tag)

SHEARS (Object England)

TAG (Object England)

MEDIEVAL JETTON (Tag)

EARLY MEDIEVAL SHEARS (Tag)

MEDIEVAL BARREL PADLOCK (Tag)

MESOLITHIC CORE (Tag)

UNCERTAIN PIT (Tag)

MEDIEVAL PIT (Tag)

MEDIEVAL SHOEING NAIL (Tag)

MEDIEVAL POT (Tag)

STYLUS (Object England)

MEDIEVAL POST HOLE (Tag)

MEDIEVAL FERRULE (Tag)

EXCAVATION (Event)

MEDIEVAL SICKLE (Tag)

BUCKET (Object England)

CORE (Object England)

POST HOLE (Monument Type England)

EARLY MEDIEVAL HARNESS FITTING (Tag)

NONE PIT (Tag)

BARREL PADLOCK (Object England)

MEDIEVAL BUCKET (Tag)

UNCERTAIN LINEAR FEATURE (Tag)

MEDIEVAL BUCKLE (Tag)

MEDIEVAL DITCH (Tag)

MESOLITHIC BLADE (Tag)

POT (Object England)

PIT (Monument Type England)

KNIFE (Object England)

SHOEING NAIL (Object England)

BROOCH (Object England)

FERRULE (Object England)

MIDDLE IRON AGE DITCH (Tag)

QUERN (Object England)

HARNESS FITTING (Object England)

MEDIEVAL PADLOCK (Tag)

PADLOCK (Object England)

GULLY (Monument Type England)

FIELD BOUNDARY (Monument Type England)

LATE IRON AGE SLAG (Tag)

ROMAN DITCH (Tag)

MEDIEVAL CASTING WASTE (Tag)

SICKLE (Object England)

MEDIEVAL KEY (LOCKING) (Tag)

ROMAN BROOCH (Tag)

HORSESHOE (Object England)

MEDIEVAL KNIFE (Tag)

KEY (LOCKING) (Object England)

UNCERTAIN LOOMWEIGHT (Tag)

ROMAN ANIMAL REMAINS (Tag)

MEDIEVAL GOAD (Tag)

GOAD (Object England)

LOOMWEIGHT (Object England)

LATE IRON AGE (Historic England Periods)

ROMAN (Historic England Periods)

MIDDLE IRON AGE (Historic England Periods)

MEDIEVAL (Historic England Periods)

MESOLITHIC (Historic England Periods)

NONE (Historic England Periods)

EARLY MEDIEVAL (Historic England Periods)

UNCERTAIN (Historic England Periods)

MEDIEVAL QUERN (Tag)

DITCH (Monument Type England)

ROMAN PIT (Tag)

EARLY MEDIEVAL HORSESHOE (Tag)

MEDIEVAL LINEAR FEATURE (Tag)

ARROWHEAD (Object England)

BUCKLE (Object England)

BLADE (Object England)

ANIMAL REMAINS (Object England)

MEDIEVAL ANIMAL REMAINS (Tag)

ROMAN POT (Tag)

BACKED BLADELET (Object England)

LINEAR FEATURE (Monument Type England)

CASTING WASTE (Object England)

UNCERTAIN DITCH (Tag)

EARLY MEDIEVAL TAG (Tag)

SLAG (Object England)

LATE IRON AGE DITCH (Tag)

MIDDLE IRON AGE GULLY (Tag)

MESOLITHIC ARROWHEAD (Tag)

MIDDLE IRON AGE PIT (Tag)

Identifiers:

OASIS Id:	cotswold2-363517
OBIB:	SU0226_1

Source:

OASIS (OASIS)

Relations:

Created Date:

19 Oct 2023