Early to middle Saxon sunken feature building? at Nun's Walk, Great Yeldham (EHER 80226)

Area 23 revealed evidence for Early/Middle Saxon settlement consisting of a possible sunken featured building that contained evidence for bone and antler working and a curvilinear pit.

July 2021. Archaeological excavation. Three areas (Areas 21-23) were excavated to further investigate archaeological remains that had been encountered during an evaluation of the site. Area 23 was intended to target Late Iron Age and Roman settlement remains, but actually revealed evidence for Early/Middle Saxon settlement in the area. This consisted of a possible sunken featured building that contained evidence for bone and antler working and a curvilinear pit. The possible sunken feature building extended beyond the excavation area to the SE, and was identified in the Eastern corner of Area 23. The feature was initially interpreted as an Iron Age pit and was only recognised as being a Saxon feature after specialist dating of the pottery. It measured 3.5m long by 2.5m wide by 0.4m deep, had a sub-oval shape in plan and a flat base. No associated postholes were observed. The feature contained a sizeable quantity of domestic waste, including 20 sherds (44g) of Early to Middle Saxon pottery, animal bone, metal objects and worked antler and bone. An elongated pit located in the Southern corner of the site has also been dated to this period. It was curvilinear in plan and measured 3.2m long by 0.6m wide by 0.13m deep. One sherd (7g) of Early to Middle Saxon pottery was recovered from the feature.<1>