Post-medieval ditches and pits on land at Tamarisk, 19 The Street, Kirby-Le-Soken (EHER 80426)

Three post-medieval ditches, two pits, one gully and one undated ditch and pit were revealed by trial trenching on land at Tamarisk. The features were mainly clustered in the West of the site and almost certainly relate to agricultural activity at the site from the 17th century to the early 20th century. A single sherd of 13th to 16th century Colchester-type ware was also recovered.

January 2020. Trial trenching. Eight archaeological features were uncovered during evaluation at this site. They originated from the 17th to the 20th century, or else were undated, and consisted of four ditches, three pits and a gully. The investigation found that the site as a whole appears to contain only sparse archaeological deposits, with features concentrated within its Western half including a cluster – the three pits, two ditches and the gully – in Trench 2, in the NW corner. Historic mapping indicates that the site was used for agricultural purposes until the mid 1950s, when its Eastern half was subdivided to form plots for a number of houses. These features therefore almost certainly relate to agricultural activity at the site from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Ditches in Trenches 2, 5 and 9 may represent the remains of a post-medieval (17th-18th century) field system. Evidence of earlier activity at this site was also recovered. Gully F7, which had its origins in the 19th or 20th century, contained a sherd of 13th to 16th century pottery. This material may have derived from activity at or around the church, 15m West of the site. It is therefore possible that further deposits dating to the medieval period are located within this area of the site. <1>