Medieval finds and features, Water Lane, Steeple Bumpstead (EHER 80492)

After the Roman period much of the south-eastern part of the site adjacent to Water Lane and the fording point was covered by a finds-rich deposit that may represent a former headland and/or hillwash layer there was also evidence of the final redefinition of the trackway first cut in the Late Iron Age. Features associated with the medieval expansion of Steeple Bumpstead were also uncovered, comprising primarily of ditches and late 12th to 14th century finds.

2020. Excavation. After the Roman period much of the south-eastern part of the site adjacent to Water Lane and the fording point was covered by a finds-rich deposit that may represent a former headland and/or hillwash layer. The settlement/farmstead appears to have been abandoned at some point in the later Roman period and the soil layer formed, perhaps due to natural setting of material in a hollow or through nearby ploughing. Medieval elements of the site also include the final redefinition of the Iron Age trackway alongside a few short lengths of ditch on the northeastern periphery of the site, closest to Freeze’s Farm. Clearly the Roman road from Wixoe to Radwinter fell from use, as did the need for the possible track leading from it down to the crossing point. As the major settlements at Wixoe and Radwinter were abandoned and the hinterland became more depopulated, the roads linking these settlements would no longer have been maintained. Features associated with the Medieval expansion of Steeple Bumpstead were also uncovered, comprising primarily of ditches and late 12th to 14th century finds. The medieval core of Steeple Bumpstead was centred around Church Street, Chapel Street and the Bumpstead Brook. The evidence from this investigation suggests that this part of the village was not extensively occupied, with settlement perhaps focused to the north around Freeze’s Farm and on the other side of the book. <1>