Medieval activity and prehistoric finds assemblage on land adjacent to 41 The Street (EHER 80562)

Trial trenching encountered 16 features, consisting of pits and ditches, localised to the eastern area of the site. Six features yielded Bronze Age to Middle Iron Age and 11th to 13th century pottery. Further investigation via excavation recorded 18 pits, two linear features, two ditch termini, a ditch and a large charcoal spread. The site produced a mixed ceramic assemblage, but the predominance of 11th to 13th century pottery and evidence for farming in the environmental samples suggest a phase of medieval activity, as well as a residual prehistoric finds assemblage.

September 2020. Trial trenching. Three features were found in Trench 1 and 13 features were found in Trench 2, with all features localised to the Eastern area of the site. The most common features were pits, and ditches were also present. The earliest pottery comprised 18 sherds of prehistoric (Bronze Age – Middle Iron Age) pottery, and one ditch contained a residual fragment of Roman ceramic building material. Four features, spanning Trenches 1 and 2, consistently contained medieval (11th – 13th century) pottery. The pottery was noticeably small and abraded but one single ditch contained eight sherds. No associated finds were present. <1> February 2022. Archaeological excavation. The excavation recorded 18 pits, two linear features, two ditch termini, one ditch and a large charcoal spread. The finds included pottery sherds and the environmental samples produced evidence related to farming. Both suggest the highest point of activity was in the medieval period (from the 11th to 13th centuries). The land is known to have formed part of the Manor farm from at least the late 13th century. Prehistoric pottery was found across most of the site, although in very small quantities. Roman pottery was found in the East of the site in even smaller quantities. The mixed ceramic assemblage made it difficult to date areas of the site with confidence, however both the quantity of ceramic from the medieval period and the environmental analysis suggest it was most active during this period. <2>