Medieval features and post-medieval field boundaries on land South of Ramsey Road (EHER 80601)

Trial trenching and excavation recorded medieval ditches and an extraction pit which yielded medieval pottery and indicate activity related to the nearby 12th century Church of St Michael (EHER 34378). Also recorded was a possible post-medieval pond, back-filled with post-medieval material, and field boundaries which formed rectilinear enclosures. A modern field boundary was initially also interpreted as post-medieval.

May 2021. Trial trenching. Evaluation recorded medieval and post-medieval features which yielded pottery ranging from the medieval to modern periods. The post-medieval features appear related to those on the Tithe Map of 1845, and the medieval pottery recovered may indicate activity in this period related to the nearby 12th century Church of St Michael (EHER 34378). In the Southern end of Trench 1, the Northernmost trench at the site, was a large dark deposit consisting of post-medieval finds and measuring 15m+ long. The Tithe Map of 1845 indicates the presence of a large, rounded feature, possibly a pond, in this location. A post-medieval ditch, 4m wide, was observed in Trenches 7 and 13 and yielded post-medieval finds. The alignment of this ditch to the farm wall boundary to the North could suggest it was an earlier continuation of this boundary. The Tithe Map of 1845 displays a boundary in this location, dividing two paddocks occupied by Charles Stevens, and the excavated evidence accords with this date. A ditch observed in Trench 2 continued into Trench 4, although no finds were recovered to provide a date. Ditches were also recorded in Trenches 6, 10 and 12 and pottery recovered from the latter two dates from the 12th to 14th centuries, suggesting the presence of medieval activity on the site. <1> November 2021. Archaeological excavation. Excavation confirmed the results of the evaluation and recorded a small number of medieval and post-medieval features. These consisted of medieval ditches, an extraction pit containing medieval pottery and a large boundary ditch associated with post-medieval to modern activity in the area. Post-medieval field boundaries were also recorded forming rectilinear enclosures. The field boundary ditch in the North of the site, and recorded in Trenches 7 and 13 of the evaluation, attributed through pottery analysis to the modern period, was originally an earlier hedgerow and had been back-filled in the modern period. An 'L-shaped' ditch, two linear ditches and two post holes were undated. <2>