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Is This the First Anglo-Saxon Long- House to Be Discovered in England? N Published by The Sutton Hoo Society Saxon No. 56 January 2013 Digging the long-house, looking west (all photos © SCCAS) Is this the first Anglo-Saxon long- house to be discovered in England? N Between May and October 2007, Suffolk County Council Archaeological The site lies less than 1km west of the Service uncovered a previously unknown Early Anglo-Saxon settlement lying medieval fortified town of Eye on a across 12 acres (4.72ha) earmarked for new playing fields at Hartismere south-facing slope between 38.5 and School in Eye. It had a continental long-house of a type hitherto unknown 31m Ordnance Datum (OD) alongside in England. Here JO CARUTH of the SCCAS reflects upon the results of the a tributaryN of the River Dove. The Dove post-excavation assessment, while absolute dates and interpretations are still transects the clay plateau of north Suffolk, to be confirmed by detailed analysis. linking Eye with another important medieval settlement at Hoxne: its valley is a focus for settlement of all periods. Evidence N from antiquarian excavations and recent metal detecting has identified wealthy early Anglo-Saxon cremation and inhumation cemeteries from the 5th century onwards, which suggest a densely occupied landscape in that period. Excavations of early Anglo-Saxon settlements are still rare across the country. In terms of area, Hartismere School is one of the largest investigations within the East Anglian Kingdom. It is still one of only 0 2.5m a handful of such sites to be intensively Plan Scale 1:50 excavated in the county, and the first in Plan of the long-house north-central Suffolk. 0 2.5m Plan Scale 1:50 0 2.5m Plan Scale 1:50 N N N Damaged By Railway N Damaged By Railway Damaged By Railway Damaged By Railway 44 44 44 44 Colluvium 0025 Drip slag Colluvium 0025 Drip slBaugrnt flint features River Colluvium 0025 BDurirpn ts lfSalFignBt sfeatures River SBFuBrnst flint features River Posthole buildings SFBs 0 50m PosthoCleo bbulieldi ntrgasck with wheel ruts Posthole buildings 0 50m Colluvium 0025 DCroibpb slleadg track with wheel ruts Site plan, showing main features Cobbled track with wheel ruts 0 50m Figure 16. Summary plan showing feature types Burnt flint features River There was evidence of dispersed detailedFigure analysis 16. Summary confirms plan showingthe preliminary feature types other postholesSF Bvaried:s four had internal early Anglo-Saxon settlement across dating,Figure this 16. discovery Summary isplan of showinginternational feature typesstructural slotsPo saroundthole build iatngs least one part of most 0of the excavation, 50m consisting of importance for studies of Anglo-Saxon the sunken feature.Cobbled track with wheel ruts two earth-fast posthole buildings and at archaeology and history. The SFBs were scattered across the site, least eighteen Sunken Featured Buildings often arranged in pairs, which could mean Figure 16. Summary plan showing feature types (SFBs or Grubenhäuser). There were Sunken Featured Buildings they were contemporary but, equally, also industrial features, a gully utilised that one was a replacement for the other. by the inhabitants, and large quantities Sunken Featured Buildings (SFBs) are a These buildings seem to be distributed of occupation debris. The main dating definitive type of small Saxon building, in two broad groups, but the dispersed evidence comes from the Anglo-Saxon built over a pit, invariably back-filled with arrangement of them across the site makes small finds and pottery, which suggest rubbish: their form and function has been it difficult, at this stage, to identify any occupation from the 5th to 7th centuries, the subject of much debate over many sequence or pattern of replacement. An with the most intense activity in the 5th decades. At Eye the fills of the pits were almost universal pattern seen on other and 6th centuries. largely dark homogeneous silts, containing large area excavations of Early Saxon varying quantities of finds of all categories, settlements is clusters of SFBs associated A continental-style long-house representing deliberate dumps that post- with a single earth-fast posthole building dated the abandonment of the building. or halls, but that is not found here. The At the centre of the settlement is what There is little obvious evidence of deposits evidence does not seem to suggest intense appears to be a continental-style long- that may have accumulated, either during occupation during the 150-200 year life of house, a type of building so far absent the use of the building, or immediately the site: at West Stow, sixty-nine SFBs and from the archaeological record in England post-abandonment. seven halls were found within an area of at this date. It measures approx. 19.40m Preliminary analysis of the finds just 1.8ha during occupation of c.250-300 long x 5.4m wide and has a central aisle distribution within the pit-fills shows years (West, 1985). approx. 2.6m wide x 8.2m long, formed some differences across the site. For of eight paired posts, which does not example, high quantities of animal bone Industry, craft and commerce reach the ends of the building. The posts was recovered from the buildings in are irregularly positioned in relation to the centre of the site, while there was a The results include evidence for industrial, each other, suggesting tie beams across complete absence of ceramic building craft and commercial activities. Sixteen the building rather than timbers along the material in the two easternmost sunken shallow rectangular pits, with charcoal in aisle. The outer long walls are made up of features. This may indicate the zoning the base below burnt flints, were scattered small postholes, fourteen on the south side of specific activities. The environmental across the entire site, often in pairs. The and another twenty on the north. The end evidence identified a range of materials carbonised wood recovered from three walls were less well defined, with some within the fills, derived from domestic of the pits suggests that the flints were features being difficult to distinguish from debris and scattered refuse, as well sedges supported on a lattice of wattles, with the the natural silt hollows found across the and wetland grasses. These may provide fire lit underneath them. They appear to be site. A small number of postholes within evidence for the roof material of the single-use features, as there is no evidence the building may indicate structural buildings, but given the river/stream edge of flints being removed or replaced. One, elements. At the moment this is dated by location of the site, such an interpretation which had an oval arrangement of small its spatial relationship in the centre of needs great care. postholes around it, has been tentatively the settlement and from the presence of The SFBs were of varying construction, interpreted as a possible smoke house, but single sherds of Early Anglo-Saxon pottery in width from 1.9m to 4.7m, and length otherwise their function is unclear. in three of the posthole fills, but we from 2.8m to 5.7m. All were based on There is evidence for iron-smelting in await radiocarbon dating. Assuming the central ridge posts, but the number of the form of a large in situ deposit of drip 2 Saxon 56 Drip slag, looking west The gully under excavation, looking south, wheel ruts Piece of copper alloy with runic inscription Anglo-Saxon balance of copper alloy and surface in foreground slag (weighing approx. 6.8kg) within a from a settlement context in this country features were found, including Neolithic furnace pit, in the south-east corner of and strongly suggest trading from this and Bronze Age cremations, and Late the site. The presence of a copper-alloy site. Fifty-eight Roman coins recovered Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settlement. ingot, fragments of copper-alloy waste, showed an unusual concentration of Evidence of Roman occupation on this as well as a lead-alloy model for a florid late 4th century dates. This is contrary site was restricted to stray finds and a cruciform brooch, indicate non-ferrous to the usual pattern seen in Britain and single possible Roman feature. In contrast, metal-working. The presence of fragments particularly in Suffolk, which shows a excavations in 2011, also undertaken of earlier copper-alloy objects, such as significant drop in coin usage at this by SCCAS Field Team, on the plateau prehistoric axe fragments found across time. The pattern at Eye may reflect immediately north of the current site, the site, may represent their collection re-use of these late coins as part of the identified evidence of late Roman field for re-cycling. commercial activity. systems but no Anglo-Saxon evidence. A narrow gully bisected the centre of There was evidence of antler and Evidence post-dating the early Anglo- the site, running down towards the river bone-working and among the seven Saxon occupation is sparse. A later field (north to south). In the base of it was a wood-working tools from the site was system, which is largely undated, cuts cobbled surface: surface deposits rarely an adze head which is a relatively across the site. survive on sites of this period. Wheel ruts uncommon find in England. However, could be seen, and their spacing shows there was an unusually small number an axle width of approx. 6’6’’ for quite a of clay loom-weights, which are normally substantial cart, similar to evidence from ubiquitous on settlements of this period, the Middle Saxon settlement at Brandon although the presence of needles, pin- (Tester et al., forthcoming). Excavation beaters and spindle-whorls indicate, to the north of the current site in 2011 if not weaving, other textile production identified primarily late Roman deposits, on the site.
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