Kesgrave Quarry, Little Bealings Report No
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT __________________________________________________________ NORTH FACE, KESGRAVE QUARRY (SINKS PIT), LITTLE BEALINGS Planning Application No. C/97/1501 (SMR No. BEL 026) commissioned by RMC AGGREGATES (UK) LIMITED CONTENTS Summary 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 3. Results 4. The Finds, by Edward Martin and Sue Anderson 5. Discussion 6. Recommendations for Further Work Figures figure 1: Site Location Plan figure 2: Trench Location Plan figure 3: Feature Location Plan figure 4: Feature Plans figure 5: Sections Appendices Appendix I: Context Numbers and Finds List Appendix II: Brief and Specification Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service Field Projects Team PJ Thompson MSc CEng FICE County Director of Environment and Transport St Edmund House, County Hall, Ipswich. IP4 1LZ. REPORT No. 99/5 Evaluation: Kesgrave Quarry, Little Bealings Report No. 99/5 Summary An archaeological evaluation was undertaken to assess the extent of surviving archaeology within the area of a proposed extension to Kesgrave Quarry (Sinks Pit), in the parish of Little Bealings, Suffolk. The area proposed for expansion lies immediately to the North of the existing quarry. The OS grid reference for the approximate centre of the proposed quarry expansion is TM 2245 4655. On-site evaluation consisted of a series of linear trenches mechanically excavated to the depth of the natural subsoil. The exposed surface was then examined for cut features. A small pit containing Early Bronze Age pottery, four other pits and four ditches, from which no dating evidence was recovered, were located within the excavated trenches. No other significant archaeological features were identified within the evaluation area. 1. Introduction As a result of an application (C/97/1501), to extract sand and gravel from beneath a parcel of land to the North of Kesgrave Quarry (Sinks Pit), an archaeological evaluation was carried out on site by members of the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, Field Projects Team. The quarry and the evaluation area are situated in the parish of Little Bealings, Suffolk. The Ordnance Survey map reference for the approximate centre of the evaluation area is TM 2245 4655 (see figure 1: Site Location Plan). The proposed quarry expansion would involve large scale excavation of the area and result in the complete destruction of any archaeological deposits that may be present. At the time of the application the level of archaeology surviving on the site was unknown and the evaluation was commissioned in order to ascertain the extent, nature and depth of any buried archaeological deposits within the area proposed for extraction. The information gained from the evaluation could then be used to formulate a strategy for dealing with any archaeological remains that may be present. At the time of the evaluation (January 1999), the evaluation area was under untended grassland with gorse bushes, small shrubs and an occasional mature tree. The site was also littered with a small number of tree stumps and felled tree trunks, particularly within the western half of the site. A line of mature pine trees, protected by Tree Preservation Orders, were located on the eastern edge of the site. The area had been the garden to an adjacent derelict house. The house had been unoccupied for c.9 years. Prior to the house being solely residential, the area and house had been the site of a poultry farm, and had been so since at least the 1940s. The evaluation area, and the surrounding land, is flat and level to the North, East and West. To the South, previous to the quarry, the land would have sloped down to a small stream in the valley bottom. Kesgrave Quarry, situated on the North side of an East - West valley, has been worked since at least the 1950s. Over the years, as the quarry slowly expanded, a number of archaeological sites and artefacts have been discovered. These are recorded 1 Evaluation: Kesgrave Quarry, Little Bealings Report No. 99/5 on the County Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), with each individual site being allocated a unique reference number. Within the area of the existing quarry, or immediately adjacent, five sites are listed on the County SMR. The closest recorded site is BEL 007, situated about 350m Southeast of the proposed expansion area. It is an Iron Age settlement site with associated hearths and a burnt flint scatter. It was partially excavated in 1957. Sherds of Early Iron Age pottery and a quantity of waste flint flakes were recovered from the site and the surrounding area. One hundred metres to the Northeast of BEL 007, four hundred metres East of the proposed expansion area, is BEL 006, an ‘urnfield’ containing c.25 cremation burials and dated to the Bronze Age period. This site was also excavated in 1957. Three possible Saxon hut sites, which lay over the urnfield, were also excavated at this time. Three further sites, BEL 010, BEL 018 and BEL 022, lying between 400m to 1000m to the East of the proposed quarry expansion, are recorded on the County SMR. The site recorded as BEL 010, consists of a finds scatter of Early Saxon artefacts and was recorded in 1966. The scatter included a shield boss, two spears, one javelin, fragments of pottery and cremated bone. Finds such as these, are indicative of a Saxon cemetery although unfortunately no actual burials were found in situ. BEL 018 is a multi-period site discovered in 1987 during a watching brief on the topsoil stripping of an earlier quarry extension. Various stray finds and features were recorded, indicating ancient occupation from the Mesolithic period through to the Roman period. BEL 022 records further multi-period artefacts and features recovered during excavations in 1992 within an area immediately to the Northeast of BEL 018. The large number of artefacts and features recorded over the last 40 years, from within the area of gravel extraction, indicate that the sand and gravel ridge, worked by the quarry, supported a succession of shifting settlements dating from the Neolithic period onwards. The area proposed for expansion, which is along the same ridge, was considered to have the potential to yield further evidence of ancient settlement. A ‘PPG 16, paragraph 30 type condition’, to secure an agreed programme of archaeological works, was put on the above application. This evaluation is the first stage of the agreed programme. The evaluation was commissioned and funded by the quarry owners, RMC Aggregates (UK) Limited, and was carried out in accordance to a Brief and Specification prepared by the County Council Conservation Team (reproduced in Appendix II). The evaluation archive is lodged with the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service at Shire Hall, Bury St. Edmunds. 2. Methodology To evaluate the area a series of linear test trenches were machine excavated down to the level of the natural subsoil using a the back ‘arm’ of a JCB fitted with a 1.5m wide, toothless, ditching bucket. A trenching plan was agreed with the County Conservation Team although this was slightly modified to avoid trees and dense areas 2 Evaluation: Kesgrave Quarry, Little Bealings Report No. 99/5 of gorse (see figure 2: Trench Location Plan). Initially the topsoil was removed and the machined surface examined for archaeological features which, if present, were recorded. Following this any colluvial or other masking deposits, such windblown sand, were removed in order to expose the underlying natural subsoil, again the machined surface was examined for archaeological features. Any archaeological features identified within the trenches were hand excavated. Potential postholes and pits were half sectioned whilst linear features were sectioned perpendicular across their width. The location of each feature was recorded (see figure 3: Feature Location Plan) and a surface plan of each feature was drawn at a scale of 1:50 (see figures 4). Upon excavation the cross-section of each feature was drawn at a scale of 1:20 (see figure 5). The machined surfaces and the resultant spoil was systematically surveyed with a metal detector. Consecutive context numbers commencing at 0002 (0001 being reserved for unstratified finds) were allocated to each feature as located. All artefacts recovered during the evaluation were retained for further analysis. 3. Results A total of five, 1.5m wide, linear trenches, of varying lengths, were excavated, giving a total length of 160m (numbered as trenches 1-5, see figure 2: Trench Location Plan). This length of trench equates to an area of approximately 160m2 (computed on the nominal basis of a 1m wide trench, see the Brief and Specification), and is approximately 2% of the total evaluation area (c.6000m2). In all trenches the topsoil was approximately 0.15m thick. Its removal revealed a layer of reddish brown sand which varied in thickness from 0.5m to 0.65m. Beneath this the underlying natural consisted of yellow and orange sands and gravels with occasional rounded flints. Archaeological features were identified in all the trenches excavated. In all the features tree root disturbance was encountered, although this only caused minor excavation problems in trench 1. Despite the use of a metal detector, no significant metal artefacts were recovered during the evaluation. A brief description of each feature now follows: Trench 1: 0002 - A small feature located on the edge of the trench. Probably an oval shaped pit, although this was not possible to positively determine as only a portion of the feature was visible. The fill consisted of mixed mid brown sand. The visible portion measured 0.75m by 0.6m, and had a depth of 0.35m. No finds were recovered from this feature. 0003 - A small, sub-rectangular feature with a mid reddish to dark brown sand fill. It measured 0.75m across the short axis, 1m across the long axis and had a depth of 3 Evaluation: Kesgrave Quarry, Little Bealings Report No.