Hall Farm, Fersfield Bressingham, Norfolk ENF 125574

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT

SCCAS REPORT No. 2011/003

D. Gill © January 2011 www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/e-and-t/archaeology

Lucy Robinson, County Director of Environment and Transport Endeavour House, Russel Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.

HER Information

Planning Application No: 2010/1585

Date of Fieldwork: December 2010

Grid Reference: TM 0637 8279

Funding Body: Hallsworth (South Norfolk) Ltd

Curatorial Officer: James Albone (Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service)

Project Officer: David Gill

Oasis Reference: suffolkc1-90457

Digital report submitted to Archaeological Data Service: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit

Contents

Summary Page 1. Introduction 1

2. Geology, topography and past use 1

3. Methodology 4

4. Results 4

5. Finds evidence 11

6. Discussion 13

7. Recommendations 14

8. Archive deposition 15

9. References 15

Appendix 1. Context list 17

Appendix 2. Bulk Finds list 21

Appendix 3. Licence for the removal of human remains 23

List of Figures 1. Location map 2 2. Trench location plan 3 3. Plan of Trench 1 with sections 5 4. Plan of Trench 2 and 5 with sections 7 5. Plan of Trench 3 with sections 9 6 Plan of Trench 4 with sections 10 7 Contour map showing location of the burial at the valley head 14

List of Tables 1. Finds quantities 11

Summary

An evaluation covering a total of 148sqm was excavated at Hall Farm, Fersfield, close to the site of the medieval church and the former Fersfield Hall. The archaeological work uncovered a single Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age burial consisting of a crouched inhumation accompanied by a ‘Beaker-style’ pot which suggested a date c. 2600-1800BC for the grave.

In addition to the burial a low density of features, including a dew pond and a pit, which represented the relatively recent activity of the workings of Hall Farm was also found.

1. Introduction

An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Hall Farm, Fersfield. The evaluation was completed in accordance with a Brief issued by James Albone, (Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service) and is intended to fulfil a condition on planning application 2010/1585, to construct a duck-rearing shed on the site. The fieldwork was undertaken by members of SCCAS Field Team on 14-15th December 2010 and was funded by the landowners Hallsworth (South Norfolk) Ltd.

The aim of the evaluation was to determine whether archaeological deposits exist in this area and to establish their date, extent, depth and quality of preservation in order that the full archaeological implications for the site’s development could be ascertained. The report is intended to provide data to inform an appropriate archaeological mitigation strategy for the site’s development.

2. Geology, topography and past use

The site lies c.150m to the west of the village at TM 0637 8279. The aspect is flat and relatively low lying at 36-37 m OD. The location of the site is at the head of a valley and it is surrounded by a ridge of low hills (55m contour). Drainage ditches cross the area channel water into a tributary of the Hundred River, to the west of the site, which flows south into Bressingham and Lopham Fens. The site is currently meadow and laid to grass.

The village of Fersfield is mentioned in Domesday but is now part of the civil parish of Bressingham and Fersfield. The layout of the settlement is linear and runs between the church and Fersfield Hall to the south and Fersfield Common 1.5km to the north. Several timber-framed houses dating to the medieval and early post-medieval period are situated along ‘The Street’ and surrounding common, and the site of a medieval tithe barn (NHER 10905) is recorded 170m to the north-east of the site.

The development area is situated 150m from what is thought to be the early core of the village as embodied by the medieval parish church of St Andrew’s (NHER 10910) and the remains of a moated site (NHER 10904) occupied by the former Fersfield Hall (NHER 39431) (Fig. 1). The fabric of the church indicates that the construction of this building has its origins at the beginning of the 14th century, although the font bowl is Norman. Fersfield Hall is a 17th century timber-framed construction which has been concealed behind a 19th

1 A Norfolk

SUFFOLK B

Essex

0 25 km 0 10 km 6 605 6 6 6 6 Warehouses 6 Fersfield Lodge Fersfield 07 06 06 07 05 Lodge 08

1.22m RH Drain Willowbank Farm

1.22m RH

Pond Def 200 700

200 1.22m 700

200 52.7m Drain 200 RH Drain 700 CB Pond

Drain

Drain Def

Co Const, CP and ED Bdy

1.22m RH 48934 Blackberry Drain 1.22m RH Pond Barn Pond

Def

Drain Pond Pond Track Def Old Common Farm Pond Pond Common B Farm

Old Common Farm Drain Drain 32824 Pond Pond 2 400 51.5m 84 Drain Thornberries 1.22m RH

Common Farm Holmliegh

Drain

Def Drain Pond 51.5m Well Drain

Thwaite Green N Pump Harvest Cottage Farm House Drain Drain Drain

The Willows Hotel Harvest Barn

Drain Track Ponds Well Thwaites Strenneth

Track Pond Pond Drain Fersfield Common Drain Def Pond 47.2m

1.22m RH

Drain

Drain Drain Walnut Tree Cottage Pond Sunrise Pond Co Const, CP and ED Bdy Def 46.6m Fersfield Common Pond Co Const, CP and ED Bdy The Cottage Pond

Drain

1.22m RH Chestnut Cottage

BATES LANE

Def Drain Well

Windy Ridge

Drain GP 45.1m Drain Shangri-la Pond Co Const, CP and ED Bdy 1.22m Tk H Issues Track 1.22m RH Pond Lopham Grove

Drain Drain

Drain Willow Pond Bank Drain Drain Pond Drain Drain Drain Pond

Drain Drain Drain

Drain Pond Co Const, CP and ED Bdy Pond Shop Farm Well Poplar Tree 1.22m RH Farm Stone Lane 48.2m Fersfield Well Farm House Common Fersfield Common Drain 58.8m LB GP 43.3m STONE LANE Pond Drain Drain Drain Poultry Pond Farm 2 900 Drain Well

Wood Lane Lopham Grove 83 Pond Farm 45.7m

Pond

Pond Pond

48.8m THE STREET

1.22m Tk H

BATES LANE

STONE LANE Track 47.2m Avondale Drain Drain 40.8m WOOD LANE 58.5m Drain

Drain

53.9m Def The Bungalow

45.7m

Drain Church Walnut Tree Barn Farm Crown Farm

Drain 1.22m RH FB

Pond Well Pond Drain

Drain

Drain Drain Pond Farm Well

Drain Pond Pond Drain Pond

Drain 42.2m GP Drain Drain Little Co Const, CP and ED Bdy Wood GP 57.6m Pond

58.5m CD

Def Drain Deal Farm Pond Drain

39.0m The Street Pond Drain Drain Pond 1.22m RH 2 400 Pond 52.4m

Wood Lodge Drain 83 Drain 58.2m

Drain

GP The Old Chapel Pump Pond FB House The Old School Drain

Pond School House

25 24

Drain

Drain 1

Clay Hall Pond

1.22m RH Drain Drain

Thatched Drain Cottage

Pond 6

Well Drain

40.8m Drain

Drain Drain Pond Drain Drain

Co Const, CP and ED Bdy Pond DrainThe Forge Pond

Drain

Drain Pond The Magpie Pond Pond

Drain Tank

Well

Drain The Rosary

Woods Def Farm

Drain

Pond Drain Drain Pond Ducks Farm

NORDLE CORNER GP

The Limes Drain

Pond

Drain Croft Acre 42.1m NORDLE CORNER NORDLE CORNER The Cottage Drain Fers Cottage Def

Drain Rose Cottage 42.4m Protea Cottage

55.2m 23563The Old Hall Fersfield 2 900 Pond

The Old 82 Rectory

THE STREET Pond 10904

St Andrew's Church Hall Farm

Drain Cottages 21 Drain

Drain 10910 23 Track Pond Drain

1.22m RH Pond Drain GP 39431 Track 52.7m Track Pond Pond Drain Pond

Drain Drain

Algar House Pond Pond Pond Pond

Lodge Farm 39.6m Drain Drain Pond

41262 Drain 19

Drain Hall Farm LADY'S LANE

HALL LANE

Drain Fersfield

Drain

Drain Hall Lane

Co Const, CP and ED Bdy

51.5m

Pond

Drain

Cornfield Pond 2 400 Hall Willow 82 Farm Drain Drain

44.5m Duke's Plantation Drain

51.5m

Def

Folly

Cottage LADY'S LANE LADY'S Drain

53.9m

Drain Drain

Drain Pond Hill Farm House

Drain Pond Drain FOLLY LANE Drain

Folly Farm 57.0m Tank

Hill Farm

Pond 48.8m Drain

Pond

43.3m

Track Pond Telephone Exchange Drain

Drain

Flint Barn Drain Drain

Def

Fenner's Farm

Pond 2 900 GP Drain Pond Drain

2 81 1 Farmor Wood GP Track Well

Highland Drain High House Mill House 31578 37.2m Drain Drain Drain 1.22m RH Brindle Lodge

39.3m Drain Hill Rise Alexandra Walnut Tree Cottage Cottage FOLLY LANE FERSFIELD ROAD 55.8m Pond Def Drain

Drain 42.1m

1.22m RH Cotswold House Drain Works 42.7m Drain Well 1.37m RH Ashes Farm Pond Drain

Drain Def Drain

29.6m 32.0m Pond Def 41.8m Muirside (Track) Inglewood Well Wilney Green House Drain PARK LANE Bridleways Drain Ash Vale Wilney Place Drain Drain 43.6m Fir Trees

1.22m RH

Hundred River Pond

Poplar Farm Pond Drain Drain Drain Drain Well Valley Farm

34.7m Walnut Tree Farm Drain Ye Olde Byre Drain Chiverton Meadowlands Playing Field Dee-Jays Pond Drain Camelot

Balscadden 13 Uplands

Jomyder Co Const, CP and ED Bdy Darsdale 50.3m Martina GP Oaklea

Maardlin

Annle

Drain 6 Walnut Cottage Pond

5 Tennis FB Pond Pond Court War FB Drain Meml Drain Pond Track Forge End Hall Pond Well Burrowood Pond Moat The Elms Drain House 1 The Highlands Greenfields Anvil Fersfield Road Wood Farm House Pond Oakdene High Jay Dee

Thatchers Briars 41.1m Barn Street Sunnymeade The CR Moorings Meth Bressingham PO Ch Primary Drain Dadreen School Cylynda Thatchers Windy Oak Mandalay Pond Ashcroft Well Owl House Elmroyd Pond Willow Retreat

Drain Drain Well 2 400 Heather Valley Rectory Grange Drain Pond Berkeley Cottage

Waveney 81 1km View

Drain

Figure 1. Site Location showing development area in red and HER records in the immediate vicinity

2 N

Tr.3

Tr.5

Tr.2

Tr.4 3

Tr.1

Archaeological Features

Natural Features

Modern

0 25m

Figure 2. Trench Plan century brick skin and now converted into three cottages, but the existence of the moat suggests that the current building occupies the site of an earlier medieval one of similar high-status and Late Saxon and medieval pottery has been recovered from the moat platform and ditch. The development area lies slightly below the settlement which lies on or above the 40m contour.

3. Methodology

Three trenches were originally excavated but this was increased to five, after consultation with NCC Historic Environment Service, to help characterise the initial findings. The trenches were 1.6m wide and excavated by a wheeled machine with a back-acting arm fitted with a wide, toothless, ditching bucket under the supervision of an archaeologist. The trenches opened an area of 148 sqm which equates to 4.7% of the development area. The machine removed the topsoil to an underlying pale brown silt soil horizon which at the east end of the site was cut by recent features. The silt was otherwise homogenous and masked any potential archaeological features and it was removed by machine, to expose the top of the surface geology. The trenches and all upcast spoil were subject to a metal detector search.

The trenches and features were located using a total station theodolite and the survey data was plotted against the Ordnance Survey grid and datum. All potential archaeological features were excavated by hand and trench profiles and feature plans and sections were recorded at a scale of 1:20. Digital colour and black and white film photographs were taken of all stages of the fieldwork, and are included in the site archive.

An OASIS form has been completed for the project (reference no. suffolkc1-90457) and a digital copy of the report submitted for inclusion on the Archaeology Data Service database (http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit).

The site archive is kept in the main store of Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service at Bury St Edmunds under the Norfolk HER No. ENF 125574.

4. Results

Five trenches were excavated across the site, the locations of which are shown in Figure 2 and are described, by trench, below.

Trench 1 (Figs 2 and 3) Trench 1 was 15.5m long and ran SSW-NNE across the east end of the development area (Fig. 2). The machine removed 350-400mm of topsoil to reveal an underlying subsoil

4 N Tr.3 N

Tr.5 Tr.2 Tr.4

Tr.1

Tr.1 S.1 S N

S.1

0010

0011 Cattle bones

0010

S.3

S N

0012 0024 Composite through c.18th buckle feature 0012

S N

S.3

Wood

Archaeological Features

Natural Features

Modern

0 1.00m 2.50m 0 5m Section Scale 1:50 Plan Scale 1:100

Figure 3. Plan of trench 1, with sections

5 of fine, pale orange-brown, clay silt, 0024. Cutting through the silt 0024 in the southern half of the trench were four small circular postholes, two of which contained the remains of treated, timber posts. All of the postholes penetrated the silt 0024 to cut into the top of the glacial subsoil, at a depth of 900mm from the current ground surface. The postholes were all excavated and an example, posthole 0012, was drawn.

The silt 0024 masked any potential early archaeological features and was removed by a second machine spit to expose the surface geology of mottled orange silt with outcrops of clay, at 35.96m OD. An 18th century buckle was found in the silt by metal detector.

At the north end of the trench was an extensive area of darker silt, which was initially interpreted as the infill of a pond. It was cut from below the topsoil post-dating the formation of the pale-brown silt deposit 0024. Post-medieval (but pre-19th century) bricks, a terracotta flowerpot and bottle glass were recovered from the top of the pond fill at the interface with the topsoil. Two buried water pipes crossed the trench close to the edge of the feature restricting the excavation and this was sampled with a machine-cut sondage at a point beyond the pipes at the north end of the trench. Where sampled, the feature was 1.45m deep; the bottom was flat with single coarse large flints pressed into the top natural chalky boulder clay. Flints of this size were not a natural component of the clay soil and had been laid in the manner of a lining, suggesting that this was a manufactured ‘dew’ pond for the watering of stock. The bottom of the pond was filled with a fine-textured and stoneless dark silt 0011, which was sealed beneath a pale brown clay silt, 0024. Two animal bones including the jaw of a cow were recovered from the very bottom of the pond, otherwise the fills produced no artefactual material.

Trench 2 (Figs. 2 and 4) Trench 2 was 23m long and ran WNW-ESE along the mid axis of the proposed development. The soil profile recorded in Trench 1 continued into Trench 2 and the layer of pale silt subsoil below the topsoil was observed over the whole length of the trench (Fig. 3). The surface geology was recorded at 0.6m below the ground surface at 35.7m OD.

A crouched burial, 0002, was found towards the eastern end of the trench. The skeleton had been disturbed, probably by ploughing, and was in a poor state of preservation, but the remaining bone indicated that the body lay on its right side with the legs bent, with knees close to the chest. Only the top of one arm (rt. humerus) along with fragments of the pelvis and skull remained in situ but some long bone (?femur) fragments lay in their approximately correct position angled over the centre of the grave. The remains of the

6 N N Tr.3

Tr.5 Tr.2 Tr.2 Tr.4

Tr.1

Trench continues for 8.05m

S.4

0013 S.4 S.5 7 0003 W E S N Grave 0002 0002 0026 0025 0004

0014 0013 0008

Long bones S.6 (?) Femurs S.6 0003 N ES W Humerus

0015 Beaker pottery S.5 0009 0004 Pelvis Archaeological Features 0008 0025 Natural Features Tr.5 Modern

0 1.00m 2.50m 0 1.00m 0 5m Section Scale 1:50 Grave Scale 1:20 Plan Scale 1:100

Figure 4. Plan of trenches 2 and 5, with sections long bones had been broken into short lengths and were displaced within the grave fill. The crushed remains of a single pot lay at the south (foot) end of the grave; the base of the pot was angled vertically suggesting that the vessel lay on its side. The grave cut was very shallow and survived as a barely discernable silt-filled oval, 900mm x 500m and 80mm deep. A 2.5kg bulk sample was taken from the fill of the grave for the collection of small bones and teeth (awaiting processing).

Several potential silt-filled features were sampled along the length of the trench, but most of these were dismissed as peri-glacial features and are shown on the plan as ‘natural features’. Feature 0008 recorded at the east end of the trench was notable and distinct from the natural silt features. Its sides were well defined like the cut of a pit, but the sand fill was unusually soft and it immediately filled with ground water.

Trench 5 (Figs. 2 and 4) Trench 5 was a cross-trench added to the original trench plan in an effort to determine if the grave in Trench 2 was part of a group of burials or lay within a funerary earthwork. The trench was 17m long and ran at right-angles to Trench 2 centred on the burial. Several irregular silt-filled features were sampled but none proved to be archaeological. One late pit, 0025, which was cut from just below the topsoil through the silt subsoil horizon was recorded at the south end of the trench. The pit was 0.8m across, infilled with dark silt and packed with large flints; it produced no finds.

Trench 3 (Figs. 2 and 5) Trench 3 was 22m long and ran SSW-NNE across the west end of the development area. The top of the surface geology was encountered at 500mm below the current ground surface at 35.20m OD at the south end of the trench and 34.95m OD at the north. The soil profile comprised 250mm of topsoil over a similar depth of pale brown silt-clay (numbered 0007 here). Two features, a narrow ditch and a deep pit were recorded within the trench and several natural silt-filled features were sampled. The features masked by the silt subsoil were not identified until this had been removed.

Ditch 0005 which ran E-W, was 0.6m wide and 0.3m deep and was filled with a fine, mid- grey, clay silt which was distinct in colour from subsoil horizon 0007. At the north end of the trench was an irregular silt feature which resolved into a deep pit, 0018, upon excavation. The pit was sub-square with vertical sides and a flat base, and was 1.1m wide and 1.3m deep from the ground surface. The top fill, 0019, was a pale silt-clay indistinguishable in colour and texture from the silt subsoil horizon 0007 but it contained

8 N Tr.3 N

Tr.5 Tr.2 Tr.4

Tr.1 Tr.3

S.7

S.7 0018 S N

0007

0019

0020

0018

S.8 0005 S.8 S N

0007

0005

Archaeological Features

Natural Features

0 1.00m 2.50m 0 5m

Section Scale 1:50 Plan Scale 1:100

Figure 5. Trench 3 plans and sections

9 N Tr.3 N

Tr.5 Tr.2 Tr.4

Tr.1

Tr.4

S.9 S N

0022

0021

0021 S.9

Archaeological Features

Natural Features

Modern

0 1.00m 2.50m 0 5m

Section Scale 1:50 Plan Scale 1:100

Figure 6. Plan of Trench 4, with section

10 small chalk nodules and charcoal flecks. The base of the pit was filled with dark silt-loam occupation soil, 0020, which contained small quantities of burnt clay/daub along with a low concentration of charcoal. Long bone fragments from a medium sized animal were collected from 0020 and a 20 litre sample was taken for macrofossil analysis (awaiting processing).

Trench 4 Trench 4 was 16.5m long and ran SSW-NNE across the width of the development area. The top of the surface geology sloped gently down from 35.97m OD at the south end of the trench to 35.85m OD at the north, 500mm below the current ground surface and beneath a soil profile of 350mm of topsoil over 150mm of pale brown silt-clay which became gradually thicker towards the north end of the trench. A possible shallow, silt-filled ditch, 0021, was recorded at the south end of the trench; this feature was however by no means certain and produced no finds.

5. Finds and environmental evidence

Introduction Finds were collected from five contexts, as shown in the table below. Context Pottery Miscellaneous Spotdate No. Wt/g 0003 HSR 759g LNEBA 0004 104 175 LNEBA 0007 Fired clay 1-6g 0011 1 255 CBM 1-304g, A bone 18th C+ 1-56g 0020 A bone 2-16g Total 105 430 Table 1. Finds quantities Pottery Prehistoric pottery The prehistoric assemblage comprises a single Beaker (0004) of later Neolithic to earlier Bronze Age date deposited as an accessory vessel to inhumation burial 0002. The top of the burial was disturbed, perhaps by ploughing and part of the vessel’s rim and upper body have been lost.

The vessel is made in a grog-tempered fabric with sparse angular flint and is decorated with an all-over motif of small, evenly-spaced stamped or jabbed wedge-shaped impressions. It has a rounded upright rim and a simple stepped base. Form would be difficult to reconstruct as it is so fragmentary, but the curved body sherds indicate that the vessel has a globular body profile.

11 Post-medieval pottery The lower half of a small late post-medieval flower pot (base diameter 70mm) was recovered from the basal fill of pit 0010 in Trench 1 (0011).

Ceramic building material (CBM) 17/18th century brick fragments (identified by D. Gill) were present in the subsoil layer in Trench 3 (0007) and in the basal fill of pit 0010 (0011) in Trench 1. A single fragment made in a medium sandy fabric with occasional flint and ferrous inclusions was retained as a sample.

Fired clay A small undiagnostic fragment of fired clay was collected from the subsoil layer in Trench 3 (0007).

Human skeletal remains (HSR) Articulated human remains (759g) buried in a crouched position were recovered from burial 0002 (0003). The bone most likely represents a single individual and includes fragments of skull, upper limbs, pelvis and lower limbs. The bone is in fair to good condition but it has been disturbed and broken post-depositionally and some elements are missing.

Animal bone Fragments of a cow mandible were recovered from the bottom pond fill 0011 in Trench 1 and an unidentified metapodial (gnawed) and rib were found in the basal fill of pit 0018 (0020) in Trench 3.

Plant macrofossils A bulk sample (20 litres) to evaluate the content and preservation of plant macrofossils was taken from the basal fill of pit 0018 in Trench 3 (0020).

Discussion of the finds and environmental evidence Evaluation trenching produced an assemblage of finds from a limited number of features which indicate activity on this site or in the vicinity during the prehistoric and late post- medieval periods.

The most notable find was an inhumation burial which contained the remains of a single individual placed in a crouched position and a Beaker accessory vessel. The top of the feature was disturbed, probably by ploughing, and part of the Beaker and bone have been

12 lost. Dating of the Beaker vessel is uncertain but almost unquestionably falls within the broad Beaker currency of 2600-1800BC (Kinnes et al. 1990). Its association with surviving human bone provides an opportunity to obtain a radiocarbon date for the vessel.

Later finds include post-18th century brick and flowerpot from Trenches 1 and 3.

6. Discussion

A low density of features was recorded on the site, most of which are relatively recent and probably represent post-medieval activity associated with the workings of Hall Farm. The field was used in the recent past for grazing cattle and the relatively low-lying position of the field means it is well suited to this purpose. The buildings that make up Hall farmyard are typical of the mixed farming that occurred in East Anglia from the middle of the 19th century and the remains of the probable dew pond found in Trench 1 is a further reflection of the livestock farming which occurred here.

Beneath the topsoil is subsoil of buried silt which is result of an unknown soil process and the deposition of which is undated. The later features clearly cut the silt deposits but three undated archaeological features, including a pit containing occupation soil, were masked or sealed by it suggesting that the formation of the silt is in part the result of the soil profile having been reworked, and damage to the grave indicates that the ground has been ploughed at some point. Apart from the burial no features were positively dated to the medieval period or earlier and the complete absence of pre-18th century finds suggests that this area has always been outside the area of settlement.

The grave appears to be an isolated burial. The burial rite, with the crouched inhumation and accompanying Beaker pottery, is a style of inhumation that began to appear around c.2600 BC and dates the grave to the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age. Graves of this type are often covered by a small round earthen mound and can be part of a barrow cemetery but the absence, so far, of further burials or an encircling ring ditch suggests that neither is the case here; flat cemeteries of Beaker burials are also known, especially in Oxfordshire. The burial occurs at the head of a valley (Fig. 7), one of series which run at right angles to Redgrave and Bressingham Fen, and at the focus of the catchment basin for the Hundred River (now part of the district boundary). This location is typical of burials of this period which often occupy significant positions within the landscape.

13 4 0

EBA Burial

0 3 5 5

3 0

Figure 7. Contour 5map showing location of the burial at the valley head.

7. Recommendations

A low density of archaeological features lies within 500mm of the current ground surface, and these have been truncated and the burial impacted upon by previous re-workings of the soil. Although the burial appears to be isolated, the possibility exists that it is part of a small cemetery and it is recommended therefore that the stripping of the soil, particularly within the immediate area of the grave be undertaken in the presence of an archaeologist in order to excavate and record any other individuals that may be buried here. The skeleton and pottery which were excavated during the evaluation have been subject to only basic finds processing and assessment and further specialist analysis and reports are required to complete the site archive. The potential for radiocarbon dating of the human bone should be explored in order to refine the pottery date.

David Gill December 2010

14 8. Archive deposition

Paper and photographic archive: SCCAS, 9/10 Churchyard, Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 2AR. Digital archive: SCCAS, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Finds and environmental archive: SCCAS, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

9. List of contributors and acknowledgements

The evaluation was carried out by Jo Caruth and David Gill assisted by Phil Camps, John Craven and Tony Fisher.

Finds and post excavation were managed by Rrichenda Goffin, the finds were processed by Jonathon van Jennians and the finds report written by Cathy Tester.

10 References

Kinnes, I., Gibson, A., Ambers, J., Bowman, S., Leese, M., and Boast, R., 1991. ‘Radiocarbon dating and British Beakers: the British Museum programme’ Scottish Archaeological Review 8, 35-78.

Disclaimer Any opinions expressed in this report about the need for further archaeological work are those of the Field Projects Division alone. The need for further work will be determined by the Local Planning Authority and its archaeological advisors when a planning application is registered. Suffolk County Council’s archaeological contracting service cannot accept responsibility for inconvenience caused to clients should the Planning Authority take a different view to that expressed in the report.

16 Appendix 1 ENF 125574 Hall Farm Fersfield Context List

Context Feature/cut Type Category Trench Description Interpretation Finds Spotdate

0002 0002 burial Cut T2 Burial to the east end of trench 2. Top of the skill and top of the grave truncated by ploughing. Crouched figure with beaker pot at west end. Very shallow. ? Cut barely visible. 0.6m x 1.10m.

0003 0002 skeleton Fill T2 Skeleton with 0002. Crouched figure. Long y bones - legs broken into short lengths in ? Antiquity. Dirty ends to the breaks. Bones lying at machining interface.

0004 0002 T2 Pottery -beaker at foot of burial 0002. Complete pot y broken in situ.

0005 0005 Ditch Cut T3 E-W aligned narrow ditch - steeply sloped sides and rounded base.

17 Fill = 0005. 63cm wide and 40cm deep.

0006 0005 Ditch Fill T3 Soft, fine dark grey ??? Silt. Even from top to bottom. 63cm wide x 40cm deep.

0007 0007 Subsoil Layer T3 Subsoil under topsoil in T3. Fine green-grey brown y silt containing very occasional post 18th C brick frags. Single sample kept. Overlies ditch 0004. 18cm deep.

0008 0008 Pit Cut T2 Oval pit under subsoil - goes under baulk. Sloped sides, flat base. 1.5m x 0.55m.

0009 0008 Pit T2 Very soft, loose mix of dark brown sand and yellow Pit seems real in shape, but fill sand. No finds, occasional large stone inclusions. suspicious. Same as that in natural features elsewhere.

0010 0010 Pit Cut T1 Deep pit, looks like extension to existing feature. CBM Modern (post 18th C in fill). Partially excavated by machine. Only base 0011 excavated by hand. 1.2m deep.

10 January 2011 Page 1 of 3 Context Feature/cut Type Category Trench Description Interpretation Finds Spotdate

0011 0010 Pit Fill T1 Basal fill of pit 0010. Dense sticky dark grey-brown y mud contains 18th C brick and flower pot. Sample only kept. 12cm deep. Base 1.2m from ground.

0012 0012 T1 Line of modern postholes (still with wooden posts surviving. Sampled and drawn, only partially excavated. See plan.

0013 0013 Ditch Cut T2 Narrow gully, possible land drain. Steep sides, but Not real? edges very variable and not always convincing.

0014 0013 Ditch Fill T2 Brown silt fill of 0013. Stones at bottom. Not real? Possible land drain but unconvincing.

0015 Subsoil Layer T2 Subsoil. Same as 0007

0016 0016 Gully Cut Irregular curving gully near burial. Natural feature. Several sections dug, but doesn't look real.

0017 0016 Gully Fill Dark soft brown and yellow sand fill of 0016. Very Natural features. soft, few inclusions. Not convincing, similar to fill in

18 natural features elsewhere.

0018 0018 Pit Cut T3 Circular pit at N end of T3. Flat base, steep sides. 2 fills and lies under subsoil 0007. Partially under W trench edge.

0019 0018 Pit Fill T3 Upper fill of pit 0018. Mid-pale brown silt flecked with charcoal and chalk.

0020 0018 Pit Fill T3 Basal fill of pit 0018. Dark charcoal rich silt with y bone chalk flecks. 30cm deep.

0021 0021 Ditch Cut T4 Shallow E-W aligned possible ditch in T4. Flat base and sloped sides. 1.2m wide and 0.12m deep.

0022 0021 Ditch Fill T4 Pale brown silt, same as subsoil above. Fill of ditch Possible ditch. 0021.

0023 0023 Layer T4 Pale brown silt under topsoil across whole trench. Cut by modern features, but containing fragments of 18th C finds elsewhere.

10 January 2011 Page 2 of 3 Context Feature/cut Type Category Trench Description Interpretation Finds Spotdate

0024 0024 Layer T1 Pale brown silt subsoil, same as 0007, 0015, 0023. Occasional 18th C brick rubble observed within it.

0025 0025 Pit Cut T2 Pit southern extent of trench.

0026 0025 Pit Fill T2 Modern truncation. 19

10 January 2011 Page 3 of 3

20 Appendix 2 ENF 125574 Hall Farm, Fersfield evaluation: bulk finds list

Ctxt No Pot No Pot Wt Animal bone Nomal bone Wt Miscellaneous soil sample Period Spotdate

0003 HSR 759g

0004 104 175 EBA EBA

0007 Fired clay 1-6g

0011 1 255 CBM 1-304g PMed LPMed

0020 3 73 ABone 3-73g 21

10 January 2011 Page 1 of 1

22 Appendix 3

LICENCE FOR THE REMOVAL OF HUMAN REMAINS

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the power vested in him by section 25 of the Burial Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vic., cap.81), grants a licence for the removal of the remains of persons unknown from the place in which they are now interred at Hall Farm, Fersfield, Norfolk IP22

2. It is a condition of this licence that the following precautions shall be observed:

(a) The removal shall be effected with due care and attention to decency;

(b) The ground in which the remains are interred shall be screened from the public gaze while the work of removal is in progress;

(c) The removal shall be to the satisfaction of the environmental health officer for the district in which the remains are at present interred and in accordance with any additional conditions they may impose;

(d) The remains shall be reinterred, as soon as practicable, and in any event no later than within two years of the date of disinterment, in a burial ground in which interments may legally take place. In any intervening period they shall be kept safely, privately and decently.

3. This licence merely exempts those from the penalties, which would be incurred if the removal took place without a licence. It does not in any way alter civil rights. It does not confer the right to bury the remains in any place where such right does not already exist.

4. This licence expires on 14 December 2011.

Paul Ansell on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice

Ministry of Justice

Licence Number: 10-0202 File Number: OPR/072/67 Date: 15 December 2010