Post-Excavation Assessment Late Neolithic to Early Iron Age Activity at Moulton Paddocks and Moulton Gallop Newmarket Suffolk Post-Excavation Assessment November 2011 Client: Godolphin Management Company Ltd OA East Report No: 1258 OASIS No: oxfordar3-99055 NGR: TL 567689 265439 Late Neolithic to Early Iron Age Activity at Moulton Paddocks and Moulton Gallop, Newmarket, Suffolk Post-excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design By Louise Bush BA MA PIfA With contributions by Barry Bishop MA, Matt Brudenell BA, Nina Crummy BA FSA, Rachel Fosberry HNC AEA AIfA, Chris Faine MA Msc AIfA, Mark Knight BA, Ruth Shaffrey MIfA and Helen Webb BSc MSc Editors: Richard Mortimer MIfA and Elizabeth Popescu BA PhD MIfA Illustrator: Louise Bush BA MA PIfA Report Date: November 2011 © Oxford Archaeology East Page 1 of 90 Report Number 1258 Table of Contents Summary.........................................................................................................................................7 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Project Background ....................................................................................................9 1.2 Geology and Topography ...........................................................................................9 1.3 Archaeological Background.........................................................................................9 1.4 Acknowledgements....................................................................................................12 2 Aims and Objectives ..............................................................................................................13 2.1 Specific Research Aims and Objectives ..................................................................13 3 Summary of Results ...............................................................................................................13 3.2 A Note on Site Phasing..............................................................................................13 3.3 Evaluation Summary.................................................................................................13 3.4 Topsoil Test Pits.........................................................................................................14 3.5 Period 1: Later Neolithic...........................................................................................14 3.6 Period 2.1: Early Bronze Age...................................................................................15 3.7 Period 2.2: Middle Bronze Age.................................................................................17 3.8 Period 3: Early Iron Age...........................................................................................17 3.9 Period 4: Post-Medieval to Modern..........................................................................21 4 Factual Data and Assessment of Archaeological Potential ..............................................24 4.1 Stratigraphic and Structural Data .............................................................................24 4.2 Background Research ..............................................................................................25 4.3 Artefact Summaries...................................................................................................26 4.4 Environmental Summaries .......................................................................................28 4.5 Radiocarbon Dating...................................................................................................29 5 Updated Research Aims and Objectives..............................................................................30 5.1 Original Aims and Objectives....................................................................................30 5.2 Updated Research Objectives...................................................................................30 6 Methods Statements................................................................................................................32 6.1 Stratigraphic Analysis................................................................................................32 6.2 Illustration..................................................................................................................32 © Oxford Archaeology East Page 3 of 90 Report Number 1258 6.3 Background Research...............................................................................................32 6.4 Artefactual Analysis ..................................................................................................32 6.5 Ecofactual Analysis ...................................................................................................32 7 Archiving and Publication .....................................................................................................33 7.1 Archiving....................................................................................................................33 7.2 Publication.................................................................................................................33 8 Resources.................................................................................................................................33 8.1 Staffing and Equipment.............................................................................................33 Appendix A. Context Summary with Provisional Phasing....................................................34 Appendix B. Finds Reports.......................................................................................................49 B.1 Earlier Prehistoric Pottery..........................................................................................49 B.2 Iron Age Pottery..........................................................................................................51 B.3 Lithics.........................................................................................................................58 B.4 Metalwork...................................................................................................................66 B.5 Worked Stone.............................................................................................................66 Appendix C. Environmental Reports........................................................................................67 C.1 Human Remains........................................................................................................67 C.2 Faunal Remains.........................................................................................................69 C.3 Environmental Samples.............................................................................................71 Appendix D. Radiocarbon Dates...............................................................................................77 Appendix E. Bibliography .........................................................................................................87 Appendix F. OASIS Report Form .............................................................................................89 © Oxford Archaeology East Page 4 of 90 Report Number 1258 List of Figures Fig. 1 Site location map Fig. 2 HER plot Fig. 3 All features plan of Areas A, B and evaluation Fig. 4 All features plan – Area C Fig. 5 Distribution of flints within deposit 400 Fig. 6 Distribution of flints within spread/natural hollow 506 Fig. 7 Phase plan – Periods 1 and 2: Late Neolithic and Early-Middle Bronze Age. Areas A and B Fig. 8 Phase plan – Period 1: Late Neolithic. Area C Fig. 9 Phase plan – Period 3: Early Iron Age. Area A Fig. 10 Phase plan – Period 3: Early Iron Age. Area C Fig. 11 Phase plan – Period 4: Post-medieval and modern. Area A and B Fig. 12a Selected sections Fig. 12b Selected sections Fig. 13 Illustration of vessel 123 List of Plates Plate 1 Pit-cut ring ditch monument 1064, looking north Plate 2 Ditch 1019, master no. 1033, looking north-west Plate 3 Pottery vessel 300 Plate 4 Pottery vessel 300 in situ in pit 302 Plate 5 Pottery vessel 123 Plate 6 Pottery vessel 123 in situ in pit 124 Plate 7 Pottery vessel 147 Plate 8 Pottery vessel 147 in situ in pit 130 Plate 9 Pit 343, looking south-east Plate 10 Pit 325, looking north-east List of Tables Table 1 Excavation record Table 2 Finds and environmental quantification for Areas A and B Table 3 Finds and environmental quantification for Area C Table 4 Range and variety of features for Areas A and B Table 5 Range and variety of features for Area C Table 6 Radiocarbon dates © Oxford Archaeology East Page 5 of 90 Report Number 1258 Table 7 Project team Table 8 Assemblage breakdown Table 9 Pottery quantification by site and feature Table 10 Fabric frequencies and the relationship to burnishing and vessel counts Table 11 Pottery deposit size and frequency Table 12 Composition of large-sized feature assemblages Table 13 Quantification of struck flint Table 14 Struck flint from hollow 506 Table 15 Quantification of struck flint from the ring-ditch monument Table 16 Composition of the flintwork from Group 4 features Table 17 Results of the assessment of cremated bone Table 18 Species distribution for Areas A and B assemblage Table 19 Species distribution for Area C assemblage Table 20 Contents of complete vessels Table 21 Area C sample results Table 22 Areas A and B sample results © Oxford Archaeology East Page 6 of 90 Report