NHER 22145 (Monument record) - Middle Saxon occupation site, Rose Farm

22 January 1986. Fieldwalking, weathered ploughsoil.
Context 1: General scatter medieval sherds with occasional Middle Saxon. WPA BF.
Context 2: at 4874 1606 to 4873 1595. Two spreads Middle Saxon pottery on low roddon system. There appears to be a gap between them but odd fragments bone indicate all part of same complex linking with NHER 21325/context 3 to south. Roddon around 0.5m at most. Pottery set in matrix of darker soil. Also one bead of unknown material. 2.9m OD. WPA 23.
Finds in NCM.
R. J. Silvester (NAU), 28 January 1986.

8 November 1989.
Further 110 Middle Saxon sherds collected during intensive survey.
M. Matthews (NAU), 1 December 1989.

Earlier finds reidentified- some Early Saxon sherds and some non-Ipswich Middle Saxon.

1989-1990. Fenland Evaluation Project.
Further work at Context 2. Single sherd plotting of individual Middle Saxon Ipswich ware sherds.
Site continued south of the parish boundary into Walpole St Peter (WPP 161- NHER 21325/context 3).
Dossier prepared for English Heritage.
Copy in file.
M. Leah (NLA), August 1990

1992. Excavation.
Fenland Management Project.
Carried out through densest scatter of Ipswich Ware, which was strung out along a roddon for a distance of 800 meters. A trench was cut along the site 10 by 100 meters which revealed a number of large ditches of Middle Saxon date, which ran along the roddon. These ditches were largely filled with silt and foraminifera, analysis showed that the silt had been deposited under active marine conditions.
Vertical sided pits were found to be full of butchered bones and fired sherds may be briquetage. Preliminary results suggest the presence of salt tolerant crops. Small finds included two fragmentary bone combs, a bone pin beater, a stone spindle whorl, a ceramic loom weight, a possible iron spear head and a possible bronze coin.
See published article (S1) and (S2) for further details. See also report on plant macrofossils (S3). The results of this work are also summarised in (S4) and (S5).
E. Rose (NLA), 1 March 1993 amended by M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 03 July 2013 and P. Watkins (HES), 16 March 2014.

For full details of wares, flint types, etc. see Fenland Folders.