NHER 66010 (Monument record) - Late Saxon to medieval settlement and Late Saxon pottery production site

April 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The three trenches excavated revealed a number of linear and discrete features, the majority of which were of probable Late Saxon to early medieval date.
There was some limited evidence for earlier activity, although the only feature likely to predate the Late Saxon period was a pit in the central part of the site that contained handmade sand- and shell-tempered pottery of possible Middle/Late Iron Age date. A sample taken from the fill of this feature was found to contain charcoal and fragments of fired clay. Although Roman pottery sherds and several probable tegula fragments were recovered, this material was all found within later feature. A small assemblage of Middle Saxon Ipswich ware pottery also appeared to be entirely residual.
The bulk of the pottery recovered consists of Late Saxon and early medieval wares, indicating that the main phase of activity had commenced by at least the 11th century. A number of features were of probable Late Saxon date, including an east-to-west aligned ditch and a number of pits at the eastern end of the site. Features likely to be associated with slightly later, early medieval activity included several north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditches at the western end of the site, one of which contained pottery of 12th-century date. Samples taken from two of the better-dated Late Saxon to early medieval features both contained significant quantities of charred plant macrofossils, with wheat and barley grains identified, along with hazelnut shell and various wild plant seeds. Small quantities of flake hammerscale from iron smithing were also noted.
Small quantities of Late Saxon or early medieval pottery were recovered from the majority of the other ditches, pits and possible post-holes uncovered, with little evidence for significant subsequent activity on the site. A pit in the central part of the site was the only feature of high medieval date identified and there was no evidence for occupation of the site after the 14th century.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 18 February 2024.

February-March 2016. Excavation.
This excavation of the area evaluated in 2015 revealed extensive remains, the bulk of which were likely to have been associated with a settlement present at this location between the Late Saxon and early medieval periods. Numerous ditches, pits and post-holes were uncovered, along with a Late Saxon pottery kiln.
The pottery assemblage is dominated by Late Saxon wares (even if the large quantity of production waste from the kiln is excluded), with the presence of early Thetford ware forms indicating the site was occupied by the late 9th or 10th century. Roughly equal amounts of early medieval and high medieval pottery were recovered, demonstrating the continuation of occupation until around the mid-14th century – when it appears the site was largely abandoned.
Evidence for activity prior to the Late Saxon period was limited to a small assemblage of prehistoric worked flints – most if not all of which were likely to been residual within later contexts. Although a fairly large assemblage of burnt flint the bulk there was no evidence this was the result of prehistoric activities – the bulk being recovered from Late Saxon and medieval features. None of the pottery recovered during this phase of work was identified as potentially prehistoric or Roman.
Numerous ditches, pits and post-holes were likely to have been associated with the Late Saxon to early medieval settlement, although establishing the exact phasing of these remains is difficult due to the fragmentary nature of the ditches and the limited dating evidence recovered from many of the individual features. Remains likely to related to an initial, Late Saxon phase of activity include a series of parallel, east-to-west aligned ditches that appear to have demarcated a trackway, the pottery kiln and at least one of the probable post-built structures.
The pottery kiln lay at the eastern end of the site, immediately to the north of the probable trackway. It was of simple construction, comprising a circular, clay-lined chamber with no internal structure and a single flue with a long stoke pit. Six in situ vessels lay within the chamber, which appeared to have been backfilled with dumps of wasters. A large amount of fired clay recovered from this feature was likely to represent the remains of the kiln's superstructure. Pottery likely to have been made at the site was also distributed across a range of other features, although it is unclear how much represented vessels that had been in use rather than simply redeposited production waste. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and other burnt material from the kiln returned Middle to Late Saxon dates of 695-893 cal AD (SUERC-66873; 1207 ± 29), 778-1011 cal AD (SUERC-67336; 1118 ± 29), 780-1013 cal AD (SUERC-66874; 1113 ± 29) and 894-1017 cal AD (SUERC-66872; 1082 ± 29) at 95.4% probability. The pottery waste of what is now identified as 'Wreningham ware' consists almost entirely of jars which are generally thick walled and appear to have been coil-built and finished on a slow wheel. The rims are all relatively simple and decoration is limited to a number of thumbed strips. While the Wreningham vessels exhibit some traits that are akin to Middle Saxon Ipswich ware, other features are more typical of Late Saxon Thetford-type wares. The radiocarbon dates and the lack of evidence for Middle Saxon activity on the site (the sherds from the earlier work identified as Ipswich Ware being most likely examples of Wreningham ware) also suggest a late 9th or 10th century date for this industry. It is possible that it represents something of a local hybrid, with a rural pottery continuing existing method of pottery making but attempting to integrate elements of the newer wheel-thrown traditions.
The post-hole structure of probable Late Saxon date lay within an apparent gap in the northern side of the probable trackway and comprised a roughly rectangular arrangement of 12 post-holes, three of which contained Late Saxon pottery.
It is likely that many of the ditches and post-holes associated with the Late Saxon to early medieval settlement represented plot boundaries to either side of the trackway, particularly those to the south. The complex, intersecting nature of these remains suggests that these sub-divisions were, at least initially, relatively fluid and reworked on a number of occasions.
Notable remains of likely early medieval date included another post-built structure and two probable ovens. The probable structure was represented by a dense group of post-holes of varying size at the western end of the site, a number of which produced early medieval pottery. The first oven was an ovoid feature immediately to the east of this post-hole structure, which contained a number of early medieval pottery sherds. The second was a more sub-circular feature within a plot to the east, the fills of which contained a large quantity of fired clay likely to represent the remains of a superstructure, along with several sherds of medieval pottery.
Various probable rubbish pits were also of likely Late Saxon or early medieval date, although with a few notable exceptions these were generally poorly dated.
Charred grain was noted in many of the samples taken from features of Late Saxon to early medieval date, with the highest concentrations present in a potentially Late Saxon pit and one of the two ovens. Crop processing debris was notably absent, suggesting this had likely taken place elsewhere.
As noted above the presence of high medieval pottery demonstrates that activity continued at the site into the 12th century and beyond. This material was recovered from a number of features, including several of the more substantial north-north-east to south-south-west aligned probable plot boundary ditches and a number of the larger pits. A final phase of medieval activity saw the creation of three substantial north-west to south-east aligned boundary ditches. These produced few finds and probably represented field boundaries established after the settlement at this location had fallen into decline. One of these ditches turned onto a north-to-south alignment at the northern edge of the site. This section of the ditch coincided with a former field boundary shown on 19th-century maps, suggesting these features represented the origins of the field system present in the post-medieval period. The only feature of probable post-medieval date identified was a pit at the eastern edge of the site that contained a small amount of post-medieval pottery, along with the bulk of the metal objects recovered during this phase of work.
See assessment report (S1) for further detail. Final reports awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2018.25).
P. Watkins (HES), 20 February 2024. Amended 11 March 2024 and 26 August 2024.