NHER 68395 (Monument record) - Medieval saltern

April 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site (Lynnsport 3).
This work saw the investigation of a probable saltern mound in the north-west corner of the site that is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs (one of two such features recorded as NHER 27910). Although it was impossible to target the centre of this feature due to the presence of a carpark, a trench dug at is margins confirmed the presence of a low mound of loose brownish yellow sandy silt, which overlay the natural saltmarsh deposits. This material was likely to represent waste material from an industry that had seen salt obtained by boiling down a brine solution created by washing and filtering salt-impregnated silts and sands collected from the nearby intertidal zone. At this location the mound deposits were only c.0.5m thick and there was evidence that they had suffered a degree of disturbance and truncation, most recently during the construction of the adjacent carpark. Two boreholes drilled using a hand auger within the carpark itself did however demonstrate a greater level of preservation, with the mound deposits at this location shown to be up to 1m in thickness. Unfortunately no finds were recovered from the saltern mound deposits and no features associated with the salt-making process were encountered. A sample taken from one of the probable filtration waste deposits produced little in the way of plant remains and foraminifera were also absent.
The only feature recorded was a north-to-south aligned ditch encountered in two trenches to the east of the saltern mound. No finds were recovered from this ditch but it was most likely post-medieval or modern in date. A sample from its fill produced material indicative of waterlogging.
The remaining trenches were devoid of archaeological remains, with only natural saltmarsh deposits encountered beneath the soils.
An extensive area of recent truncation and associated made-ground deposits were observed in the north-eastern part of the site and a broad linear earthwork along its southern boundary was also shown to be comprised of recent made ground.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2024.

September 2019. Excavation.
This final phase of archaeological mitigation saw the excavation of a single area close to the centre of the saltern mound in the north-west corner of the site. This area was initially machine excavated to a depth of c.0.8m, with the underlying deposits then investigated via four hand-dug test pits.
As during the preceding work the natural salt marsh deposits were shown to be overlain by a sequence of silt layers that represented filtration waste deposits from salt production. The work revealed much clearer evidence for salt production, with these waste silt layers found to be cut by three truncated clay-lined features that were almost certainly the remains of silt filtration units. Thin layers of burnt material encountered within the silt layers probably represented waste from hearths used to boil the resultant brine solution, although no surviving examples were identified. No finds were recovered from the filtration units but four sherds of early medieval pottery were found within the waste silt deposits forming the saltern mound, along with fragments of handmade support bricks (briquetage) and pieces of salt slag (which would have formed in the bases of the hearths). Samples taken from the fills of the probable filtration units and the surrounding silt layers produced small quantities of charcoal and the occasional waterlogged seed but generally botanical material was found to be sparse. Foraminifera and ostracods were though present in a number of the samples.
Information from Assessment and Updated project Design report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2024.

April 2019. Watching Brief.
Maintained during removal of hard standing from the carpark overlying the saltern mound in the north-west corner of the site.
Only modern made ground deposits were observed.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2024.