Land off Ellen Aldous Avenue, Hadleigh, Suffolk: PXA and UPD

Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) was commissioned RPS Consulting on behalf of Persimmon Homes to undertake a 2ha archaeological excavation as part of development to the east of Hadleigh, Suffolk (centred on NGR TM 03699 42928). The excavation took place from 1st June to 27th August 2021.
The excavation revealed remains of an Early Roman settlement, represented by enclosure and boundary ditches. The site appears to represent a rural site which was active during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD and was largely abandoned by the mid‐late Roman period. Evidence for processing/craft activities was identified within the enclosures, including the remains of two possible corn dryers. Groups of post holes dominated the southern part of the enclosure complex, suggesting the presence of structures, with evidence for intensive activity diminishing towards the northern part of the site. Roman funerary activity was represented by a single inhumation burial, radiocarbon dated to the later 3rd or 4th century AD.
Although the main phase of activity was Romano‐British, earlier periods were represented by Mesolithic and Neolithic worked flint and Early Iron Age pottery as well as a small number of Late Iron Age/Early Roman features. Following the Roman occupation of the site, there was evidence of post-medieval agricultural land use in the form of field boundaries and quarries.
Material culture recovered by the excavation included a large assemblage of Roman pottery belonging to the main phase of activity – the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. In addition, there was a small assemblage of Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age pottery. Metalwork was dominated by nails and iron fittings, but a 1st to 2nd century AD continental plate brooch and a chariot terret were also recovered. Additional material included building and worked stone and ceramic building material, as well as small quantity of vessel glass, clay tobacco pipe, oyster shell and a bone scale tang knife. The faunal assemblage included remains of goat/ sheep, cattle, pig as well as horse, dog, bird and red deer. The charred plant remains from the site included cereal grains, weed seeds and processing waste (chaff), representative of typical Roman farming regimes in the region.