HMS Ganges, Shotley Gate, Shotley, Suffolk

Between the 10th and 14th of December 2018, Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) undertook an archaeological trial trench evaluation on land belonging to the former HMS Ganges Royal Navy training establishment at Shotley Gate, Shotley, Suffolk (TM 2476 3414). A total of 12 trenches were excavated. Eight were located on former playing fields at the north-western end of the site with the remaining part of the field having been evaluated by Suffolk County Council in 2010. A further four trenches were excavated along the line of a proposed spine road in the south-eastern part of the site, in an area of demolished barrack blocks.
The fieldwork has identified archaeological remains in the eight trenches excavated in the north-western part of the site, with the densest areas of archaeological features in Trenches 28, 29, 30, and 35. The earliest phase of activity here relates to a possible prehistoric field system, represented by a series of ditches and gullies. These yielded very few datable finds, but are broadly aligned north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west, on an axis different to that of later field boundaries at the site.
Medieval activity was located toward the western boundary of the site, with a series of ditches yielding small groups of medieval pottery. The ditches are aligned parallel to, and perpendicular with, the line of the B1456, and may relate to former properties or plots fronting the roadside. The post-medieval ditches shared a similar alignment, one of which is which was depicted on the 1904 Ordnance Survey map of the site, and was infilled by 1928.
Features relating to Second World War activity comprised two machine-dug trenches backfilled with concrete anti-vehicle obstacles, and a crenellated ditch located along the northern boundary of the site. This had been previously recorded from aerial photography, and is probably an air-raid shelter (SLY 088). The purpose of the other machine-dug trenches is more difficult to interpret, though the location corresponds with a series of linear features visible on aerial photographs from 1945, and may represent some form of wartime training structure.
No archaeological remains survived in the four trenches in the south-eastern part of the site. These trenches revealed the demolished foundations and service trenches of six former naval training barrack blocks and a clothing store. This area was heavily disturbed and truncated, and has low potential for archaeological survival.
Overall, however, the trenching has confirmed the presence of preserved archaeological remains in the north-western part of the proposed development site. The identified remains date from the prehistoric, medieval, and post-medieval periods, and may correlate with activity uncovered during evaluation by Suffolk County Council immediately to the south (Sommers 2010).