Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 1711: summary

Archaeological evaluation on land south of Darsham Station, Darsham, Suffolk, IP17 3PH: September 2021
by Dr Elliott Hicks (with contributions from Dr Matthew Loughton, Laura Pooley, Alec Wade and Lisa Gray)

Date report completed:
Location: Darsham Station, Darsham, Suffolk, IP17 3PH
Map reference(s): TM 4031 6931 (centre)
File size: 11,678 kb
Project type: Evaluation
Significance of the results:
Keywords: Darsham Station

Summary. An archaeological evaluation (sixty-seven trial-trenches) was carried out on land south of Darsham Station, Darsham, Suffolk in advance of the proposed construction of 110 new dwellings with associated infrastructure. Sixty-three features were uncovered during this investigation: twenty-five ditches, twenty-three pits, seven postholes, six gullies, a charcoal-rich pit and a ditch or pit. An evaluation carried out along the eastern and southern borders of the site in 2018 revealed a single prehistoric ditch. Further prehistoric remains were similarly found during this evaluation, but the main period of activity here occurred during the 12th to the 14th century, during which time a small low-status domestic settlement existed here. A number of postmedieval and modern features features likely associated with agricultural activity were also excavated, including two ditches which are depicted on late 19th-century Ordnance Survey mapping of the area.