Site Event/Activity record ESF20687 - New Villas, Center Parcs, Elveden

A programme of archaeological fieldwork, consisting of evaluation, excavation and monitoring was carried out on four separate blocks of land within the Center Parcs Holiday Village, Elveden, Suffolk. The works identified widespread archaeological deposits despite the shallow depth of archaeological levels and disturbance from the sites former landuse as a pine plantation. Limited early activity in the Mesolithic/Neolithic and Bronze/Iron Age periods was identified, but the bulk of the evidence related to a widespread phase of Late Iron Age/Early Roman activity in the 1st century B.C to 1st century A.D. This activity appears to have consisted of a ditched enclosure system associated with a probable agricultural farmstead, with a range of linear ditches and isolated or loose scatters of pits indicating a broad spread of agricultural fields, enclosures and trackways. Although there were was no clear indication of structures upon the site, perhaps due to truncation and tree disturbance, the finds and environmental assemblage suggests the presence of domestic occupation, butchery and cereal processing in the immediate vicinity. The settlement focus with which the site is associated appears to have ceased or shifted after the Late Iron Age/Early Roman transition period, perhaps to an area of 2nd-4th century occupation in the fields to the south, and it seems that the site became marginal or rarely used land beyond the periphery of this later settlement. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous Yes, Future No Associated Identifiers: HER event no. ELV 067 Sitecode ELV 067 Planning Application No. F/2006/0653/FUL NMR No. 1529167 Project Type: Recording project Investigation Type: Open-area excavation, Watching Brief Reason for Investigation: Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPG16 Current Land use: Woodland 4 - Coniferous plantation Monument Type(s)/Period(s): DITCH Roman, PIT Roman, DITCH Late Iron Age , PIT Late Iron Age Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): POTTERY Roman, POTTERY Late Iron Age PROJECT LOCATION Area 5654.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TL805801 Point Height 44.00 - 46.00 metres PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, Field Team Director/Manager: John Craven Supervisor: John Craven DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Environmental, Human Bones, Metal, Worked stone/lithics Media: Database, GIS, Images raster / digital photography, Text PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: Ceramics, Environmental, Human Bones, Metal, Worked stone/lithics, Animal Bones Media: Context sheet, Map, Plan, Report, Section PHYSICAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County SMR Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Environmental, Human Bones, Metal, Worked stone/lithics BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: New Executive Villas, Center Parcs, Elveden, ELV 067 Author(s)/Editor(s): Craven, J. A. Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report No. 2010/102 Date: 2010 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Bury St Edmunds Description: SCCAS excavation report