NHER 6033 (Monument record) - Late Neolithic, Saxon and medieval site, Harling

Site of Middle Harling village and church.

1980. Fieldwalking by NARG.
Roman, Middle Saxon, Late Saxon, medieval pottery and metalwork.

November 1980. Metal-detecting.
Discovered by [1] in plough-soil an important dispersed coin hoard of the mid-8th century East Anglian king Beonna, eight silver coins had been found in total.
See (S1) for further information.

February-March 1981. Excavation and metal-detecting.
Carried out with [1] in order to identify the context in which the previous eight middle Saxon coins had been found. Producing a further twenty-eight Beonna coins along with seven sceat. Layer 1 also produced pottery and finds of prehistoric (S3), Middle and Late Saxon dates (S4). In layer 2 at a depth of 0.4 meters one coin was recorded followed by seventeen more. Layer 2 overlay was cut by a small rubbish pit which contained Late Saxon materal. Other features included a shallow ditch which ran north to south and was of unknown date, and also a number of posthole, some of which contained Late Saxon pottery. None of these features contained coins.
See (S1) and (S2) for further information.
M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 17 June 2013.

1982-1983. Excavation.
Evidence of Late Neolithic occupation associated with flint knapping, in the north-west part of the site a group of four features produced struck flint and also Fengate ware. There is little evidence for any later prehistoric activity in or near the excavation area, however, a Late Bronze Age awl and a contemporary forgery of an Iron Age starter was found near the surface south-west of the excavation.
There is no evidence of Roman occupation in this area, however, twenty fragments of pottery tile and sixty-three sherds of pottery were recovered along with six Roman coins from the 1st to 4th centuries.
There are no features that relate the early Saxon period; however, a buckle was discovered in a post-medieval context. 160 meters south-west-south of the excavation site at TL9785, there was part of an early small long brooch of this period recovered .
Further excavation uncovered few features from the middle Saxon period, however late Saxon occupation was fairly intense. There were two buildings, one having post-in-slot construction and the other with walls which was represented by individual postholes which was of a 10th century date.
A small area of the graveyard of St Andrews church fell into the area of excavation, one dated to the late 9th or the early 10th century period which was accompanied by a bronze buckle, hone stone, iron knives and an iron strike-a-light. Most of the other burials that were recorded were from the medieval period.
Occupation seems to continue into the medieval period from the 11th to 13th century evidence of a settlement site include surface finds of pottery, metalwork and coins which were situated to the north-west of the excavation site. A complex of ditches and at least one timber building which dates to the late 11th and 12th century were also recorded, occupation within the area of excavation seemed to cease in the early 13th century.
Into the post-medieval period of the site, thirty-nine pits which contained disarticulated human bones were recorded, mainly in the north-west area of the site.
General metal-detecting in this area produced a fairly large collection of finds, the majority of which were located in the topsoil, the date of these finds were middle Saxon to the medieval period. Examples include a silver seal matrix enclosing an antique intaglio and a part of a pendant cross with 9th-century interlace decoration and a plaque decorated in Ringerike style.
Pottery from this site included middle Saxon, which was all Ipswich-type ware apart from two sherds of Tating ware. Saxo-Norman pottery comprised of Thetford-type, St Neot's and early medieval wares.
See (S1) and (S2) for further information.
M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 17 June 2013.

1986 to 1988. Metal detecting.
Further Roman and medieval metalwork.
See full details in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 14 March 1990.

October/November 2003. Metal detecting.
One Roman coin.
Iron Age/Roman brooch.
Post medieval buckle.
See list in file with grid references.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 26 February 2004.