NHER 68433 (Monument record) - Medieval to post-medieval deposits, post-medieval features and multi-period finds

March 2015. Community Excavation.
Investigation of terraced garden ahead of its proposed renewal, this work being undertaken as part of the Heritage Lottery-funded ‘Diss Heritage Triangle’ project.
The earliest finds recovered were a single sherd of Roman pottery and two Middle Saxon Ipswich ware sherds. The Middle Saxon sherds are of particular interest as this is first time that pottery of this date has been recovered in Diss.
Within one of the trenches dug in the southern half the site the natural chalky clay was overlain by a deep sandy silt deposit that produced several sherds of medieval pottery. It is unclear whether this deposit represented naturally accumulated colluvium or redeposited material deliberately dumped as part of an early attempt to build up this marginal area adjacent to the Mere. Twenty medieval pottery sherds were recovered from an overlying subsoil deposit (which produced no later material) and two medieval metal objects were also recovered within this trench – a strap end found with a probable post-medieval garden feature and a decorative mount collected from the modern topsoil. Subsequent activity in the vicinity of the site was represented by a small assemblage of late medieval/early post-medieval pottery.
A trench excavated in the north-east corner of the site revealed part of a late post-medieval rubbish pit, the charcoal-rich fills of which contained a significant quantity of 18th-century pottery along with pieces of brick and tile, fragments of butchered animal bone and oyster shells.
The two trenches excavated on the lowest, southernmost terrace encountered dumped material of probable post-medieval and later date and a brick and tile land drain. This drain was probably constructed at some time after 1850, when the Sanitary Inspector to the Board of Health William Lee published a report recommending the lowering of the water in the Mere and the installation of a new drainage system. These pipes were to be lain under 'public walks' around the Mere and traces of such a path were encountered during the excavation. Rope-decorated edging tiles found during the work were probably also remnants of this Victorian landscaping.
Other finds of note included a human skull fragment recovered from a garden soil at the top of the slope. The source of these remains is unknown so it is unclear whether it was derived from a disturbed isolated burial or a larger cemetery.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 7 August 2024.