NHER 69856 (Find Spot record) - Late Saxon, medieval to post-medieval and post-medieval to modern finds

March 2014. Test Pitting.
Excavation of two test pits by local school children as part of the Higher Education Field Academy (HEFA) programme run by Access Cambridge Archaeology.

The westernmost of the two test pits (ACL/14/2) was located at [1] and did not reach natural geological deposits, excavation being halted at a depth of 0.83m due to time constraints. Finds recovered included:
1 Roman pottery sherd.
7 Late Saxon pottery sherds.
41 medieval pottery sherds (mostly early medieval ware).
8 late medieval/early post-medieval pottery sherds.
5 post-medieval pottery sherds and 11 clay tobacco pipe fragments.
21 late post-medieval/modern pottery sherds.
This test pit also produced a range of other finds that were not subject to specialist examination, the majority of which are either of probable late post-medieval to modern date or inherently undatable. These additional objects include 9 flat tiles, 56 unidentified ceramic building material fragments, pieces of bottle, vessel and probable window glass, a thin metal hoop, a metal handle, a copper alloy possible toy iron, an iron horseshoe fragment or hook, 8 iron nails, 15 pieces of corroded scrap iron, 2 pieces of lead waste, 7 pieces of possible iron slag, 9 oyster shells and 2 cockle shells.

This easternmost test pit (ACL/14/3) was located at [2] and reached natural geological deposits, which were encountered at a depth of 1.00m. Finds recovered included:
3 Late Saxon pottery sherds.
69 medieval pottery sherds (mostly early medieval ware).
8 late medieval/early post-medieval pottery sherds.
9 post-medieval pottery sherds and 16 clay tobacco pipe fragments.
20 late post-medieval/modern pottery sherds.
This test pit also produced a range of other finds that were not subject to specialist examination, the majority of which are either of probable late post-medieval to modern date or inherently undatable. These additional objects include 4 flat tile fragments, 1 curved tile fragment, 235 unidentified ceramic building material fragments, 2 slate fragments, pieces of bottle, vessel and probable window glass, a strip of scrap copper alloy, 12 iron nails, 2 corroded iron scraps, 3 corroded iron lumps, a piece of scrap lead, a piece of possible iron slag, 7 oyster shells, 2 cockle shells and a possible whelk shell.

For further details, including a wider discussion of the results of the HEFA test pitting surveys undertaken in Acle between 2009 and 2014 see report (S1), which incorporates information from pottery report (S2).
P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2026.