Fifth Interim
Report
Edited by Rik Hoggett, with contributions from Dominic Andrews, Sophie Cabot, Lorna Corr, Andrea Cox, Gareth Davies, Pauline Fogarty, Naomi Payne and Melanie van
Twest.
The summer of 2000 saw the fifth season of work for the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP), continuing our long term investigation of a typical English parish in north west Norfolk. During the season we made significant advances in all aspects of the Project's work, with previous years' excavations continuing, some being brought to conclusion and numerous new avenues of investigation being opened up. Here, members of the Project team present the many and varied results of the season's work, reflect on the last five years and discuss the Project's future research directions.
The 2000 season also served to demonstrate that public support for the Project is as strong as ever, with a constant stream of people visiting the site throughout the season and over seven hundred people attending our first site Open Day. As always we are immensely grateful for this support, without which we could not continue our work, and would like to express our thanks to all those who have supported us over the last five years.
Boneyard and Reeddam
This year our excavations continued to focus on the Boneyard and Reeddam area at the bottom of the river valley, south of the River Heacham. The area of the original 20m x 20m trench, open since 1996, was left under cover this year, whilst work concentrated on the Anglo-Saxon period settlement and cemetery material on the lower slope of the Boneyard and into the Reeddam. The principle aims of this year's excavation were: a) to clarify the Middle Saxon, Medieval and Post-Medieval sequence of events on the lower slope of the Boneyard and combine them with previous seasons' findings; b) to excavate the Middle Saxon burials in the Reeddam trench with the intention of sampling any underlying Iron Age deposits, and c) to place the Boneyard excavation in a wider context by evaluating an area to the east of the field and by relocating trenches dug to the west of the Boneyard trench by Dr. Peter Jewell in the late 1950s.
Immediately to the south of the Reeddam trench, a large east-west ditch sequence was fully excavated and recorded. The original ditch was approximately 5m wide and directly truncated Middle Saxon burials and it is probable that this ditch was associated with the creation of the Reeddam in the Norman Period, although it did not produce any dating evidence itself. Much later, after layers of colluvium had moved down the slope, this east-west ditch was re-cut, probably with the establishment of an east-west running tree line along the edge of the Boneyard.
On the lower slope of the Boneyard, fifteen articulated east-west burials were lifted this season, bringing the total number of articulated skeletons from the site to 189, including those excavated in the 1950s. Many of the burials in this area appear to have been coffin burials; a number of iron coffin fittings of various types have been found and, with many easily observable grave cuts, we have been able to record some brackets in situ.
A number of this season's skeletons were cut by a series of north-south drainage ditches, similar to features found in previous years' work. One of these later north-south ditches, dated by quantities of both Saxon Ipswich and Thetford type wares, also cut other settlement features, including a number of post holes and a sunken featured building
(S.F.B.). This S.F.B. contained a large dump of oven lining or hearth rake-out within its structure and produced some sherds of Ipswich ware, but no later Thetford ware. Within the vicinity of the
S.F.B, the primary fill of a later north-south ditch produced a Middle Saxon dress pin with an octagonal head (dated to the 8th/9th Century), suggesting an earlier date for the
S.F.B.
The Boneyard Site during the 2000 season.
Evidence such as this is consistently pushing back the date of some of the settlement features, and parts of the cemetery itself, well into the 8th century, a date supported by an initial Carbon 14 date obtained from an early burial from the Reeddam trench. In addition, the settlement phase that immediately post-dates the cemetery (which includes the S.F.B.), seems to represent an area that was being utilised for informal industry in this periods. Two pits excavated in 1999, immediately to the north of the S.F.B., also contained a lot of burnt clay, and possibly represent oven clearances too.
The Reeddam trench continued to produce more burials sealed by layers containing Middle-Late Saxon material and a further sixteen skeletons were lifted this year. In some areas there are now at least four phases of burials and at the base of the burial sequence, grave cuts were observed where a later burial had cut an earlier skeleton. Often, the charnel from the earlier burial had been placed around the sides of the later grave cut, and as such it may only be possible to recognise original burial phases as disarticulated bone within later grave cuts; a situation for which there are close parallels in other Anglo-Saxon cemetery sites.
As a result of the 2000 season the Reeddam trench has now been stratigraphically linked to the Boneyard trench and it seems likely that the Reeddam area represents one of the initial nuclei of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery that was subsequently re-used for more burials at a later date. Although the earliest inhumations are yet to be excavated from the Reeddam, it appears that we are beginning to come down onto significant Iron Age deposits with large quantities of late Iron Age Belgic ware pottery being recovered.
Forty metres to the east of the main Boneyard trench we opened a 30m x 1.5m trench in order to evaluate the archaeological deposits in that area of the site. No burials were found this far east, but towards the there was a large north-south ditch, 2.7m wide and 1.7m deep. The pottery assemblage recovered from it suggests that this ditch was initially cut in the Iron Age and then re-cut a number of times in the Anglo-Saxon period.
To the west of the main Boneyard site, a smaller trench was opened to locate the excavations conducted on the site by Dr. Peter Jewell in the late 1950s; the findings of which we intend to incorporate into our first monograph. This trench was part of a wider effort to examine previous archaeological work in Sedgeford, which also consisted of an examination of twenty two skeletons from Jewell's excavations now held by Cambridge University. A further examination of his excavation archive, now held by Norwich Castle Museum will be undertaken as a part of the 2001 season.
West Hall
At our other main excavation site within the Parish, the 2000 season saw the completion of five years of excavation in the Paddock at West Hall. Although hampered by heavily waterlogged ground, we confirmed our 1999 interpretations that beneath the previously excavated medieval boundary system, we had uncovered a probable chapel, thought to belong to an early medieval manor complex referred to in Domesday Book. This date was broadly confirmed by a Carbon 14 date (calibrated date range AD1010 to AD1180) of a skeleton whose grave was cut through the 'chapel' floor. A grave cut immediately to the north of this was also excavated this season, but interestingly the grave appears to have been disturbed and robbed of its contents late in the medieval period. Quite why remains uncertain.
Evidence of Late Saxon and Romano-British activity was encountered beneath the medieval deposits in the Paddock. The Late Saxon remains were poorly preserved having been disturbed by the later burials and boundary system. Even so there was clear evidence of a rammed chalk surface and activity in this area appears to have been continuous right from the Late Saxon through to the modern period. Prior to this, the land had been heavily waterlogged and we discovered little evidence of occupation. The Romano-British inhabitants appear to have attempted to drain the land with a series of gullies and a shallow ditch, but this seems to have failed. The land was abandoned and not significantly reoccupied, until the reclamation of the land with dumped soil and sand in order to construct the chapel towards the beginning of the medieval period.
In order to complement our work in the Paddock and also the adjoining farmyard, an archaeological study of West Hall House was also begun. A detailed structural survey of the both the interior and exterior of the building was completed during the season and a comprehensive study of the surviving documentation relating to the site is continuing throughout the 2000/2001 academic year. It is believed that the present West Hall house stands on or near the site of a medieval manor and, although the work confirmed that no fabric from this earlier manor survives in the current building, six major phases of redevelopments were identified dating from the Tudor period to the present day. It is hoped that the study of the surviving documentation will prove more lucrative and allow us to gain a strong insight into the manor that lay at the heart of Sedgeford in the later Medieval period.
Pagan Saxon Sedgeford
Also during the course of the season an investigation into potential Early Anglo-Saxon sites in Sedgeford was begun using antiquarian accounts and museum records to site some trial trenches within the Parish. It was hoped that this would provide some information about the people who predated the Christian Saxons of the Boneyard, where no pre-Christian Saxon material has yet been found. Work started with extensive desktop research into the previous finds and excavations of early Saxon material in Sedgeford, most notably by an owner of Sedgeford Hall, Holcombe Ingleby, who published his findings in Norfolk Archaeology 19 (1917). On the basis of this work, fieldwork was concentrated on an area to the east of the village, close to Sedgeford Hall.
The identified area was in Hall Wood, and three small trenches were used to assess the archaeological potential of a disused quarry where previous Pagan Saxon finds were thought to have been made. No cremation remains were discovered in these test excavations, and very little archaeology of any sort, bar two post-medieval field boundary ditches. It is clear that the area studied could not be the location of the antiquarian finds, and it has now been decided that an area to the south of the woodland is a more probable location. It is hoped that some work in this new location will be possible in future seasons.
The Bowling Green
In addition to his Pagan Saxon finds, Holcombe Ingleby recorded that his workmen had turned up pieces of British and Roman pottery during the construction of a bowling green near to Sedgeford Hall in 1913. It was decided that an effort should also be made to try to identify the source of this pottery and evaluate the archaeological potential of the bowling green area (now under trees).
A five metre trench was placed across the north east bank, and test pits were positioned off the green to the north east, south west and north west. The sequences discovered and profiles surveyed on and off the bowling green suggest that the green was constructed by cutting into the natural slope to create an appropriately sized flat surface. The material removed appears to have been deposited fairly evenly to the north east, building up the bank. Few finds were recovered by hand from this material, but when the spoil was sieved, numerous small sherds of Iron Age and later pottery were recovered. It seems that when Ingleby's workmen excavated the bowling green they missed these small sherds, just as we did when excavating by hand.
We concluded that the construction of the bowling green had removed the archaeological deposits containing the Iron Age and Roman pottery reported by Ingleby. However, the quantities of pottery recovered do suggest there is an Iron Age site somewhere in the vicinity.
Facial reconstruction from Sedgeford skulls
On the post-excavation side of things, experiments were carried out this year into the reconstruction of the faces of skeletons found in Sedgeford. The aim was to provide visitors with a 'human' link to the eighth-century population and their way of life, by giving the skeletons visual identities. Such reconstructions are usually done taking a cast of the skull, over which clay is applied to form the features - a process that is expensive and time-consuming. It was decided that attempts would be made to replicate this process in two dimensions and careful drawings were made of some of the better-preserved skulls, before eyes, muscles, skin and hair were added, according to anatomical principles. Reconstructions are generally produced with a blank stare, ours were deliberately made with a variety of different expressions, with the intention of making them more 'accessible' and 'real'. The faces were given a 'lean' look, appropriate to persons who lead a healthy, active outdoor life - the Saxon people of Sedgeford were tall, healthy and well-built. The method used for producing these reconstructions has been refined, and work will continue through the winter with more of the skulls which have been found. It is hoped that this project will be expanded in the forthcoming season, to include 3-D modelling, and colour pictures.
Palaeodietary Analysis of the Boneyard Population
Since the end of the 2000 season a new scientific investigation into the diet of the Saxon populations buried in the Boneyard has begun, conducted by Lorna Corr, a PhD student at Bristol University. A sample from each skeleton is subjected to four different stable isotopic techniques, each identifying different dietary information, in order to build up a full record of the individual's diet - by analysing the ratio of heavy to light carbon (13C/12C) we can obtain the identify the proportions of terrestrial, marine and leguminous foods in the diet, as well as deciphering between plant and animal protein input.
Stable isotopic analysis works under the rationale that "you are what you eat", thus the isotopic values of humans should lie in a close range to the values of the animals in their diet and also the grass or fodder fed to the animals. A comprehensive study of the faunal remains from the Boneyard site will therefore also form a part of the study. The work on the assemblage from Sedgeford will be the first time the four different methods of analyses will be performed on a single population, thus offering supplementary information about factors such as seasonal variation in diet, and will represent a significant development in the field.
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