Record Details
| NHER Number: | 33902 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Medieval building remnants and multi period pottery sherds, Mill Lane East |
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Summary
Excavation of several trial trenches at this location in 1998 recorded an early medieval ditch overlain by footings of a rectangular medieval to early post medieval structure. The structure measured 6m by 4m and had unusually thick footings which may have supported a two storey wooden superstructure. Its function remains unknown, but medieval documents indicate that a mill stood near this location from the late 11th century (see NHER 5931) and it therefore may have been a storage facility connected with the mill or with other river trade.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TL 8699 8270 |
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| Map Sheet: | TL88SE |
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| Parish: | THETFORD, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
October 1998. Trial Trenching.
Excavation of three trial trenches recorded several medieval to post-medieval features. A large east-west orientated ditch was identified in Trench 1. It contained primarily early medieval pottery as well as one intrusive 13th-15th century sherd of glazed Grimston ware and a small quantity of animal bone including sheep/goat, cattle and domestic fowl. The ditch was overlain by footings of a rectangular structure. The building was constructed of shaped chalk pieces set in lime mortar and measured 6m by 4m, with an internal east-west wall which may have been a later addition. The walls survived to a maximum height of 0.2m, and were 0.8m to 1m thick. A gap in the west side of the footings measuring 0.6m wide and an irregular soil-filled depression (post hole?) in the east footing wall, directly opposite the gap, may indicate additional structural elements. The unusual thickness of the wall footings suggests that they may have supported a two-storey timber-framed superstructure. Little dating evidence was recovered. Twelve pottery sherds were recovered from the deposits surrounding the structure including two of Late Saxon Thetford ware, 6 early medieval, and individual sherds of Grimston ware, late medieval, and 15th-16th century transitional wares. One modern sherd and an intrusive Romano-British grey ware sherd were also recovered. The function of the building remains unknown, but medieval documents indicate that a mill stood near this location from the late 11th century (see NHER 5931) and it therefore may have been a storage facility connected with the mill or with other river trade.
See draft publication (S1) for further details. These results of this work are also summarised in (S2). See also (S3) and (S4).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.140).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 17 July 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 June 2019.
Monument Types
- BUILDING (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
- DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- POST HOLE (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
- FLOOR (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- WELL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Associated Finds
- METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Undated)
- NAIL (Undated)
- UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Undated)
- WEIGHT (Undated)
- POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- BUCKLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Unpublished Report: Wallis, H. 2008. Medieval Building at St Audrey's Mill, Thetford. Publication draft. |
| <S2> | Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 1999. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1998. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt II pp 369-387. p 383. |
| <S3> | Photograph: NAU. 1998. LHC - LHD. |
| <S4> | Slide: Various. Slide. 1-18. |
Related records
| 5931 | Related to: Former Bishop's Mill or St Audrey's Mill and site of early cloth mill (Monument) |
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