The Field Team spent 5 months at
Hartismere High School Eye, excavating 4.74 hectares in
advance of the construction of a new playing field. The site
lies on a south facing slope, part of the River Dove valley
and within a broad area of known archaeological finds
including a Saxon cemetery at nearby Yaxley. The topsoil was
stripped under archaeological supervision by the main
contractor and during this archaeological finds and features
were identified across the whole site.
Nineteen Early Saxon ‘Sunken
Featured Buildings’ were identified, ranging in size from
c.2.5m x 2m to c.5.5m x 4.5m, and with a variety of forms and
structure suggesting different functions. Central to the SFB’s
were two posthole buildings, a rectangular building c. 9.2m
long x c.6m wide and a long aisled building c.17.4m long x
5.4m wide. This had eight paired arcade posts with the outer
wall lines formed from closely spaced small postholes. The
date of either building is yet to be confirmed. 14 rectangular
burnt flint, or fire-reddened stone filled features were also
found, these are at present undated but appeared to be
associated with the
SFBs.
There is the potential for
radiocarbon dating these. In the extreme south-east corner of
the site a small pit was found containing an ‘in situ’
drip slag, the result of iron ore smelting on the margins of
the site. Early Saxon finds from the site included pottery,
objects associated with textile working, dress accessories and
a vast amount of butchered animal bone. Post-excavation work
is at a very early stage but initial interpretations suggest
that both domestic and industrial activities were being
undertaken here.
A cobbled surface with narrow wheel
ruts, probably a sunken track within a deep linear hollow,
passed close to the end of the aisled building. This ran down
the slope towards the valley floor, the hollow had become
infilled with brown colluvium and systematic metal detector
surveys recovered a wealth of Saxon small finds from these
deposits and extensive dump deposits of animal bone and Early
Saxon pottery were visible on the surface. The south end of
the trackway was removed by a cluster of intercutting pits
which were partly overlain deposit of partially articulated
animal (mainly pig and cow) remains. Initial interpretations
are that these are all Saxon in date. The southern edge of the
site extended 10m into the valley floor and the floodplain of
the river where deep deposits of dark silts were found, the
precise dating for this sequence of deposits has yet to be
established.
In addition to the early Saxon occupation, four Bronze Age
cremations and an undated, but probably Bronze Age, crouched
inhumation were found. In the centre of the site was a group of
pits containing earlier Iron Age pottery, and two, possibly Iron
Age, round houses were also identified.
SCC Archaeology Service was working
in close co-operation with SCC Education – playing field
section, to successfully investigate the site before ground
works continued and we are grateful to SCC Education – playing
fields staff and their sub-contractors for this. Although much
of the excavation took place during the school holidays it was
possible to organise a day on site for the year 7 school
students at Hartismere High School, and to bring some finds
into the classrooms for the students to examine. It is
intended to keep the school staff informed as the
post-excavation progresses and to do further presentations
etc. at the school in due course.
This is a preliminary summary of the results of the excavation
and as post-excavation proceeds and more information is revealed,
this web page will be updated.