Burgh: The Iron Age and Roman Enclosure
by
Edward Martin
East Anglian Archaeology Volume 40
Suffolk County Council 1988
81 pages, 62 figures, 4pls, microfiche. Burgh is the largest Iron
Age fortification in Suffolk, still visible at ground level. Only
two other sites in the county are broadly comparable, Barnham and
Clare Camp, but the latter is not definitely Iron Age.
This report brings together the results of three periods of
excavation, 1900–1901, 1947–1957, and 1975. The enclosure is
bivallate, roughly rectangular and encloses 7 hectares. It was
probably built in the 1st century BC as a minor oppidum — the
regional centre and seat of a local chieftain with market,
administrative and religious functions. It was destroyed about
15–25 AD. An inner enclosure of 1 hectare, was built in the
north-west corner, probably just before the Conquest. This was
occupied, either by an official or a noble until it was partly
flattened about 60 AD. However, the enclosure was used well into
the 4th century, as the centre of a villa estate.
The excavations discovered a selection of important finds, which
included a good sequence of pottery, from the handmade Iron Age
wares to the Belgic wheel thrown wares, along with many
Gallo-Belgic imports. These reflect the high status of the
enclosure.
The conclusions place Burgh into context within Iron Age
Suffolk, and discuss later settlement history based on the
supposition that it became the centre of a Saxon estate.
Price £4.40 (£7.40 including postage and packing - UK only)
Available from:
Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service
9-10 Churchyard
Shire Hall
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1RX
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