Dig deep – Iron Age artefacts unearthed at Mildenhall site

Residents at housebuilder Bellway Homes’ new development, The Retreat in Mildenhall, Suffolk will be the first people to live on the site for centuries. Presently the land, a former dairy plant, is vacant and Bellway will soon be building 83 attractive, luxury houses and apartments.

The site is currently undergoing archaeological explorations by Archaeological Solutions Ltd and a number of ditches and pits have been found.

Speaking of the work being carried out, Matt Oates, Senior Technical Manager for Bellway Homes said:

“The ditches recorded at this site probably represent the boundaries of enclosures or fields. Several of the pits recorded were very similar to Iron Age storage pits identified at other sites”.

He added: “Pottery found on the site demonstrates that this land was occupied during the Iron Age. A small amount of pottery dating to the Bronze Age and to the Roman period was also unearthed. Other finds recovered from the site include: flint tools and animal bones which are also likely to date from the Iron Age.

“Artefacts found on the site will be taken away to be recorded and analysed. They will then be sent to the Suffolk County Council Historic Environment Record for safekeeping.

“Archaeological features such as ditches and pits will be measured, recorded, drawn and photographed. The information will be incorporated in to several detailed reports about the site with the overall findings eventually published in an archaeological journal.”

When complete, The Retreat, will comprise a mix of 2 bedroom apartments and 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses. This will ensure that the scheme provides homes for a wide range of home-buyers. The public space will be landscaped and will be an appealing new asset for the local community.

The site, which extends to some five acres, will comprise around half an acre of public open space including an equipped play area for children. The scheme will provide much-needed homes for local people and offers good road links to Bury and Cambridge.

Karen Coulson, Sales Director for Bellway Essex said: “We hope to begin construction by the end of Summer 2008 with the site due for completion in Winter 2009. We expect to be on site selling our new homes in the Autumn of this year.”

Visit bellway.co.uk to find out more.