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BBC News
19-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Sophistication of Ipswich Bronze Age settlement revealed
The residents of a newly revealed Bronze Age farm were "very sophisticated" and not "living in squalor", an archaeologist Thatcher said there was "an exciting level of preservation" about finds made on the 3,000-year-old settlement unearthed in Wednesday, Suffolk County Council announced the discovery of a cremation cemetery with 18 burials, "substantial" pottery items and two to carbon dating, experts know the settlement lasted at least 400 years. "This means many generations of people were living within that landscape," the Oxford Archaeology senior project manager continued."We can also see shifting cultural practices and that's why sites like this, with a decent block of evidence that we can confidently date, are so significant." The small farm was unearthed ahead of the development of Europa Way, a new road in land, near Bramford and Sproughton, is boxed in by a housing estate, an industrial estate, a railway line and the include:The postholes of two roundhouses, numerous four and six-post structures and two ring gulliesCeramics from circa 1150-800BC, fragmented fired clay weights, a clay spindle whorl (used during the spinning of yarn) and evidence of pottery productionWorked flints - including a rare example of a flint quern, used for hand-grinding grain into flour The further back in pre-history, the harder it is to find everyday evidence of how people lived, said Mr Thatcher."This site offers really tangible evidence, we can see where people lived, where they worked and where they buried family members," he burials and the settlement were broadly contemporaneous, dating from about 1200 to Bronze Age people buried the remains of loved ones in monuments and barrows, so the discovery of a cemetery on the site marks a change in Thatcher said: "Culture is always changing and shifting within any period, but what we're seeing here is a good example of this shift in the mid-Bronze Age." The farm relied upon a mixed agricultural economy, including producing its own wheat and barley, cattle breeding, as well as raising a few sheep or goats and pigs."People are very sophisticated, we have always wanted to have made lives better, been inquisitive and traded - we want nice things - and we do that through innovation," he said."These residents lived in large single storey homes of about 9m (29ft) in diameter fit which could fit a family - they are not living in squalor but in relatively comfortable." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
16-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bronze Age settlement uncovered during Ipswich road build
The remains of a Late Bronze Age settlement "of considerable significance" were uncovered during the development of a new road, archaeologists said.A cremation cemetery with 18 burials, "substantial" pottery items and two roundhouses were found during excavations for Europa Way, Ipswich, which opened last County Council said it indicated a 3,000-year-old settlement with a mixed agricultural economy, including cereal production and cattle Thatcher of Oxford Archaeology, which undertook the dig, called it an important discovery for the understanding of prehistoric activity in the area. The cemetery contained 18 burials, with radiocarbon dating confirming it dated from circa 1200 postholes of two roundhouses, numerous four and six-post structures and two ring gullies were also found on the site near Bramford and Sproughton last year, ahead of work beginning on the £2.1m road in interesting objects included ceramics from circa 1150-800 BC, fragmented fired clay weights, a clay spindle whorl (used during the spinning of yarn) cremation urns and a copper-alloy pin, the council flints - including a rare example of a flint quern, used for hand-grinding grain into flour - were among the objects that helped to indicate the type of settlement. Cemetery location 'distinctive' "Some aspects of the settlement remains are of considerable significance in the wider regional context, especially the substantial pottery finds, the cremation cemetery and the way that the agricultural landscape was organised," added Mr Thatcher."One distinctive feature of this cremation cemetery is how close it was to the buildings and daily life - the inference being that the inhabitants of the settlement were likely buried close by."He explained this was part of an emerging pattern of Late Bronze Age burials, which appeared to mark a shift from a preference for major finds from other periods included small quantities of Neolithic residual pottery and worked flint and an Iron Age gold coin. The council said there was already a "rich record" of prehistoric land around the River Gipping near Ipswich, and the full archive of finds would be kept and curated by the county's archaeological service. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
