The evaluation fieldwork, as agreed in the WSI, was to comprise the excavation of fifteen trenches, two 10m in length, two 15m in length, two 20m in length and nine 30m in length. All were to be 1.8m wide and located to provide a representative sample across the proposed development area. Subsequently, due to logistical constraints encountered on site, some minor adjustments were made to the trench plan with agreement from SCCAS. The trenches were set out on OS National Grid co-ordinates using Leica GPS. Overburden was stripped from the trenches by a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless grading bucket. All machining was conducted under archaeological supervision to the top of the natural substrate, which was the level at which archaeological features were first encountered. Metal detector searches (non-discriminating against iron) were undertaken throughout the fieldwork. These included searches prior to the trenches being dug, during the machine excavation and the subsequent hand-excavation phase as well as scanning the upcast spoil. No pre-modern artefacts were identified and modern artefacts (not retained) were sparse. After direction from the AA, following a site visit on the 5th February 2026, the pit type features in Trenches 1 and 2 were fully excavated, after recording the sections, in order to maximise the opportunity for retrieving artefacts. Archaeological features/deposits were investigated, planned and recorded, and deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential and samples were taken. In March 2026, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land at Street Farm, Witnesham, Suffolk. A total of fifteen trenches were excavated within which three ditches and a pit were recorded, none of which produced any secure dating evidence. The three ditches are likely to be field/plot boundaries that are probably post-medieval in date, although one, close to the street frontage, had the potential to be earlier but produced no finds. The pit is also probably post-medieval in date.
M Sommers (Thu,) studied this question.