Multiperiod remains at the site of New Processing Plant, Eye Airfield, Yaxley, Suffolk

Between the 8th of May and 3rd of August 2018, Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) conducted an archaeological excavation at the land at Eye Airfield, Yaxley, Suffolk (centred TM 1277 7460) ahead of construction of a New Processing Plant at the site. The area was initially evaluated by OA East (Kwiatkowska 2018) earlier that year. Two areas were recognised as needing further investigation – they were both located on the eastern side of the proposed development area. This project uncovered remains dating from the Middle Bronze Age, the Roman period and the early medieval, late medieval, post-medieval and post-medieval to modern eras. In total, seventeen features were recognised as dating to the Middle Bronze Age. Within the Area 1, only a single pit produced 34g of Middle Bronze Age pottery and 2.7kg of burnt stone. Area 2 contained a concentration of prehistoric features located in close proximity to the Middle Bronze Age watering hole in the south-east of the site. A total of fifteen pits produced varied amounts of burnt stone. The watering hole itself produced 426g of Middle Bronze Age pottery. A total of eight features dated to the Roman period were excavated. These formed the remains of a trackway spanning both areas of excavation, which may have linked settlements recognised by the earlier excavations at Eye Airfield (YAX040, Collie 2019). The most significant period of archaeological activity identified at the site of the New Processing Plant dated to the 11th-12th century. The evidence for this period dominated the northern part of Area 1, where four enclosures and three or four timber structures were identified, together with remains of a cultivation area and associated hay stack. The field division ditches continued into Area 2 where they disappeared after a distance of c. 60m. Late medieval and post-medieval activity at the site was identified by a number of ditches found in the southern part of Area 1 and throughout Area 2. These created a rectilinear field division system which may have been associated with the Red Barn located immediately west of Area 1 and investigated during the evaluation phase of the project. Ditches associated with this period were aligned on the north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west alignments. A total of seven post-medieval to modern features were identified throughout both of investigated areas. They included north-north-west to south-south-east aligned ditches and a pond excavated during the evaluation stage of the project.