The Close, wattle-lined pit

Archaeological excavations in 2003 and 2004 at Nos. 46-54 The Close found a U-shaped arrangement of timber stakes driven into the natural clay. It was open to the north (i.e. away from the river). It measured 1m across. Eight stakes were present, all unworked apart from one which was halved and roughly dressed. Fragments of wickerwork had been wound around the stakes on the eastern side of the structure. Inside the structure they was a deposit of mixed clay, silt and timber fragments which probably post-dated it. Three stakes were removed. Two of these were oak, the third was alder or hazel. The alder or hazel stake still had bark attached which produced a calibrated AMS radiocarbon date of between AD 910 and 920 to between AD 960 and 1030. Originally thought to be a fish weir, the structure is now tentatively interpreted as the base of a wattle-lined pit. Two circular arrangements of stakes of similar dimensions were found in the subsquent archaeological monitoring of a foundation pile trench. These stake features are undated.