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Anglo-Saxon Settlement Unearthed Near Friston During Wind Farm Preparations

Researchers will now refine the dating of the site through post-excavation analysis.

Overview

  • Archaeologists from MOLA-Wessex, working for ScottishPower Renewables, identified the site during digs for the East Anglia TWO and ONE North onshore cable corridor between Thorpeness and Friston.
  • Post holes reveal large wooden longhouses up to about 19 metres long and six metres wide that likely housed a small community in the Anglo-Saxon period from 410 to 1066.
  • A team of 90 specialists investigated an area described as the size of 17 football pitches, documenting features across a substantial landscape.
  • Finds span multiple eras, including Stone Age toolmaking debris, a complete flint arrowhead dated 4,000–6,000 years ago, Beaker pottery, Roman sherds, and medieval kilns identified near Sizewell.
  • The settlement did not continue beyond the 1300s, a modern footpath aligns with the medieval buildings, and further study will probe occupation chronology as the developer highlights its heritage commitments.