Medieval settlement evidence, Church Lane, Middleton

1 A series of features were identified during evaluation off Church Lane, Middleton. They suggest settlement in the 12th-13th centuries, away from the focus of the original settlement. A large oven, a north-south aligned flat based boundary ditch, a series of pits and post-holes were all recorded, adjacent to the road frontage. They are comensurate with 12th-13th settlement activity, with three of the postholes possibly forming an east-west alignment, parallel to the road and backyard activity. Charred plant remains from four samples of medieval date were selected for assessment. The cereal recovered from the oven was of a spelt wheat variety.
2 A number of features associated with cultivation were attirbued to the medieval period in further excavation on this site. Some of the features previously identified in evaluative work were attributed to the Early Medieval usage of this site, including a feature interpreted as a grubenhaus or sunken-feature-building.