Clampgate Road, Fishtoft, Lincs

English Heritage summaries. 2006/2007

Assessment is complete and Analysis underway on this Middle Saxon site on the former island of Fishtoft, in the Fenland near Boston, Lincolnshire. PPG 16 Assistance was offered on this developer site which, following a largely negative geophysical survey, yielded a high density of features including ditches, gullies, pits postholes and beam slots of predominantly Middle Saxon date with later, medieval, pits and ditches.

The island location, along with the proximity to the pre-conquest church of St. Guthlac and the presence of imported higher status Middle Saxon pottery and lava querns, suggested the possibility of a monastic origin. Metalworking, leadworking and saltmaking took place on the island. Environmental indicators attest to fishing, chiefly in freshwater and near-shore marine locations.

Analysis is now underway and will focus on the deciding the monastic or secular nature of these communities.

This page was published on 14/11/2007