Family lived in small house 1,100 years ago in the UK. It’s just been unearthed

Moira Ritter
Thu, February 8, 2024 

More than 1,100 years ago, a family gathered around the glowing embers of the hearth in the center of their 800-square-foot home in England. Outside, there may have been livestock snoozing in barns and sheds.

Now, archaeologists exploring the village of Chelmondiston have unearthed the ruins of the middle Anglo-Saxon home, which was once part of a “larger” settlement, according to a Jan. 29 news release from Cotswold Archaeology.

The main structure — known as “a hall building” — measured about 40 feet long by 20 feet wide, archaeologists said. It had an “eastern extension or annex” with an area of about 60 square meters.

The ancient family home had a central room, storage and a sleeping area, according to experts. Photo from Cotswold Archaeology

Experts said the family home was constructed with “earth-fast posts” that would have been connected to “planked walls” with “a raised floor, and a roof of thatch or oak shingles.” The structure included a “large open room and central hearth” as well as a storage area and sleeping area.

Postholes identified to the east and south of the home were left by fence lines and maybe smaller structures, including barns or sheds, researchers said.

To the east of the building, archaeologists found a row of four wells and cess pits, officials said. The cess pits were built in earlier, filled-in ditches, which likely functioned as a drainage system.

The cess pits were built into pre-existing ditches, which likely served as drainage, officials said. Photo from Cotswold Archaeology

Inside the wells and cess pits, experts discovered a trove of “beautiful” pottery.

A “large cache of Ipswich Ware” was found within the wells and cess pits, according to experts. Photo from Cotswold Archaeology

Known as “Ipswich Ware,” archaeologists said the pottery pieces were made from “hard-wearing material in the nearby town.” The pieces date to between 700 A.D. and 850 A.D.
Mysterious Iron Age pits

Experts also identified older evidence at the site dating to the Iron Age — between the fifth century B.C. and the eighth century B.C.

Among the discoveries, archaeologists found small pits scattered across the site. The purpose of the pits “is a subject much debated,” officials said.

Some “small, four-post structures” were also discovered, researchers said. These likely served as “storage or granary buildings.”
A ‘large’ medieval kiln — and lots of pottery

Between the late ninth century A.D. and the 11th century A.D., the village “shifted eastward or consolidated,” so it wasn’t until the 12th century A.D. that roadside activity returned to the site, archaeologists said.

While exploring remains from this time period, experts discovered “a large and well-preserved” pottery kiln dating to the 14th century. The kiln was surrounded by an abundance of pottery, mostly “’wasters’ – the pots that didn’t fire properly or collapsed or burst while firing,” according to officials.


Archaeologists found a collection of medieval pottery near the kiln. Photo from Cotswold Archaeology

Nearly 300 pounds of pottery were recovered from the area, researchers said. Among that trove were “five complete, or nearly complete, vessels.”


Five intact, or nearly intact, medieval vessels were unearthed from the site, archaeologists said. Photo from Cotswold Archaeology

Archaeologists said the find marks “the first evidence for pottery production in Chelmondiston.”

“At first glance the pottery does not look to fit with any known, named contemporary types and may well end up with its own moniker – Chelmondiston Ware,” according to experts.

Chelmondiston is about 90 miles northeast of London.