PCA Norwich conducted archaeological excavations across three areas of the development site, totalling 1.78ha. Located on the outskirts of Ipswich, in the southern outskirts of the village of Bramford, the area immediately surrounding the site had previously yielded a diverse archaeological past; prehistoric ring ditches, Iron Age settlements and Bronze Age funerary practices, as well as a section of the former Roman Road (Pye Road) and the possible Domesday Minster of the Church of St Mary, all reflect a varied and extended use of the surrounding area.

An earlier trial trenching evaluation identified three areas of dense archaeological activity, in the southern (two middle Bronze Age cremations), north-eastern (boundaries and enclosures of later Saxon date) and eastern (further Later Saxon enclosures) reaches of the site. These locations were targeted during the open area archaeological excavations and the results further expanded upon the archaeological story of Bramford.

The earliest archaeological evidence was a large, steep sided pit contained a sizeable assemblage of flint working waste dated to the Late Mesolithic to Early Neolithic periods. A Middle Bronze Age barrow cemetery, consisting of five barrow ring ditches and the cremated remains of 53 individuals, within both urned and unurned cremations, were recorded, as were a further cluster of cremations c.150m to the northeast. Evidence for activity from the Late Saxon to the Early medieval periods comprised small agricultural and industrial areas and plots installed probably prior to and throughout the occupation of the medieval village of Bramford.

A post-excavation assessment was produced and is to be followed by a publication in the county archaeological journal, Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History (PSIAH) or possibly in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, entitled ‘A Middle Bronze Age Barrow cemetery at Fitzgerald Road, Bramford’.

The results from the excavation at Fitzgerald Road, Bramford are of local and regional significance and merit further analysis and detailed reporting. The site will contribute to our understanding of Bronze Age funerary practices in the region, particularly those associated with barrow cemeteries in the Gipping Valley, and the medieval remains will provide an insight into rural settlement, land management practices and social change in Bramford and the surrounding area.