Medieval activity around Leiston Abbey: Insights from excavations at Sizewell C

Presented by Abby Antrobus and Chris Fern

The archaeological excavations at Sizewell C have afforded the opportunity for investigation of part of Suffolk’s landscape on an unprecedented scale. The project is revealing remains of all periods of human history. However, excitingly for the medieval period, areas of excavation lie relatively close to the first and second sites of Leiston Abbey, or within their wider hinterlands. As the community of ‘White Canons’ at Leiston held a particularly compact estate in northeast Suffolk, it is likely that many of the activities represented by archaeological remains across the sites relate to their influence on the landscape.

This talk presents some of the medieval evidence and finds to date and highlights several themes that are emerging as we carry on analysis after the fieldwork. We can draw out patterns from across the areas to find out more about the earlier character of the estate that the Abbey was granted in the 12th century, how different landscape resources might have been used through time, why there were changes in how things were organised, and the impact of climate and coastal change and responses to it.