Medieval village unearthed in archaeological dig at Taunton Deane

The long lost medieval settlement of Playstreet in Taunton Deane first came to light when tantalising traces of buildings and boundaries were spotted from the air by TV archaeologist Mick Aston.

At first glance the field, tucked away the middle of the rolling Staple Fitzpaine countryside, looks like any other following a recent harvest – a blank canvas awaiting its next crop.

But across the dark clay is a hive of activity as a team of devoted diggers led by archaeologist and Neroche community history officer Tanya James are hard at work opening up trenches and peeling back the baked surface of soil for the first time in search of clues to the settlement that aerial photographs from 1977 and local records suggest was on this spot.

Research has pointed to a medieval house on the site which was occupied by Rachel Portman, daughter of the revered Sir Henry Portman, in the 17th century but it is believed the famous landowning dynasty held a sprawling estate across the Neroche area for more than 400 years.

As I was handed a trowel and set about battling my way through the unforgiving clay, Mrs James explained: "When Mick Aston took the pictures, it seemed to show a street marked by a shallow holloway with building plots on both sides.

"Documentary evidence suggests that Playstreet was in existence by the later medieval period in the 16th century and before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was owned by Taunton Priory.

"Private owners came in over the years and we know it was owned by Rachel Portman."

But mystery also surrounds the details of the Portman's presence in Neroche.

"There is a watercolour of what was said to be her house but it only shows a modest-sized house and we know it would have been much grander than that," Mrs James said.

"But if you look at the painting, you can see the house's windows are far too big which would suggest that they came from a much bigger house.

"And in the background, you can just make out a ruined wall which suggests there were other buildings there."

Mrs James and her merry band of helpers picked up their mattocks on September 15 to begin the very first Playstreet excavation. The project has been made possible with the help of a Heritage Lottery grant but with less than a fortnight allocated for the dig, it has been a race against time to find out as much as possible.

Mrs James said: "It's quite unusual for a community dig like this to happen.

"It's been a great opportunity for us to excavate and the volunteers have been wonderful.

"I think they have really enjoyed it and part of that is because it's a way for them to find out more about the history of where they live and understand a bit more about the past.

"But we can't expect to find out everything about Playstreet in such a short time so we will hopefully be able to excavate again in the future."

Shards of medieval pottery, pot handles and rims, some dating back more than 800 years, have turned up in abundance at the site, backing up the theory it was occupied for several centuries.

A puzzling amount of stone has been unearthed – both limestone and churt – and Mrs James hopes geophysical surveyswill help reveal just what the rubble represents.

She said: "It's been very difficult to tell.

"We know that those two types of stones don't occur together geologically so they must have been brought here for building.

"But whether we are looking at walls or part of a road of a farm yard, we can't tell at this stage."

During the two-week dig, everyone from pensioners and archaeology students to professionals and primary school pupils have been on site to lend a hand, making the back-breaking toil through rockhard ground a community effort.

Mrs James said: "We've had a really nice atmosphere here during the dig and it's been hard work but good fun."

Neroche Parishes Local History Group plans to hold an open evening later in the year to present the Playstreet findings in detail.