Middle/Late Iron Age to Roman enclosure and field system, and Roman cremation cemetery, Maltings Lane (EHER 18504)

Trial trenching in 1996 and 1999 and excavations in 2000-2002 revealed Middle to Late Iron Age and Roman agricultural remains, including enclosures, a field system and evidence for crop processing including structures. The site also included a mid-Roman cremation cemetery comprising 10 cremations. There was no evidence for any link with the nearby contemporary site at Ivy Chimneys.

1996. Trial trenching. Evaluation of the site prior to proposed housing development comprised 22 trenches distributed across four main areas (A - D). Stratified deposits of Roman material were found in trenches 10 and 11 (Area C), in the former a sequence of intercutting pits and a gully was discovered which ranged in date from mid 1st to early 3rd century AD. Evidence of on-site metalworking was found in another pit and dated to the mid to late 2nd century AD. In trench 11 a ditch and two pits were found to contain Roman material. Although Roman building material (including flue and roof tile together with structural brick) was a common find in Saxon deposits no large structural features were encountered; it is possible that a building of 3rd-4th century date lies somewhere in the vicinity. <1> 1999. Trial trenching. 20 trial trenches were evaluated on fields to the south of Maltings Lane, Witham, they identified evidence of prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and medieval activity. A single undated inhumation was recovered, and is of unknown date, but may be Roman. A daub wall recorded during this evaluation could be part of the foundation for a large building, probably of Roman date.<2> Quern and pottery was recovered. <3> 2000-2002. Excavation. The Middle and Late Iron Age phase is dominated by sequences of ditches and gullies across the central areas of the site. A large number of post-holes and pits have also been assigned to this phase on the basis of their artefactual content and spatial patterning. It is likely that many of the postholes once formed parts of structures, of which portions have since been destroyed by later activity. The surviving ditches and gullies do, however, seem to define a series of enclosed spaces that display two distinct sub-phases of development and change. The very late Iron Age and Roman phase of activity sees the creation of a large sub-rectangular enclosure at the end of Late Iron Age (before AD 43) which represents major restructuring of the landscape. Prior to the excavation, this feature had been noted as a cropmark (EHER 8462). Curvilinear ditches together with a series of short and shallow curving gullies define the first stage of this enclosure. The best surviving of the earliest gullies are very shallow and narrow and it is highly likely that they represent the remains of positive boundary features, such as fences or hedges. It is likely that this enclosure is partially open to the east for much of this phase. During the early life of the enclosure there are few contemporary features occupying the interior, which possibly indicates that this enclosure was used for corralling animals. The large sub-rectangular enclosure is partially altered at the start of the Roman period, with several ditches being realigned or recut. During the later Iron Age and Early Roman periods the enclosure seems to have been in constant use although a number of minor alterations to its form and possible function occurred, including the construction and later demolition of a possible barn. A natural hollow was used for crop processing area from the late Iron Age until the late Roman period. The area between the enclosure and the field system contains early Roman features likely to be associated with burial practices. A pit is possibly the remains of a pyre site and a group of four post-holes in a rectangular arrangement around a pit is perhaps the remains of some form of mortuary structure. A small pit containing 5 drinking vessels, a 1st to 2nd-century coin and a quantity of burnt animal bone was identified at the eastern end of the enclosure. It is highly probable that the artefacts found in this pit are a placed deposit and they seem to be positioned in the entrance to the enclosure. Features associated with burial practices are a good indication that a settlement is nearby. However, there is little direct evidence for domestic activity on the site during this phase. The mid and late Roman phase sees modifications to the earlier layout of the enclosures, although the major boundaries remain in place. Smaller more regular fields or enclosures and the construction of a structure with cobble foundations and a possible threshing floor suggest an increase in crop processing. In the south-western corner of the site, ten Roman cremation burials were excavated within an enclosure defined by ditches and gullies, mostly dating from the mid-Roman period. The cremations are accompanied for the most part by vessels which were complete when buried. Seven of the cremation urns survived, six coarse ware jars were early to mid Roman in date, while the seventh was a late Roman two-handled flagon in Hadham oxidised ware. Five of the burials contained ancillary vessels, most commonly a small flask and a beaker, although one also included a Samian dish. Only one of the cremation urns was complete, the others being damaged in antiquity, but several of the associated vessels were in good condition. From the same area of the site other vessels, and parts of vessels, of similar form to those associated with the cremation burials were recovered. This may suggest that several cremation burials were destroyed by later activity. An increase in the number of good quality artefacts and imported pottery along with a number of cremation burials with attendant vessels suggest a rise in the status of the site during this phase. Initial comparison between Maltings Lane and the nearby contemporary site at Ivy Chimneys suggests that there is no evidence for direct physical links and very little similarity in use or function. Both the crop-processing area and the field system continue to develop throughout the Roman period, until they go out of use at the end of this period. There appears to be little continuity between Roman activity on this site and subsequent activity in the Anglo-Saxon period (see EHER 18505 for further details). See <3> for further details of the excavated features and finds.