Late Iron Age to Roman pit at Clavering Farm (EHER 46359)

Monitoring of a drainage trench found evidence of late Iron Age to Roman deposits, possibly indicative of road side settlement associated to the Braughing to Great Chesterford road.

2005. Watching brief. The discovery of two buried black soil deposits containing pottery and bone while machine-excavating a drainage trench resulted in the Field Unit being contacted. The observed trench ran east-west alongside a farm track for a distance of c.530m, between TL4620334697 and TL4567434756. It had been cut to a width of 0.4m and depth of c.0.6m. The black deposits were very charcoal-rich clay/silt fills of two distinct features cut into the natural chalky boulder clay, evident in both trench sections. Both deposits contained quantities of pottery, animal bone, small fragments of baked clay, small chalk pebbles and larger burnt flint pebbles/nodules. Both were sealed beneath 0.25m of grey-brown clay silt ploughsoil. Deposit 1, possibly the fill of a pit at least 4.5m wide, was recorded in section as being 0.2m thick. Probable natural chalky clay was observed below. A greater quantity and less fragmentary collection of artefacts was collected from this deposit, than from deposit 2. Deposit 1 was 60m east of the green lane (Beards Lane) which runs along the western edge of the field, roughly at TL4572234751. Deposit 2, the fill of another probable pit, extended 2.5m along the trench section. Looking slightly less-burnt than deposit 1, it was similarly 0.2-0.25m thick in section with seemingly natural boulder clay below. Deposit 2 was 40m east of the green lane, roughly at TL4570334753. Both deposits contained large and unabraded sherds of grog-tempered storage jar, other smaller jars including a pedestalled type, butt beaker and a small quantity of Dressel 2-4 amphora sherds. A small quantity of well-preserved animal bone, including horse, cow and sheep/goat, along with a few burnt clay fragments, was also retrieved. The assemblage appears to be domestic rubbish. <1> See also aerial photographs: <2> - <6>