Late Iron Age to Roman ditch, Heybridge Cemetery, Goldhanger Road (EHER 47091)

A watching brief in 2004-2005 recorded a probable north-south aligned ditch that was traced across various grave cuts. The sequence of fills within the ditch suggests that a positive feature, such as a bank, may once have existed along its western edge. Large and un-abraded sherds of Late Iron Age grog-tempered pottery and Dressel 1 amphora, retrieved from the machine-excavation of the graves, indicate a late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD date. Summary from record 46234: Late Iron Age/Roman bank? and ditch found. Ditch fill included evidence of human occupation presumably from nearby.

September 2004-April 2005. Watching brief. Monitoring and recording of open graves established the incidence of below-ground archaeological remains within several adjacent graves located in the east-central part of the cemetery, east of the chapel. Archaeological remains comprise a probable north-south aligned ditch that was traced across various grave cuts. As observed in section, the ditch exhibited a broad U-shaped profile and was over 2m wide and 1.1m deep, though its full width was not established. The sequence of fills within the ditch suggests that a positive feature, such as a bank, may once have existed along its western edge. Large and un-abraded sherds of Late Iron Age grog-tempered pottery and Dressel 1 amphora, retrieved from the machine-excavation of the graves, indicate a late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD date. Other material included fragments of briquetage and clay loomweight. Identification and description of the pottery, and locations of the burial plots in which the remains were observed, are recorded in the site archive. The site represents further evidence of widespread late Iron Age and Roman settlement and associated land-use around the head of the Blackwater Estuary, which includes the sites at Elms Farm (EHER 81914), Crescent Road (EHER 81893) and Heybridge Hall (EHER 9023). <1> Other Late Iron Age and Roman artefacts, reportedly deriving from burials, have previously been collected from elsewhere within the cemetery; shortly after its founding in the early 20th century. <2> Ongoing archaeological monitoring and recording on ongoing development at the cemetery has revealed a north/south running ditch with U shaped profile, over 2m wide and 1.1m deep. The full width was not established. The sequence of fills indicates that a positive feature, such as a bank, may once have existed along its western edge. The ditch fills also comprise archaeological evidence for nearby occupation. Charcoal, pottery, baked clay and Dressel 1 amphora dating to the 1st century BC were recovered. The ditch likely relates to the earthworks to the east (EHER 7994) and previously investigated features from nearby sites. <3> Note: Source <3> may be a duplicate for source <1>. Note: A Late Iron Age and Roman cremation cemetery (EHER 18778) was found on the site of the 19th century cemetery (EHER 40187) during its construction. The remains described here may be associated with this cemetery.