Medieval to post-medieval deposits and garden soils, 33-39 Market Hill Maldon (EHER 47130)

Trial trenching in 2001 recorded a thick greenish river deposit which contained 12th to 13th century pottery fragments. It may have been in situ or dumped as the result of dredging. Also recorded were three features containing pottery of the same date. The site was covered in a thick layer of post-medieval garden soil.

March 2001. Trial trenching. A thick layer of greenish grey silty clay containing 12th to 13th century pottery fragments was revealed in trenches 2 and 3 located on the lower part of the site. No archaeological features were found cutting this deposit and it probably represents a layer of river mud either in situ or dumped as a result of dredging. Trench 4, situated further up the slope of Market Hill and beyond the edge of the alluvial deposits, revealed three archaeological features one of which contained 12th to 13th century pottery fragments. Although the dating evidence is poor, these features may represent evidence of occupation activity on the hillside earlier than the 16th century tanning described by Petchey (1991, see <1>). The whole area was covered in a thick layer of former garden soil approximately 0.45m thick containing post-medieval artefacts. This material may indicate deliberate dumping to raise or level the ground in the vicinity of the river. <1> Note: This monument was formerly mapped as a polygon which extended beyond the site boundary and has been reduced to the excavated trenches using information from <1>.