Medieval and and Saxon finds within ditch, Sleeper's Farm, River View, Chadwell St. Mary (EHER 47544)

An archaeological trial trenching evaluation undertaken in advance of residential development revealed one ditch that contained late medieval/early post-medieval pottery and one sherd of possible Saxon pot. The Saxon pot is thought to be residual.

Evaluation, 2011 An archaeological trial trenching evaluation undertaken in advance of residential development. Ditch 5 yielded the only archaeological finds from the site and its alignment did not follow any of the modern features, or that of the 15th-century Sleeper’s Farmhouse, suggesting that it may predate the early post medieval and current layout of the site. Undated ditch 11 in trench 3 was aligned north-west to south-east and was the only other feature not to be aligned along a north-south/east-west axis. This suggests that it may be associated with ditch 5, trench 1, and also predates the modern use of the site. The trenches in the eastern half of the site revealed that the ground level had previously been reduced and as a result no evidence of the farm buildings depicted on the historic maps was discovered. With the exception of a residual sherd of possible Early Medieval pottery, no evidence of Roman or Saxon activity was revealed. It is therefore concluded that the site holds little to no research potential and further work has not been recommended. <1>