Roman ditches, pits and post holes on land between 20-24 North Road, Tollesbury (EHER 48353)

Excavation in 2013 recorded five ditches, two pits and eight postholes which were interpreted as part of a small Roman farmstead dating to the 2nd-mid 3rd century.

May-June 2013. Trial trenching and archaeological excavation. The site is north of the village centre. There are cropmark sites (EHER 11533) to the west of the site which (together with cremation burials excavated by Maldon Archaeological and Historical Group, EHER 47319) indicate that there is a Roman farmstead or villa west of the current site. The evaluation and excavation jointly revealed five ditches, two pits and eight postholes. There are three parallel groups of features here which appear to define part of a small Roman farmstead, probably of 2nd-mid 3rd century date. First, two ditches defining a trackway; second, a right-angle of ditches aligned on the trackway; third, a rectangular post-built structure to the north of the ditches. Although none of the posthole are dated, they follow the alignment of the Roman landscape so closely that a Roman date can be suggested (the lack of finds may indicate that it was an animal house, rather than domestic accommodation). Notable finds include fragments of briquetage, which may have been brought to the site from nearby red hills. These ditches are very likely to be part of the Roman farming estate evident in the adjacent cropmarks and cremation burials to the west. Presumably this Roman estate also controlled the local red hills. <1>