Early to Late Iron Age agricultural use and possible ring ditches, Land East of Bromley Road, Lawford (EHER 49498)

An archaeological excavation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in June and July 2018 on land east of Bromley Road, Lawford, Essex. Two excavation areas had been identified based on the results of previous fieldwork; Area 1 targeted possible Bronze Age activity identified in the north-east corner of the northern field; with Area 2 focussing on Iron Age features identified within the south-west corner of the southern field of the site. The excavation identified an initial phase of occupation, probably in the Middle Iron Age, of agricultural activity within enclosures in Area 2 and extending to the north. The second and main phase of activity broadly dated to the Middle to Late Iron Age, and included a possible roundhouse, as evidenced by a ring gully, along with associated features in Area 2 and trackways defined by parallel ditch alignments in both areas. A third and final phase of activity, probably dating to the Late Iron Age, was represented by two extensive ditches in Area 2, though the exact function of these was unclear.

Evaluation, 2017 and Excavation, 2018 An archaeological excavation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in June and July 2018 on land east of Bromley Road, Lawford, Essex. Two excavation areas had been identified based on the results of previous fieldwork; Area 1 targeted possible Bronze Age activity identified in the north-east corner of the northern field; with Area 2 focussing on Iron Age features identified within the south-west corner of the southern field of the site. The earliest phase of activity probably dated to the Middle Iron Age and was associated with ditched enclosures identified towards the north of Area 2, though these yielded limited dating evidence and were mostly located beyond the areas of excavation. The second and major phase of occupation has been broadly dated to the Middle to Late Iron Age and included evidence of unenclosed domestic occupation and trackways, probably set within a much wider agricultural landscape, and included a possible roundhouse, as evidenced by a ring gully, along with associated features in Area 2 and trackways defined by parallel ditch alignments in both areas. A final period of activity has been tentatively dated to the Late Iron Age, though dating evidence has again been somewhat limited and it is possible that the ditches assigned to this period in Area 2 could be later than has been suggested. The combined results of the trial trenching and excavation suggest that the site was occupied predominantly during the Middle to Late Iron Age, with some limited evidence of earlier (Bronze Age) and later (Roman) activity. While the possible roundhouse gully suggests some level of settlement occupation, it is likely that the surrounding landscape was dominated by agricultural activity for much of the later prehistoric period, evidenced by the presence on this site and elsewhere of field systems and enclosures for agricultural land use. <1> <2>