Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age dispersed settlement remains, land off Southminster Road (EHER 49520)

Trial-trenching in 2019 and subsequent excavation in 2020 recorded two groups of pits and postholes which probably represent the remains of a dispersed and unenclosed Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age settlement. The features yielded pottery of this date and a small assemblage of eight fragments of briquetage pedestals for use in the salt-making process.

October 2019. Trial trenching. Pits and possible postholes of Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age date were found at two separate locations within the site, in the West and SE. <1> July 2020. Archaeological excavation. In Areas 1 and 2, two groups of pits and postholes were recorded, which probably represent the remains of a dispersed and unenclosed Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age settlement. The larger group of pits and postholes in Area 1 produced a small assemblages of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age pottery and burnt flint. Significantly, one of the pits was also found to contain fragments of eight briquetage pedestals probably associated with salt-making. The smaller group of pits in Area 2 produced contemporary pottery in addition to structural daub fragments. This site provides an important addition to the emerging pattern of known Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements in the vicinity of Burnham-on-Crouch and also adds to the growing corpus of later prehistoric sites associated with salt-making on the River Crouch. <2>