Late Iron Age to Roman settlement, land east of Heckfords, Heckfords Road, Great Bentley (EHER 49607)

Evidence from evaluation and excavation points to a thriving settlement that produced both textiles and metalwork in an agricultural landscape. A series of irregular field boundaries, possibly delineating seven fields, was identified indicating an area in constant use over a few hundred years. The vast majority of the finds recovered were pottery sherds, although a rare pyramidal loomweight was also discovered. This site is the first in the Great Bentley area that provides evidence for a thriving settlement in the Late Iron Age to early Roman period.

Excavation and Evaluation, 2021 An archaeological evaluation and excavation was carried out on land east of Heckfords, Heckfords Road, Great Bentley, Essex, in advance of a residential development. There are several sites of cropmarks surrounding the development site, including ring-ditches, enclosures and other linear features. The work included a 13 trench evaluation and an open area excavation, covering an area of 15,326 square meters. A total of 287 features were uncovered. The main phase of activity on the site was centred around the Late Iron Age to early Roman period, with a small amount of medieval/post-medieval activity detailed in EHER 81808. Evidence points to a thriving settlement that produced both textiles and metalwork in an agricultural landscape. A series of irregular field boundaries, possibly delineating seven fields, was identified indicating an area in constant use over a few hundred years. The vast majority of the finds recovered were pottery sherds, although a rare pyramidal loomweight was also discovered. This site is the first in the Great Bentley area that provides evidence for a thriving settlement in the Late Iron Age to early Roman period. <1>