Late Bronze Age to early Iron Age post-built structures at land west of Stortford Road, Clavering (EHER 49630)

During excavations undertaken by Wardell Armstrong following trial trenching in 2022, fifty-four features were identified. The site was multiperiod, but the two main periods were late Bronze Age to early Iron Age and medieval. The former included three dispersed ‘C’-shaped ditches representing roundhouses, a six-post structure, and a ditch. The medieval period was represented by ditches and pits, most notably a substantial recut boundary ditch running on the same SW-NE alignment as a nearby trackway shown on the 1st edition OS map. A second E-W aligned boundary ditch was also re-cut, and both ditches continued into the postmedieval period, containing predominantly medieval but also smaller amounts of postmedieval finds. The two ditches went out of use by the late 18th/early 19th before the modern field pattern was created in the 19th century. Notable finds from the two main ditches include, a 12th century horse goad, a mid 14th century coin of Edward III, and a late medieval copper alloy purse bar fragment.

2022. Trial trenching. The evaluation comprised the excavation of twenty trenches, archaeological remains were found in all trenches including a series of ditches and gullies, pits and a posthole. Four features on the site were associated with late Bronze Age to early Iron Age pottery. <1> 2022. Excavation. During excavations undertaken by Wardell Armstrong following trial trenching in 2022, fifty-four features were identified. The site was multiperiod, but the two main periods were late Bronze Age to early Iron Age and medieval. The former included three dispersed ‘C’-shaped ditches representing roundhouses, a six-post structure, and a ditch. <2>