Nineenth to twentieth century finds assemblage, Northey Island (EHER 49750)

A watching brief and metal detector survey in 2022 recovered a fragment of shrapnel from an anti-aircraft shell of Second World War date; three undated, crude lead weights that may have functioned as net weights for fishing, and a complete cylindrical copper-alloy whistle of later 19th or 20th century date.

April 2022. Watching brief and metal detector survey. Archaeological monitoring was carried out during groundworks for the undergrounding of a set of overhead electricity cables. The investigations identified only a small assemblage of metal artefacts, predominantly of modern date or undatable, recovered through metal detecting from the topsoil. This may reflect the relatively small footprint of the cable trench, and its route across what used to be agricultural fields. A total of eighteen metal objects of various materials were recovered from the topsoil. Many of the objects consist of undated fragments of lead, copper alloy or iron that probably represents material scattered on the field through manuring practices from the post-medieval period onwards. The assemblage includes a fragment of shrapnel from an anti-aircraft shell of Second World War date; three undated, crude lead weights that may have functioned as net weights for fishing, and a complete cylindrical copper-alloy whistle of later 19th or 20th century date. <1>