Post-medieval field boundaries and quarry pits at land North of Colchester Road, Coggeshall (EHER 80254)

Archaeological evaluation revealed two post-medieval field boundaries along with up to five possible quarry pits. The field boundaries were again observed in Areas 2 and 3 during the excavation.

February 2017. Geophysical survey. Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd undertook a geophysical (magnetometer) survey on land east of Coggeshall, Essex, covering 17 hectares, to inform a planning application. Anomalies were identified which are due to post-medieval agriculture. <1> November 2020. Archaeological evaluation. Archaeological remains were identified in forty-five out of ninety-one trenches. Two post-medieval field boundaries were recorded along with up to five possible quarry pits. Evaluation Trenches 72 and 78 unearthed two parallel ditches, c.4.8m apart, which defined a trackway that led north from Colchester Road to the site of the Period 4 windmill.<2> June 2021. Archaeological excavation. During the previous phase of evaluation trenching conducted by ASE, Trenches 18, 19, 25, 50, 59 and 62 revealed elements of post-medieval and modern field boundaries extending across the Western part of the development site. One of these boundary ditches entered Area 2 from the NW. Further boundary ditches entered Area 2 from the West and North. Area 3 revealed a further field boundary ditch which traversed the eastern end of the excavation on a SSW-NNE alignment. <3>