Middle Anglo-Saxon farmstead at land North of Colchester Road, Coggeshall (EHER 80256)

Two phases of a Middle Anglo-Saxon enclosed farmstead were revealed by excavation, and had been originally interpreted as the Northernmost extent of a Late Iron Age to Early Roman farmstead situated within the same site boundary and also investigated by the excavation. The earlier phase comprised three foundation trench-built and one post built structure within a subrectangular? enclosure. In the second phase, the earlier buildings were subsequently demolished and replaced by two foundation trench structures within a remodelled rectangular enclosure on the same alignment.

June 2021. Archaeological excavation. Upon excavation, Area 1 revealed the Western part of an unexpected enclosed farmstead, the morphology of which strongly suggested it belonged to the Middle Anglo-Saxon period; a suspicion confirmed by two radiocarbon dates. The enclosure was interpreted as broadly Roman by the evaluation. The Middle Anglo-Saxon farmstead is also a significant discovery for the region, considering the rarity of evidence for mid 7th to 9th century Anglo-Saxon settlement at a national scale. The remains were split into two phases based on the stratigraphy. The earlier phase comprised three foundation trench-built and one post built structure (the latter which extended for c. 57m), and a subrectangular? enclosure (c.49m x >72m across) on a WSW-ENE alignment. To the North of this ‘core settlement area’ lay a waterhole, and to the South lay two further post-built structures, as well as further linear and discrete features which continued beyond the excavation limit towards the brook. In the second phase, the earlier buildings were subsequently demolished and replaced by two foundation trench structures within a remodelled rectangular enclosure on the same alignment. The lack of any supporting pottery evidence from this site supports the claim that between the mid 7th to mid 9th centuries many areas, including in Essex, were aceramic. The current site appears to have been a new foundation, with no evidence for any Early Anglo-Saxon presence. This period has hitherto been absent from the archaeological record of the parish and in the wider hinterland of Colchester. Recent publications still reference the finds rich site of Wicken Bonhunt Farm – published in 1980 - as the key Middle Anglo-Saxon site excavated in the county. The recently discovered site at Coggeshall therefore represents a significant counterbalance in the archaeological record of Essex, both geographically and in terms of its character. This site is a complete contrast to the riches of Wicken Bonhunt Farm, which underlines that Middle Anglo-Saxon farmsteads can also be archaeologically elusive – even when subjected to geophysical survey and evaluation trenching – and, where located near to Roman villas for example, can incorporate much recycled ceramic building. The report defines this activity as occurring between AD650 and AD850 and for the purpose of indexing, the earlier phase has been attributed to AD650 to AD750 and the later phase AD750 to AD850. <1>