Roman enclosure, Lifehouse Spa, Frinton Road (EHER 80430)

Evaluation works at the Lifehouse Spa revealed a pit and ditch both dating to the Roman period along with two undated ditches potentially making up a wider enclosure.

Evaluation, 2023 The pit was uncovered at the easternmost end of trench two, and was sub-circular in plan with gentle sides and a flattish base. Pottery from the feature was found in abundance and solely from a decorated early 1st-century Roman flask. The feature was fully excavated to obtain a full finds assemblage. A second pit was uncovered towards the western end of trench four. The feature was sub-circular in plan with steep sides and a concave base and contained no finds. Ditch two was first excavated in the centre of trench two on a north-south alignment, and continued into trenches three and four. The feature had sloped sides, a concave base and a U-shaped profile. Finds recovered from the ditch included a flue-tile fragment along with well-stratified 2nd-century Roman pottery fragments. The feature was originally identified during a cropmark survey. Ditch three was also uncovered in the centre of trench two on an east-west alignment and was truncated by ditch two. The undated ditch had gentle sloped sides and a concave base. Ditch four was uncovered in the centr a number of ditch features which may e of trench eight on an east-west alignment. The feature had sloped sides and a flattish base. Despite being undated, ditch four had been identified as a ringed linear feature from a cropmark survey. Ditch five was excavated at the eastern end of trench four on an east-west alignment and continued eastwards into trench five. It had steep sides and a flat base. The results suggest that there was a Roman presence both within and possibly adjacent to the development area. And although the evaluation results did not provide a definitive synopsis of the activity, there certainly is evidence of a rectangular enclosure along with the potential for more accompanying features to be on site. <1>