Prehistoric features and finds on land north of Clacton Road, Elmstead Market (EHER 80451)

The trial trenching evaluations revealed features and finds dating from the Prehistoric to Post-Medieval periods. Prehistoric features made up 5% of all features comprising of ten features, three of which could be more closely-dated to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, and included the discovery of a barbed and tanged arrowhead.

Evaluation, 2022 Ten prehistoric features were uncovered during the trial trench evaluation in addition to finds. Pit F77 produced the largest single prehistoric assemblage of finds from the site, which consisted of 59 sherds of Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age pottery, including fragments of an angular bipartite jar, and 23 pieces of burnt flint. A Late Bronze Age barbed and tanged arrowhead (c 2500-1500 BC) was the only find from pit F148 (T45) and may represent a deliberate deposit. In trench 48, nine sherds of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery, including part of a shouldered jar with an upright rim, came from pit/ditch F191. Not closely-datable, and producing only a very small quantity of finds (1-4 items each), were pits F84 and F92, ditches F179 and F201, and tree-throw F181/F182. Material from these five features could prove to be residual in later-dated features but, if not, there does appear to be a slight concentration of prehistoric activity in the southeastern third of the site. Prehistoric finds (pottery and flint) were also recovered from a further 14 later-dated features. These features were scattered across the development site, but again with perhaps am slight concentration to the south-east. Interestingly, a number of prehistoric features were excavated on land south of Clacton Road, c 200m from the current site (CAT Report 1575) where features mirrored, in size and shape, an adjacent ring-ditch which held the remains of a cremated adult, and they may therefore have had an associated ceremonial function. Although small in scale, prehistoric remains found during the current evaluation would suggest that Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age activity continued to the north of these burial/ceremonial features. <1>