Post-medieval field boundaries and pond feature at Bulls Lodge Quarry, Boreham (EHER 80631)

An archaeological watching brief following topsoil removal at Bulls Lodge Quarry identified three late post-medieval ditches which are thought to aligned to a much older boundary. Two pits were also found, one was undated and the other was a post-medieval pond.

October 2021. Watching brief. Archaeological excavation following topsoil removal identified three ditches and two pits in the Western extent of the monitored area. The ditches correspond with the layout of the historic field boundaries in this area as depicted on the historic mapping. They also link to features recorded in the nearby phases of works. Whilst the artefacts recovered from these ditches were largely of late post-medieval date there is the potential for them to have earlier, perhaps late medieval/earlier post-medieval, origins. This is particularly the case for the W-E ditch which contained residual medieval pottery and runs along the route of the historic parish boundary between Little Waltham and Boreham. Such a boundary is likely to run along an older feature. The first of the pits was round, shallow and undated, containing no finds. The other pit was a large irregularly-shaped, pond-like feature, 32m by 19.5m at its greatest extents. It is depicted on early editions of the Ordnance Survey dating to the late 19th century and is probably of a similar post-medieval date to the ditches. <1>