Late Bronze Age ring ditch, Ardleigh Ring Ditch One, Vince's Farm (EHER 82002)

Ardleigh Ring ditch one was excavated in 1960, after the excavation of Ring ditch two. The pattern of this barrow seems very similar to the adjoining ring ditch; ditch two. Excavations revealed two Late Bronze Age Urns as Primaries and fragments of two others as Secondaries. Roman and Iron Age sherds within a foot of the top of the ditch imply that the barrow had silted appreciably at the ditch by Roman times but had not been completely levelled.

Ardleigh Ring ditch one was excavated in 1960, after the excavation of Ring ditch two. The pattern of this barrow seems very similar to the adjoining ring ditch; ditch two. Excavations revealed two Late Bronze Age Urns as Primaries and fragments of two others as Secondaries. Roman and Iron Age sherds within a foot of the top of the ditch imply that the barrow had silted appreciably at the ditch by Roman times but had not been completely levelled. The ring ditches outer ditch was up to 0.9m deep and 1.5-2.4m wide, U-profiled and steep sided to the north, rather more sloping sided in the other three sections. The lowest fills comprised a thin deposit of stony clay, described as 'pug', with gravelly layers of iron pan above it on the north side. A narrow strip of 'woodash' was recorded within the ditch of the south-western quadrant about 1.7m deep. Deposits of disturbed soil with some charcoal were recorded at a similar depth in the north-west quadrant. Four sherds of Bronze Age pottery were recovered within the south-west ditch quadrant, three sherds came from the north-east ditch quadrant. Four 'Belgic' and/or Roman sherds were found in the south-east ditch quadrant, at depths of up to 0.37m. Right in the centre of the barrow a hole, some three feet deep and about a square yard in area, had been cut into the gravel. The gravel so thrown out had been heaped up adjacent to the hole on the east side. Two late Bronze Age urns of enormous size had been placed over this hole upside down and so close that they were just gently touching each other. Those two urns were resting at the same level, (sixteen to seventeen inches below the present surface), but not in the bottom of this hole, as clean stoneless soil lay between these urns and the solid gravel nine inches below them. In this soil, just above the gravel, was a fragment of Bronze Age pottery. It appears then, that a hole had been prepared for this dual interment but nine inches of soil had silted back into the hole before the urns were placed in position, suggesting that some time had elapsed between the digging of the hole and the burial of the urns. The two Primary urns were both large and barrel-shaped, with texture similar to many others in the adjoining urnfield and without white grits. Ploughing had destroyed all but the top five inches of them. Urn "A” had the usual encrusted band three to four inches below the rim. Above and below this band there were spasmodic finger-tippings, and the band itself was finger-tipped but the rim was plain. Diameter l6½ inches at the rim and 17 inches just below the band. Urn “B" was unornamented except for finger-tipping along the top of the rim. There were two rivet-holes, one on either side of a crack. Diameter 15½2 inches at the rim and 16½ inches at four inches below the rim. In each urn were four or five small pieces of cremated bones and no ashes. In addition some two dozen Late Bronze Age sherds were found scattered about the barrow, mostly in the infilling of the ditch. Part of a thick bucket-shaped urn, the ware permeated with white grits and part of a globular urn; thin ware permeated with white grits. Finds other than that of the late Bronze Age included; part of a grey Roman pot with everted rim (EHER 2003), a sherd of coarse Iron Age C (EHER 82004) ware with double curve and part of grey Roman bowl with bead rim. <1> <2>