Cropmarks of possible Iron Age to Roman settlement at Redleg Plantation (EHER 253)
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Summary
A probable Iron Age and Roman settlement is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The site comprises at least two incomplete but overlapping rectilinear ditched enclosures, pits and a trackway leading south. The site extends over an area that measures circa 180m north / south by 130m wide and is split by a modern road. The overlapping enclosures suggest the site is of at least two phases. The site's morphology and fieldwalking finds from the general area suggest the settlement dates to the Iron Age and Roman periods.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TL 499 368 (206m by 215m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | WENDENS AMBO, UTTLESFORD, ESSEX |
Type and Period
- CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- DITCHED ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- SETTLEMENT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- STORAGE PIT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- TRACKWAY (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- PIT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
- RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 700 BC to 409 AD)
Description
Cropmarks comprising a series of overlapping rectangular enclosures cut by a farm track or road and a number of large pits, also a circular enclosure. <1> - <6>
NRHE data transfer:
A probable Iron Age and Roman settlement is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The site is centred at TL 4997 3689 and comprises at least two incomplete but overlapping rectilinear ditched enclosures, pits and a trackway leading south. The site extends over an area that measures circa 180m north / south by 130m wide and is split by a modern road.
The northernmost enclosure is centred at TL 4998 3692 and measures circa 70m east / west by 60m north / south. Only the western part of the southernmost enclosure is visible. It is centred at TL 4995 3687 and measures circa 100m north / south. Its eastern side could be obscured or perhaps destroyed by the road. A number of pits are dispersed over the area to the south of the enclosures and could be domestic storage pits. The trackway is defined by parallel narrow ditches which extend between TL 4997 3679 and TL 4998 3683.
The overlapping enclosures suggest the site is of at least two phases. The site's morphology and fieldwalking finds from the general area suggest the settlement dates to the Iron Age and Roman periods. <7> - <10>
Systematic fieldwalking undertaken between 1979 and 1982 provides further evidence to support a Iron Age/Roman date for these features. See EHER 6728 for further details. <11>
Sources
- <1> SEX1409 DESC TEXT: Priddy, D.A.. unknown. Priddy, DA.
- <2> SEX1410 Aerial Photograph: Unknown. 1972. BIF 49.
- <3> SEX61316 Aerial Photograph: Saunders, H.. 2002. CP/02/03/06,07.
- <4> SEX67545 Aerial Photograph: Saunders, H.. 2007. CP/07/07/08-12.
- <5> SEX22419 Map: Ingle, C.J., Strachan, D., Tyler, S. and Saunders, H.. 1993-2017. NMP Cropmark Plot - 1:10,000. paper. 1:10,000.
- <6> SEX74487 Aerial Photograph (Digital): Saunders, H.. 2019. EX19/10/019-022.
- <7> SEX75778 Collection: Various. Various. Historic England Archive. NMR RAF/106G/UK/1635 2151-2152 09-JUL-1946.
- <8> SEX75778 Collection: Various. Various. Historic England Archive. CUCAP BIF49-BIF50 8-MAY-1972.
- <9> SEX75778 Collection: Various. Various. Historic England Archive. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: TL5035 19-JUN-2000.
- <10> SEX75778 Collection: Various. Various. Historic England Archive. MD002678.
- <11> SEX14332 Article in serial: Williamson, T.. 1986. The Development of Settlement in North West Essex. The results of a recent field survey. Essex Archaeology and History. 17. 120-132. p 130, table 4.
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Events (2)
Other References
- Old SMR Number: TL53-089
- NRHE identifier: 1511940
- National Monuments Record: TL 43 NE 151