Roman finds and midden or ditch, from 5 properties on Carmen Street ('No.s 1-5'), Great Chesterford (EHER 4960)

A watching brief in 1978 recovered Roman material and recorded a possible midden or ditch at Carmen Street.

1978. Watching brief. Five houses were constructed on three properties on Carmen Street. House 1: coin of Constans, early 3rd-4th century pottery, oyster shells. House 2: sewer trench revealed a large midden or ditch (section and map on back of old SMR sheet). Houses 3, 4 and 5 report pottery of various dates. <1> <2> A watching brief was undertaken on the construction of Nos 1–5 Carmen Street. <3> Note that sources <1> and <3> attribute the address of the discoveries to 1-5 Carmen Street but this is an error which has arisen from a mis-reading of the EHER paper record (<1>). The modern addresses of the properties are 1 - Bartle House; 2 - Glinton Cottage; 3 - 1 Delles Cottage; 4 - 2 Delles Cottage; 5 - Hayloft Cottage. It appears from the documentation that all properties were built in this year, however the architectural styles vary greatly and, as such, the watching briefs may have been on extensions or other associated features. The title of this record has been updated to reflect this. The sketch plan on the EHER paper record (<2>) also does not include Clematis Cottage (EHER 25345) which most certainly was extant in 1978, having been built in the mid 19th century. This record had been mapped to roughly reflect to extent of 'The Delles' (where House 5 is situated) but has been updated to reflect the dispersed nature of the material recovered.