Tenth century burh defence, 'Maldon Burh', Maldon (EHER 7766)

A burh, or fortified town, was built in 916 by Edward the Elder. It withstood a siege by East Anglian Danes in the following year. It has not been precisely located but is tentatively identified with the almost obliterated earthwork west of the town centre. No indication of internal arrangements survives, except for the alignment of London Road which seems to respect two former entrances. As at Witham, urban settlement seems to have developed around the burh entrances, although a town enclosure may have been added to the south side of the Maldon burh (see EHER 7718 for Saxon town of Maldon). The arrangement is similar enough to Witham to argue that extra-mural occupation is a distinctive characteristic of Essex burghal sites.

Built by Edward the Elder, said to have stood on the north side of London Road on the west outskirts of the town. 'Old plans show the work as two concentric rings of entrenchment, but two slight scarps in a field north of the road are all that now remains'. <1> According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 913 Edward the Elder encamped with part of his army at Maldon while the burh at Witham was being built. In 920 (should be 916) he returned and built a burh at Maldon. In 1740 Salmon (<3>) stated that three sides of the burh survived, enclosing around 22 acres, forming three sides of a square or oblong. The rest had been built over. In 1775 Strutt (<4>) published a plan and stated that the fortification consisted of a strong, encircling ramparted scarp within a 'fosse' or moat outside it. He put the area within at 220 x 290 yds and stated that, as now, London Road ran through the burh. Fitch mentioned that the 'Lodge garden' lay within the burh. The Ordnance Survey in 1949 reported that no definite trace of the earthwork remained. <2> - <6> The SMR states the burh was built in 919, it was besieged by Danes in 920. The burh lay on the west side of Maldon, crossed by the road to Chelmsford (London Road) and comprised two concentric rings covering possibly 22 acres. By 1921 (RCHM, <1>) only two slight scarps remained. Athelstan (924-939) established a mint at Maldon. A coin from it was in the Rome Forum hoard found in 1883. <7> <8> Rodwell suggested that the earthwork could be defences of a Roman town, and may represent an embanked Roman town of Trinovantes. <9> The burh was built in 916 by Edward the Elder. It withstood a siege by East Anglian Danes in the following year. It has not been precisely located but is tentatively identified with the almost obliterated earthwork west of the town centre. No indication of internal arrangements survives, except for the alignment of London Road which seems to respect two former entrances. As at Witham, urban settlement seems to have developed around the burh entrances, although a town enclosure may have been added to the south side of the Maldon burh (see EHER 7718 for Saxon town of Maldon). The arrangement is similar enough to Witham to argue that extra-mural occupation is a distinctive characteristic of Essex burghal sites (see EHER 7722 for later Saxon occupation outside the burh area). <10> <11> In 1986 the Maldon Archaeological Group published the compiled results of five years worth of observations on the top of Maldon hill postulating the site of the burh. Excavations at 20 Spital Road (EHER 14727-14729), St Peter's Hospital (EHER 14724-14726) and the EEV Site, Gate Street (EHER 14547-14549) have all uncovered large ditches on the postulated line of the burh. However, the individual ditch sections have been dated on the basis of their finds to the Early Iron Age, the twelfth century and the post-medieval period respectively. <12> Site Assessment: Similar to burh at Witham. Suggestion that Essex burhs are characterised by extra-mural occupation. <10> NRHE data transfer: In 913 AD King Edward camped at Maldon while the borough was constructed at Witham. He built a borough here in 919 AD which was besieged by the Danes in 920 AD. It stood on the west side of Maldon, crossed by the road to Chelmsford, and consisted of two concentric rings of entrenchment covering an area of possible twenty-two acres. In 1740 three sides were extant but by 1921 only two slight scarps in the field north of the London Road were all that remained. <1> <5> <6> November 1949. Field survey. The Lodge garden at Maldon lay within the Saxon camp. <13> A reduction of the plan from source <5> was superimposed over the 6 inch sheet, orientated by the London Road and the Lodge garden, but no trace of this earthwork found. <14> October 1976. Field survey. No extant remains of the earthworks seen in 1921 could be identified. Their suggested line would seem to follow the steep natural scarps bordering Dykes road, but the area is now largely covered by modern development. No Saxon or early Medieval finds have been reported from the area which has produced some Roman material as well as Bronze Age and Iron Age (EHER 7768 and EHER 7769). The only Saxon occupation evidence is from half a kilometre to the east in the centre of the present town. (EHER 7725). Rodwell's suggestion that the work may be Iron Age/Roman could well be correct. <15> TL844070. A substantial ditch was recorded NW of this NGR. It's line corresponds with that postulated for the Saxon burh and sherds of grass-tempered pottery possibly of 10th century date, came from its fill. <16> (See EHER 8029). Recent excavations at Maldon suggest that the supposition that the burh re-used an Iron Age hillfort cannot at present be sustained by the evidence available, but equally it cannot be ruled out. Enough evidence now exists to confirm that the plans of the burh drawn in the 18th century are broadly correct. Little archaeological material has been found within the burh, and the current hypothesis is that the burh was a temporary refuge, the main settlement developing along the present High Street to the East of the burh where finds of 9th-11th century date are relatively frequent. The burh certainly overlies a substantial Iron Age settlement, but so far no features of Iron Age date other than a couple of pits have been identified. The evidence suggests that the burh enclosed an area of 20 acres. There is no evidence of a Roman settlement. <17> See also <18> <19>.