Probable Roman inhumation cemetery near The Towers, Heybridge (EHER 7813)

Between 1873 to 1874, four stone coffins and one of lead were found in 'Barn Field', opposite 'The Towers' (EHER 46205), on land owned by Mr. E.H. Bentall. Two of the four stone coffins were donated, alongside the lead coffin, to Colchester Museum by Mr Bentall in 1875. Together with two combs found within the coffins, the coffin burials have been interpreted as representing a Roman inhumation cemetery at The Towers.

Between 1873 to 1874, four stone coffins and one of lead were found in 'Barn Field', opposite 'The Towers' (EHER 46205), on land owned by Mr. E.H. Bentall. Two of the four stone coffins were donated, alongside the lead coffin, to Colchester Museum by Mr Bentall in 1875. Together with two combs found within the coffins, the coffin burials have been interpreted as representing a Roman inhumation cemetery at The Towers. <1> <2> <3> A description of the coffins follows. In 1873 a coffin, thought to be of Ancaster stone, was reportedly found 30" below the surface in 'Barn Field', about 300 yards north-east of the church (TL 862 081?). It measured 6ft. 4 in. long by 24 1/2" at the head and 17 1/2" at the foot and contained bones, with a fragment of a wooden comb. <2> The coffin lid is in the Roman vaults in Colchester Museum. This coffin contained a well preserved skeleton of a man approximately 1.69m (5ft 6-7 ins) tall and roughly 25 yrs old. The wooden comb is now lost and the present whereabouts of the coffin structure is unknown. <1> <4> A lead coffin, roughly bent to shape, and covered with a slab of wood, had been found near the Ancaster stone coffin, some months prior. <2> <5> Fragments of the lead coffin are in a store at the Colchester Museum. They probably actually represent the remains of a lead-veneered coffin - the slab of wood that covered it may have been the actual coffin, to which sheets of lead were fixed. <1> <4> A bone comb, double-sided, with horse-head terminals, which is in Colchester Museum is said to have been found in a lead coffin at Heybridge. <2> <6> The comb presumably came from the lead coffin described above, and is 'characteristically late Roman'. <1> <4> In 1874 Mr John Piggot reported the discovery of three more stone coffins of a similar type, and from the same site; they were found near the first (Ancaster stone coffin) and each contained a skeleton. <2> <7> One of these was donated alongside the Ancaster coffin to the Colchester Museum in 1875, but its present whereabouts is unknown. <1> <4> NRHE data transfer: September 1976. Field survey. 'The Towers' has been demolished and a modern housing estate now covers the area. 'Barn Field' at TL 809 082 (name Barnfield Cottages) is now a playing field. No further finds have been reported from the area. <8> Note: The cemetery may be associated with the Romano-British town recorded at Elms Farm, see EHER 81914.