Late Iron Age enclosed cremation cemetery, Maldon Hall Farm (EHER 7989)

A small rectangular Late Iron Age enclosed cremation cemetery which was first recorded as a cropmark. It was excavated in 1989 and three of nine of the excavated pits contained cremation burials of Aylesford-Swarling Type. It was the first enclosed cemetery of its type to be discovered in Essex.

A small rectangular cropmark, subdivided into two unequal parts, with the smaller part at the east end. It is aligned east-west, and there is a possible inturned entrance at the east end. <1> <2> See also <3> <4> <5>. July-August 1989. Archaeological excavation. A small rectangular cropmark enclosure, measuring 23.5m by 15m, investigated in advance of a borrow pit for the Maldon bypass, was found to be the site of a small enclosed cemetery dating to the second half of the first century BC. The largest feature was the rectangular enclosure ditch with no entrance. The fills were consistent, and the profile regular. Nine pits, most of them less than a metre in diameter, were excavated within the enclosed area. Seven were shallow with flat bottoms and steep sides. Five contained few or no finds. Three of the nine pits excavated contained cremation burials of Aylesford-Swarling Type. A selection of pedestal urns and bowls, all in the same grog-tempered ware were recovered. Metal finds included a silver brooch an iron disc and fragments of copper alloy. The pottery and other grave goods suggest a date in the second half of the first century BC. This is the first enclosed cemetery of its type to be discovered in Essex, although similar cemeteries are known from Hertfordshire. <6> <7> Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import.