Late prehistoric cropmarks including Late Neolithic to Bronze Age enclosure, north of Mill House Farm (EHER 1750)

Multi-period cropmarks recorded at this location include ring ditches, linear-curved features, trackway, enclosures and pits, many of which date from the late prehistoric period. Trial trenching in 2010 produced limited dating evidence for these features, but almost all of the pottery recovered dated from the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Cropmarks centred on above NGR include ring ditches, linear-curved features, trackway, enclosures and pits. <1> In fields north of Mill House and High House Farm, next to High House Lane-ring ditch cut by hedge, ditch alignments. These at TQ 658 790. At TQ 659 791 a ring ditch, linear features, apsidally-ended feature. At TQ 658 793, in fields north of Mill House and High House Farm, next to High House Lane, shows ring ditch cut by hedge, ditch alignments. See <2> in <1> <5> <6> Cropmarks of ring ditch and pair of parallel ditches, centred TQ 658 791, on <3>. Circular cropmark, bisected by a hedge, no evidence of an entrance, estimated diameter 90'. Perhaps a barrow, size rules out possibility of an iron age round-house. <4> <5> Three aerial photographs in record. <6><7> Site of Low Street enclosure (1st century military?). One of a group of small rectangular enclosures in southern Essex 'they cannot be called forts but their defensive nature is not in doubt'. Rodwell suggests they may be 'works compounds, administrative bases, or collection centres on an imperial estate'. <1> <8> <9> <10> <11> The Survey of West Tilbury Ao1581 vltimo die augusti Written survey with map extracts, in original language. <12> 2010. Trial trenching. An archaeological evaluation (trial trenching) in the field to the north of Mill House Farm revealed a ring ditch, gullies enclosure, ditches, pits and postholes. Few of the features produced dating evidence, but the pottery recovered was consistently Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. <13> See also desk-based assessment produced by field archaeology unit <14>. See also aerial photograph assessment <15>. Cropmarks of enclosures, possible pits and field boundaries were recorded on aerial photographs taken in 2019 <16> A ring ditch or circular enclosure is visible as a cropmark on air photographs. Harding and Lee include it in their (1987) henge gazetteer <18>, where they consider it unlikely to belong to the henge class. Their principal source is said to be Priddy and Buckley (1987) <19>. From the information given, they are presumably referring to Priddy and Buckley's circular enclosure no. 14, although it is impossible to be certain given the lack of information provided in both publications' gazetteers. Priddy and Buckley describe the enclosure as being approximately 60 metres in diameter. There are gaps on the east and west side, but these broadly coincide with a modern field boundary, so need not be original. Obvious points of comparison, other than henges, are the Late Bronze Age circular enclosures known elsewhere in Essex such as Mucking and Springfield Lyons. <17> <18> <19>