SEX39996 - The Maldon Burh Jigsaw

Summary from record SEX73833: For five years, the Maldon Archaeological Group has been trying to find the site of the Saxon burh or fort, built in 916 by King Alfred the Great's son Edward the Elder, as a defence against Danish invaders. In 1985, excavation in the back garden of No. 20 Spital Road showed that an earth bank is probably part of the burh defences, and may even be of prehistoric origin. With this discovery, other clues collected earlier are beginning to come together like the pieces of a jigsaw, some pieces fitting well and some not, whilst of course there are gaps in the picture which remain to be filled. This booklet contains the jigsaw pieces available for reconstructing the plan of the burh. In so doing, it reports the progress of the Burh Research Committee and describes the excavations at 20 Spital Road. Included are some suggestions as to how and where we might look for more clues and a brief overview of Maldon's early development in the light of recent discoveries.