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Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 63: summary

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Gryme's Dyke, Stanway Green: a short assessment of the archaeological impact of contractor's groundworks at the southern end of the Gryme's Dyke Middle earthwork - February 2000
by Benfield, S

Date report completed: February 2000
Location: Gryme's Dyke Middle, Stanway, Colchester, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 963 233
File size: 3,898 kb
Project type: Evaluation
Significance of the results: neg
Keywords: Scheduled Ancient Monument, earthworks, town defences, Gryme's Dyke

Summary. The site, which is located at the southern end of the Gryme's Dyke Middle earthwork (Scheduled Ancient Monument 10h), was visited at the request of Colchester Museum Service in relation to a possible breach of the Scheduled Ancient Monuments Act. The halted work had progressed to a point where four small trenches (approximately 2.0 x 1.0 m by up to 1.0 m deep) had been excavated into the area of the earthwork rampart, which at this point slopes down from a crest height of approximately 2.0 m just to the north of the site to about 0.5 m on the site area. A record of the site was made consisting of an annotated measured sketch plan with measured depths of deposits, and photographs. Observations of the trench sections showed that much of the area had previously been badly disturbed by existing cable trenches down to a level approximating to, or below, the modern surrounding ground surface, and most of the excavation had taken place within their backfill. Clean silty sand and gravel deposits at the base of the trenches may represent the natural subsoil, though this could not be confirmed. However, on the western side of the site, levels of disturbance were much less. Here subsoil deposits which could not be differentiated from those in the base of the trenches occur to a height of between 0.2 and 0.4 m above the modern ground level and probably represent remains of the earthwork bank. The proposed groundworks include the digging of a further trench, approximately 1.0 x 1.0 m and 1.0 m deep, sited in these deposits.