Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 759: summary

Archaeological trial-trenching evaluation: land north of Elmstead Road, Colchester, Essex - February 2014
by Ben Holloway (with contributions from -)

Date report completed: March 2014
Location: land north of Elmstead Road, Colchester, Essex
Map reference(s): TM 0221 2442
File size: 1,955 kb
Project type: Evaluation by trial-trenching
Significance of the results: *
Keywords: medieval

Summary. This site on the eastern side of Colchester is close to the projected course of a Roman road and to the Bronze Age barrow cemetery to the south on the Knowledge Gateway site. Six evaluation trenches (total length 175m) revealed five archaeological features: a medieval pit, three medieval ditches (a trackway?), and a natural pit. The medieval ditches are probably associated with a medieval phase of Salary Farm, to the south. The western part of the site has been terraced, so that topsoil directly seals natural ground. This (as well as water-logging due to Salary Brook), may account for the lack of archaeological material on the site’s western side.