Nos. 41 to 55
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ESSEX SOCIETY FOR ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY (Founded as the Essex Archaeological Society in 1852) Digitisation Project ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS WINTER 1972 TO SUMMER 1976 (Nos. 41 to 55) 2014 ESAH REF: N1041055 Essex Archaeological News Winter 1972 Essex Archaeolqgical Society NEWSLETTER No. 41 WINTER, 1972 CONTENTS Preface 1 Conm1en t . .......... .. 2 Wal tham. A.bbey ......................... .. 5 Lectures at Waltham Abbey •.......•••••• 6 Si ble Hedingham •.••••.•.•..•••••.•..... 7 Rivenhall ............................. 9 T!le M .11 •.......•..•.....••........•.•. 11 W.E.A. Courses in Essex 12 Pyrgo Palace, Havering .••••••...•••..•• 13 Plaudit for County Hall ..•.•••••••••••• 15 The Annual Archaeological Symposium 17 Dlm..mow ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 19 Little London, Chigwell •••.•••••••.•••• 21 Unstratified .......................... 22 The Cover illustration is of a Celtic Horseman in relief-decoration on a potsherd found at Kelvedon. Illustration by Kirsty Rodwell. This Newsletter is compiled and edited by John E. Sellers, 1 Chignall Road, Chelmsford, CMl 2JA for the Publications Committee, E.A.S. ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER PREFACE The winds of change have been blowing gustily in the Society's publications. The Publications Committee having been briefed to improve -communications with members, and to polish the Society image, has produced new ·formats for both the Transactions and the Newsletter. So you will see these in their new form, an evolVing form, because both need to be adaptable. There have been changes in the organisational side as well; Mr L.H. Gant has resigned after being Editor of the Transactions for some twelve years, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his unstinted effort in the face of ever~increasing difficulties~ Mr D.T-D. Clarke has taken over the reins. Mr J. S. Apple by, Secretary for the last thirteen years, is retiring from that post with the ending of the year, and handing over at that time to myself. In . the meantime, the Publications Committee has taken responsibility for the Newsletter. · John E. Sellers 2 The problem of our time appeare to be inflat-ion, escalation, call it what you will. The fact is that the p01md today does not buy what the pound bought yesterday. Not that this is anything new: a table . of wages in front of me gives the weekly wage of a skilled carpenter as :- in the 13th century 21 pence in. the 15th century 39 pence in the 17th century Ss. 6d. by 1800 16s. 7-M. by 1900 37s_. 11~. and by now you can virtually read pounds for the 'shillings of 1900. So we have seen it all before, but the important point is that the proportional rate of· change is . constantly changing, and is now . increasing at a pace which can only be described . as 'galloping' • · It is this rate of change which is respon_sible for the hard look which many societies and professional institutions are giving to their subscription rates. A letter which cost fourpence to post two years ago now costs the equivalent of 7.2 old pence; the same increase is true of printing costs, labour, materials and all the things which enable a large organisation to communicate. So it is that the E.A.S. decided that in order to survive the subscription rate must be more than doubled. Not that inflation is limited to finance •••• 3 Conunent both population and technology are exploding~ '!he former is leading to a steady increase in the _demand for urban facilities, new housing areas, better roads to new places, and the .latter has provided the means of attaining vast earth-moving machines which sweep away the past and present to make way for the future. Now add to this that the same machines enable quarrying on a scale previously unknown, so that gravel pits expand hungrily across the countryside; and alsq enable the farmer to dispense with the odd awkward earthwork which has been in the way for generations, by removing it in an afternoon, or remove the ancient hedgerows which follow old boundaries, in order to open up his ploughland. All this means that archaeological evidence is being constant~ lost for ever. '!he 'Rescue' organisation, of which you will all have heard, suggests that the density of archaeological sites is four per square mile. '!he latter statement being based on the work in advance of the M4 and M5 by Peter Fowler. So we are living with an increasing problem, dare I say an inflating problem, of the need for rescue excavations to snatch the necessary information and record it for posterity, wherever earthmoving or demol1tion' ar.e planned. For this reason, this 120th year of the Society has seen more activity in the field than ever before. A quick count· shows that E.A.S. has und·ertaken eight major excavations during the year which have been subsidised by the Department of the Environment. E.A.S. have also been associated with the Chelmsford EKcavation Conuni ttee, which has been digging throughout the year. 4 CoJJDnent Outside the Society other Excavation CoDDnittees, societies and in particular the Mll CoDDnittees, have been at work and at least severi major excavations have taken place this.year. Every excavation must be fully aDd correctly published, which means that most of the full publications will eventually appear in the Society Transactions; it is in these that Essex archaeology has been recorded for the century past, and in which Essex archaeology will continue to be recorded for the centuries to come. Providing, that is, any archaeological evidence remdns to be eX:cavated, and provided that the Transactions continue. It is a sobering thought that we must say such a thing, but with the prices rising and the potential contents rising it is obviously going to be an expensive business producing the Transactions. The length of the ptiblication may well have to be increased to cope with the flow of data. Admittedly the Department has generously subsidised publications of excavations in which ,it has been involved, but this is only assistance, and welcome as it is, will not, and is not intended to, meet the full costs. Which.brings me ·to the punch line, if so it can be termed: in order to spread the preparation costs it is nec·essary to sell more copies, and, as the President said in his recent letter to the membership, our membership number tnust be built up. So we are back to inflation, of subs~ribing members, and this is the aim of the present Council. 5 WALTHAM ABBEY 1972 has been a busy year for the Waltham Abbey Historical Society, and it began with the rescue. ·excavation of .a medieval building (TL 383008) over which an access road into a car park was planned. The building was aisled, had three bays, and was l5.7m. long by lO.lm. wide. Evidence of iron, bronze and lead working showed the building to have been: a forge serving the monastery. A well inside the building had been lined with two oak casks (a ~ and a· tun) which partially survived. The 11th _and 12th century occupation beneath the building featured gullies, pits, postholes and a double palisade fence with a gateway.· Associated pottery was mainly shell-tempered ware. This excavation began at Easter and the finds were of-such interest that the line of the access road was changed so that the plan could be laid out on tne ·ground for the benefit of vi sitors. Further excavation took place in July and the conservation of the remains, by the local Society, was started in October. The well has already been remade using two modern pip9s and a hogshead. The work was directed by Peter Huggins who is · a member of the Council of the Essex Archaeological Society; the excavation was supported by a grant from the Department of the Environment, .and the local Park Authority is financing the conservation. In August and'September Tony·Musty carried out trial trenching inside the monastic precinct where the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority are proposing to build a museum. The remains of at •••• 6 Waltham Abb~ ····~least five medieval buildings were discovered, which probably included the monastic brewhouse, or bakehouse, and also a length of the precinct wall. This work, which has thrown some light on the medieval occupation, was financed by the ·Department of the Environment. Tn March, Adrian Havercroft excavated for the Department of the Environment on the site of the Chapter House of the Augustinian Abbey, which the Department has taken into guardianship. The Chapter House is of rectangular· type and is one of the largest in England of this plan. Further work will be carried out for the Department in November and December. ++++++ LECTURES AT WALTHAM ABBEY The following lectures have been arranged to take place in 1973. These will be at the Red Cross ijall, Waltham Abbey, at 8.00 pm. The arra.Ilgeme!ltS are made by the Waltham Abbey Historical Society and all E.A.S. members ar~ welcome to attend. Tuesday 6th February: Medieval Pottery, by Rhona Huggins. Tuesday 3rd April: 1972 Ex:cavations at Waltham Abbey, by Peter Huggins. 7 SIBLE HEDINGHAM Since July 1971 Elizabeth and John Sellers, together with a group of helpers, have been excavating a kiln site at Hole Farm, Sible Hedingham, on behalf of the E.A.S. and the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments. The first kiln became apparent during the topsoil clearance by machine in preparation for the laying of concrete. The excavation started as a 'rush' rescue, but when the extent and importance of the find was realised, the farmer, Miss D. Hulkes, arranged for the concrete platform to stop short of the kiln area and the site was made available for long-term investigation.