Elsenham Quarry Extension, Pledgdon Wood, Elsenham, Essex
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Elsenham Quarry Extension, Pledgdon Wood, Elsenham, Essex Archaeological Recording Action by Genni Elliott Site Code: EQE13/156 (ELSE06) (TL 5512 2654) Elsenham Quarry Extension, Pledgdon Wood, Elsenham, Essex An Archaeological Recording Action For Viridor Waste Management Ltd by Genni Elliot Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code EQE 13/156 ELSE06 February 2014 Summary Site name: Elsenham Quarry Extension, Pledgdon Wood, Elsenham, Essex Grid reference: TL 5512 2654 Site activity: Recording Action Date and duration of project: 12th–17th October 2013 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Genni Elliot Site code: EQE 13/156 Area of site: c.1.2 Ha Summary of results: A small number of pits and postholes, some of which were of Iron Age date, were recorded scattered widely across the area. The function of these is unclear. A small collection of Neolithic and/or Bronze Age flintwork with one piece possibly of Mesolithic date also point to some earlier activity within this landscape, Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Uttlesford Museum in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. All TVAS unpublished fieldwork reports are available on our website: www.tvas.co.uk/reports/reports.asp. Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 18.02.14 Steve Preston 18.02.14 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website: www.tvas.co.uk Elsenham Quarry Extension, Pledgdon Wood, Elsenham, Essex An Archaeological Recording Action by Genni Elliot Report 13/156 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological recording action carried out at Elsenham Quarry, Elsenham, Essex (TL 5512 2654) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Richard Steward, on behalf of Viridor Waste Management Ltd, Peninsula House, Rydon Lane, Exeter EX2 7HR. Planning permission (app no ESS/13/08/UTT) has been granted by Essex County Council to create an additional compound area and overburden extraction area, which is an extension to an original permission (app ESS/51/03/UTT) and is subject to a condition (26), requiring the provision of an archaeological survey prior to the commencement of work. This is in accordance with both the County Council’s and Uttlesford District’s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Richard Havis, Senior Historic Environment Advisor to Essex County Council. The fieldwork was undertaken by Genni Elliot between the 12th and 17th October 2013 and the site code is EQE 13/156 (ELSE06). The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited at Uttlesford Museum in due course. Location, topography and geology The site comprises a roughly triangular plot of land just south of the existing extraction areas of Elsenham quarry, to the east of Elsenham and just west of Pledgdon Wood near Pledgdon Green in Essex (TL 5512 2654) (Fig. 1). The quarry site is at an elevation of 100m above Ordnance Datum, sloping down overall by about 10m from east to west. To the north is a valley cut by a small stream that feeds into Stansted Brook to the west. The underlying geology is mapped as boulder clay (till) over Woolwich and Reading beds (BGS 1990). The geology observed on site was mainly boulder clay with pockets of sandy gravel. Archaeological background The Elsenham area has a range of sites and finds recorded from the early prehistoric period to the medieval, although Elsenham itself is not historically of much note. Extensive excavations (8.5ha) prior to the initial quarrying of the site in 2006 revealed extensive occupation dating between the Iron Age and Early Saxon period. 1 The main periods of use of the site lay in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD and in the later 3rd and 4th centuries, with most evidence coming from dateable land divisions, although pyre-related funerary debris was found in the northern part of the site. No convincing building remains were found but these must have been present, judging from the density of pottery and pits (Hammond and Preston 2012). Prior to 2006, the closest significant archaeological finds were a series of cropmarks visible on aerial photographs, about 1km to the east of the site, interpreted as a field system, probably dating from the Iron Age or Roman period. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic flints, Neolithic flints and pottery, and further finds less securely dated, possibly including Saxon burials, are all recorded from the Pledgdon sand pit to the west. The area also has a number of deserted or shrunken medieval villages. Only a light background scatter of Roman finds had previously been recorded. More recent evaluation to the north of the existing quarry has revealed addition deposits of Iron Age, Roman and Medieval settlement and landscape (NA 2011). The archaeology of the broader region is dominated by recent work at Stansted Airport (Havis and Brooks 2004; FA 2008). Among the results of the work at Stansted is the demonstration that the area was being cleared of trees at least as early as 3000 BP. with a large number of small sites of various periods, relatively closely spaced, showing that the claylands were not by any means as barren as used to be thought. Objectives and methodology The general objectives of the project were to: excavate and record all archaeological deposits and features within the areas threatened by the development; produce relative and absolute dating and phasing for deposits and features recorded on the site; establish the character of these deposits in attempt to define functional areas on the site such as industrial, domestic, etc; and produce information on the economy and local environment and compare and contrast this with the results of other excavations in the region. The specific research aims of the project were to: determine when the site was first occupied; determine when the site was abandoned; and determine what activities were taking place on the site. It was proposed to strip the area (c.1.2ha) within the footprint of the new contractor’s compound. Topsoil and subsoil were to be removed by a 360°-type machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket, under constant archaeological supervision. All spoil heaps were to be monitored for finds and where archaeological features were present they were to be cleaned and excavated using hand tools. Machines were not allowed to track over stripped areas until archaeological recording had been completed. 2 Results The excavation was undertaken as planned and an area measuring c.1.2ha was stripped of topsoil and any subsoil (51) to reveal the natural boulder clay. This was sub-divided into three areas: A, B and C (Fig. 2, Pls 1,4,5). A total of eight features were recorded; three pits, four postholes or slots and an old hedge line, all cut into the natural boulder clay. None of the features could be related to each other and covered a wide geographic area. The features excavated are summarized in Appendix 1. Pits Feature 1 was a sub-square shallow pit, with steep sides and a flat base measuring 0.50m by 0.49m by 0.06m deep (Fig. 3). It had two fills; a dark yellowish brown, silty clay containing occasional small stones and charcoal, 0.03m thick (52) above a layer of charcoal containing red flecks, possibly of daub, 0.03m thick (53). Finds consisted of seven small fragments of unidentified bone, 26 fragments of burnt clay and five fragments of burnt flint from the soil sample. Feature 5 was a sub-circular pit with gently sloping sides and a rounded base measuring 1.24m by 0.97m by 0.11m deep. There was one fill, 57, a mixed dark brownish yellow and black, silty clay containing charcoal and burnt clay. Pottery from this pit dated from the middle – late Iron Age. Finds consisted of five fragments of unidentified bone, 57 fragments of burnt clay, five fragments of burnt flint and three fragments of worked flint. Feature 7 was a sub-circular pit with gently sloping sides and a rounded base, measuring 0.70m by 0.67m by 0.10m deep. Its only fill, 59, was dark greyish brown, silty clay containing small flints and occasional small fragments of modern ceramic building material. Postholes and Slots Feature 2 was a sub-circular posthole with steep sides and a square post-pipe. It measured 0.30m by 0.25m by 0.11m deep. The post-pipe was sub-rectangular and measured 0.16m by 0.10m by 0.20m deep. A single fill (context 54) filled both the posthole and post-pipe. It was black with red flecks containing abundant charcoal and flecks of red daub. Finds consisted of 19 fragments of burnt clay and eight burnt flints from the soil sample. Feature 3 was an elongated slot with rounded ends, steep sides and a sloping base (Pl. 3). It measured 0.34m by 0.17m by 0.06m deep and contained a single fill; context 55, a mixture of dark yellowish brown and 3 black, silty clay containing abundant charcoal. Pottery found within this slot dated from the early – middle Iron Age. Other finds consisted of six fragments of burnt flint and one worked flint. Feature 6 was a sub-circular posthole with steep sides and a rounded base measuring 0.33m by 0.29m by 0.19m deep (Pl.