Land East of Halstead Road Kirby Cross Essex Archaeological Excavation for Linden Limited, Wellbeck Strategic Land II LLP and Elizabeth Honor Clarke CA Project: 661074 CA Report: 661074_1 Accession Number: COLEM: 2017.97 January 2019 Land East of Halstead Road Kirby Cross Essex Archaeological Excavation CA Project: 661074 CA Report: 661074_1 Accession Number: COLEM: 2017.97 Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked Status Reasons for Approved by revision by A 31/05/18 Emily Stynes/ APS DRAFT - APS 05/01/19 Anna Moosbauer This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. © Cotswold Archaeology © Cotswold Archaeology Land East of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex: Archaeological Excavation CONTENTS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 3 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................. 5 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................................... 7 4. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 8 5. RESULTS (FIGS 3–9) .......................................................................................... 9 6. THE FINDS .......................................................................................................... 14 7. THE BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ............................................................................ 14 8. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 15 9. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 18 10. STORAGE AND CURATION ............................................................................... 18 11. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 19 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 20 APPENDIX B: FINDS CONCORDANCE………………………………………………………26 APPENDIX C: POTTERY ................................................................................................. 26 APPENDIX D: CERAMIC BUILDING MATERIAL AND FIRED CLAY ............................ 32 APPENDIX E: CREMATED HUMAN REMAINS .............................................................. 33 APPENDIX F: THE PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE ........................................ 38 APPENDIX G: RADIOCARBON DATING……………………………………………………..51 APPENDIX H: OASIS REPORT FORM ........................................................................... 54 1 © Cotswold Archaeology Land East of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex: Archaeological Excavation LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Area locations with air photo interpretation (1:2,500) Fig. 3 Area 1, showing archaeological features (1:200) Fig. 4 Areas 2 and 3, showing archaeological features (1:150) Fig. 5 Areas 4, 5 and 6, showing archaeological features (1:200) Fig. 6 Area 1, sections (1:20) and photographs Fig. 7 Areas 3 and 5, sections (1:20) and photographs Fig. 8 Area 6, sections (1:20) and photographs Fig. 9 Illustration: medieval pottery (1:4) 2 © Cotswold Archaeology Land East of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex: Archaeological Excavation SUMMARY Project Name: Land east of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross Location: Kirby Cross, Essex NGR: TM 22314 21126 Type: Excavation Date: 28 February to 21 March 2018 Planning Reference: 15/01234/OUT Location of Archive: To be deposited with Colchester & Ipswich Museum Service Accession Number: COLEM: 2017.97 Site Code: FWHR18 An archaeological excavation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in February and March 2018 on land east of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex. The work was carried out at the request of Linden Limited, Wellbeck Strategic Land II LLP and Elizabeth Honor Clarke, and comprised the excavation of six areas, totalling 1035m2, within the overall 18.86ha development site. Remains of prehistoric, possible late prehistoric to Roman or Roman to Early Saxon, medieval and post-medieval date were identified. A single unurned cremation of Middle Bronze Age date represents the earliest activity encountered on the site. Possible late prehistoric to Roman or Roman to Early Saxon activity comprised two intercutting ditches that produced a single sherd of possible Late Iron Age or Early Saxon pottery from each ditch, and a small pit containing two sherds of worn and abraded Romano-British grey ware. However, the small quantity of artefactual material recovered coupled with its undiagnostic and abraded nature raises the potential for the material to be residual and these remains to be later, possibly medieval, in date. Medieval activity, focused in the eastern part of the site, appears to have begun around the beginning of the 12th century, with a lack of later pottery forms indicating that it had ceased by the end of the 13th or very early 14th century. Ditches, possibly forming part of a trackway or enclosure system, and a cluster of small pits and postholes were encountered. Waste from a variety of crops indicates that processing was taking place nearby while the pottery assemblage, including cooking pots, jugs and jars in both local and finewares, is suggestive of settlement in the immediate vicinity. Post-medieval ditches encountered within the Site correspond with now-removed field boundaries depicted on historic maps. 3 © Cotswold Archaeology Land East of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex: Archaeological Excavation 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In February and March 2018, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological excavation at the request of Linden Limited, Wellbeck Strategic Land II LLP and Elizabeth Honor Clarke, on Land east of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex, CO13 0L (centred at NGR: TM 22314 21126; Fig. 1). 1.2 Planning permission has been granted on appeal (Appeal Ref: APP/P1560/W/15/3140113) for residential development comprising the erection of up to 240 dwellings with a community hub including either a 40-bed space care home (Class C2) or a healthcare facility (Class D1), together with access from Halstead Road, Woburn Avenue and Buckfast Avenue; along with parking, green infrastructure, structural landscaping, biodiversity enhancements, drainage and other related infrastructure and services provision. Permission is subject to a suite of conditions, one of which pertains to a programme of archaeological works. Condition 15 states: 15) No development shall take place on the site until a Written Scheme of Archaeological Investigation shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The scheme shall include: a) the programme, including phasing, and methodology of site investigation and recording; b) the programme for post investigation assessment; c) the provision to be made for analysis of the site investigation and recording; d) the provision to be made for publication and dissemination of the analysis and records of the site investigation; e) the provision to be made for archive deposition of the analysis and records of the site investigation; and f) the nomination of a competent person or persons/organization to undertake the works set out within the Written Scheme of Investigation. 1.3 Following the completion of a trial trench evaluation undertaken in December 2017 that identified archaeological remains in a number of areas (CA 2018a and section 2 below), the requirement for mitigation works was identified by Essex County Council Place Services (ECC Place Services – Teresa O’Connor), in their capacity as archaeological advisors to the local planning authority, Tendring District Council. This comprised a requirement for archaeological excavation in six areas where 4 © Cotswold Archaeology Land East of Halstead Road, Kirby Cross, Essex: Archaeological Excavation remains would be damaged or destroyed by the development. A detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) for these works was subsequently produced by CA (2018b) and approved by ECC Place Services. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and guidance for archaeological excavation (CIfA 2014); the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide and accompanying PPN3: Archaeological Excavation (Historic England 2015). The project was monitored by ECC Place Services, including a site visit during the fieldwork element of the project, on 8 March 2018. The site 1.4 The development site comprises part of a single, large arable field (until recently, two separate fields), encompassing an area of approximately 18.86ha. The site is bordered to the north and east by agricultural and open land, to the south by various residential developments fronting onto Frinton Road (the B1033), and to the west by the gardens of properties fronting Halstead Road. The site stands at a general elevation of 23m above ordnance datum (AOD) dropping to 20m AOD at its northern edge, on a flattish plateau also containing the settlement of Kirby Cross to the south, Frinton-on-Sea to the east