Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 738: summary

Archaeological monitoring and excavation: Stage 6 western extension, Hanson Quarry, Maldon Road, Birch, Essex - August-September 2013
by Ben Holloway and Howard Brooks (with contributions from Stephen Benfield)

Date report completed: June 2014
Location: Hanson Quarry, Maldon Road, Birch, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 8836 5850
File size: 1,538 kb
Project type: Archaeological monitoring and excavation
Significance of the results: **
Keywords: Bronze Age

Summary. Archaeological monitoring and excavation was carried out at Birch Pit in 2013 on behalf of Hanson Aggregates. The archaeological monitoring covered topsoil-stripping of the Stage 6 western extension, adjacent to the Stage 5 area excavated in 2012. There were twenty-two archaeological features. The significant remains included a ‘placed deposit’ (a Late Bronze Age jar without cremated bone) and seventeen pits and post-holes containing Late Bronze Age sherds. Other features were mostly post-medieval field ditches which are shown extant on 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps. Much of the site had been disturbed by the construction and subsequent removal of a World War II airbase.