Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 833: summary

Archaeological evaluation and excavation on land east of 'Langford Lee', Maldon Road, Langford, Essex: April 2015
by Ben Holloway and Howard Brooks (with contributions from Stephen Benfield)

Date report completed: June 2015
Location: land east of 'Langford Lee', Maldon Road, Langford, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 8401 0895
File size: 2,339 kb
Project type: Archaeological evaluation and excavation
Significance of the results: */**
Keywords: prehistoric, ditch, Roman, ditch, medieval, ditch, Peterborough Ware

Summary. This site, an open paddock on the northern side of Maldon Road, Langford, is 100m SW of an extensive area of prehistoric and Roman-period cropmarks, representing burial sites, enclosures, field boundaries and trackways. Eight evaluation trenches (total length 140m) were positioned across the site in advance of residential development. A subsequent excavation was conducted in the north-eastern corner of the site. Multi-period archaeological remains were identified in both the evaluation and excavation stages: two Neolithic features (a ditch and a post-hole), one Roman ditch, nine medieval features (five pits and four ditches) and one modern field ditch (thirteen features were undated). Of particular interest was an assemblage of middle Neolithic Peterborough Ware, associated with a ditch and post-hole. This may be from a disturbed burial or other ritual deposit. However, given the quantity of residual finds on this site, it is possible that the Neolithic sherds are residual in a later (?medieval) context. The earliest landscape feature was a Roman ditch. Four ditches indicate increased landscape activity in the medieval period. There were five medieval pits, though the small number of medieval sherds from these pits (eight) may indicate that medieval settlement took place adjacent to this site, rather than on it. The medieval (and perhaps the ?Roman) pottery may have been brought in as manure scatter. One modern ditch is very close to the line of a modern field boundary (now grubbed-out) which was shown by the Ordnance Survey as recently as 1960.