Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 1337: summary

Archaeological excavation (strip, map and excavate) at Lodge Farm, Boxted Road, Great Horkesley, Essex, CO6 4AP: September 2017
by Dr Elliott Hicks and Laura Pooley (with contributions from Dr Matthew Loughton, Lisa Gray, Chris Lister, Ben Holloway, Emma Holloway )

Date report completed: March 2019
Location: Lodge Farm, Boxted Road, Great Horkesley, Essex, CO6 4AP
Map reference(s): TL 98268 31378
File size: kb
Project type: Excavation
Significance of the results:
Keywords:

Summary. An archaeological strip, map and record project was carried out at Lodge Farm, Boxted Road, Great Horkesley, Essex in advance an agricultural development. The site is located in the midst of a series of cropmark complexes and a 2018 evaluation at the site revealed the presence of charcoal-rich pits similar to those identified 2km to the southeast during archaeological investigations at Colchester Northern Gateway.

Archaeological investigation has revealed that historic activity on the development site dates from the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age to the 19th/20th century. Forty-two charcoal-rich pits ranging in date from the Early Iron Age to the post-medieval or modern periods (late 15th to 19th/20th century) were uncovered that are probably associated with charcoal production. A Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pit, an Early Iron Age pit, a late medieval pit and a number of undated features are likely associated with this activity. Two medieval or post-medieval ditches were also excavated. The features detected, and the artefacts recovered, indicate that this has periodically formed a site of charcoal production from the late prehistoric era to the 19th century.