Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 1626: summary

Archaeological evaluation on land at 102 East Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, CO5 8SA:January 2021
by Dr Elliott Hicks (with contributions from Dr Matthew Loughton, Adam Wightman and Laura Pooley)

Date report completed: January 2021
Location: 102 East Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, CO5 8SA
Map reference(s): TM 0253 1343 (centre)
File size: 7987 kb
Project type: Evaluation
Significance of the results:
Keywords: Mersea Colchester

Summary. An archaeological evaluation (eleven trial-trenches) was carried out on land at 102 East Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex in advance of the construction of fifty-six new dwellings and a new access road with associated landscaping. The development site lies to the south of the Mersea Barrow, and near to numerous cropmarks, including a possible ring-ditch. Twelve features – five pits, four ditches, a ditch/gully, a pit/ditch terminus and a natural feature – were excavated. A Bronze Age pit and a Roman ditch or gully were revealed. These remains possibly represent an extension of prehistoric and Roman activity recorded during an evaluation carried out to the southwest in 2019. Evidence of medieval and post-medieval activity was also uncovered.