Other than a still active brick-built culvert in Trench 1, which probably dates to the first half of the 19th century, and a later 19th-century brick-built chamber in Trench 2, no features or deposits of archaeological interest were encountered and there were no finds of archaeological significance in the excavated spoil. Despite the archaeological potential of the site and its location near to the historic centre of Great Dunmow, the evaluation demonstrated that there were no archaeological features or deposits within its boundary that predated the 19th century. 9.2 In the northern part of the site, to the north of the car park, the subsoil appeared to be in situ, suggesting that this area had not been significantly disturbed by 19th and 20th-century development and associated activities. The only features in this area were a still active 19th-century brick-built culvert in Trench 1 and a later 19thcentury brick-bult underground chamber that had been infilled with modern refuse and soil and a 20th-century sewer or drain in Trench 2. The area had then been levelled with concrete crush and topped off with Type 1 stone to form a storage yard or extension to the car park. None of the features corresponded with boundaries or buildings shown on the 1875 Ordnance Survey map of the area (Fig. 4) or with subsequent mapping. 9.3 In the area of the car park in the centre of the site, made-ground deposits were encountered, with a thickness of over 1.2m. It was not possible to investigate this area any further as the ground was contaminated with hydrocarbons. 9.4 The only finds from hand-excavated deposits were a pig bone, an oyster shell and fragments of 19th-century brick and tile. No material predating the 19th century was observed in the excavated deposits.
S. Carlyle (Fri,) studied this question.