Land South of Harwich Road, Mistley, Essex: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design

Informed by the results of an evaluation, Essex County Council Place Services confirmed that further targeted investigation would be required in specific parts of the Phase II site, identifying five locations (Areas A-E) where excavation was required. No further archaeological work was required in other parts of the development site. The excavation of the five areas was carried out in accordance with a Written Scheme of Investigation that was prepared by RPS and approved by ECCPS prior to the commencement of fieldwork. The southern and western limits of excavation of Area A were extended by c. 20m to the south and c. 5m to the west to fully expose a round barrow that was identified in the southern part of the site. Subsequently, a further c. 5m wide strip around the barrow was excavated, to provide a suitable buffer around the monument and confirm the presence or absence of any associated features. The archaeological results from Areas C, D and E were limited, so following discussions between RPS and ECCPS, these areas were reduced in size. The principal feature identified in Area A was the remains of a large, late Early Bronze Age -early Middle Bronze Age barrow discovered in the southwestern corner of the site, with two cremation burials and three possible truncated pyre pits associated with it. Both burials consisted of inverted, biconical urns, surrounded and sealed by a cist made of local river pebbles. A small group of prehistoric pits, dating from the Late Bronze Age to the Later Iron Age, was investigated in the north-western corner of the site. Remnants of three northwest-southeast oriented ditches extending across Area A to the north and east of the barrow are probably the remains of a coaxial field system. Artefactual dating evidence was scarce, but the few pottery sherds that were recovered suggest that it probably dates to the Late Iron Age. A potential rectangular enclosure, formed by two parallel west-northwest to east-southeast ditches and one north-northeast to south-southwest aligned ditch, post-dated the prehistoric field system and has been dated to the medieval period. Other features in Area A included a cluster of undated pits and small ditch segments, some pre-dating and others post-dating the field ditches, and a few isolated, undated postholes and several tree-boles. In Area B there were two parallel, east to west aligned, shallow ditches truncating a larger, northwest-southeast oriented one. A fourth ditch, tentatively the continuation of a Late Iron Age field boundary recorded in Area A, was also identified. Several pits of unknown date and function were also recorded. A prehistoric boundary ditch, which contained three potsherds dated to the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age, was identified in Area C. An elongated ditch segment, previously investigated in Trench 18 and dated to the Later Iron Age, was also investigated. No significant archaeological features were encountered in Areas D and E