Site Event/Activity record ECC2665 - Archaeological watching brief on Castle Park floodlights bunker, Colchester, 2006

Location

Location Castle Park, Colchester
Grid reference Centred TL 99884 25279 (3m by 4m) (Approximate)
Map sheet TL92NE
County ESSEX
Non Parish Area COLCHESTER, COLCHESTER, ESSEX

Technique(s)

Organisation

Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd

Date

October 2006

Map

Description

A watching brief was carried out during groundworks in the south-east corner of Colchester Castle bailey to add a small extension to the pre-existing floodlight bunker located there. The extension measured 2.8m by 1.25m and was cut through 0.1-0.35m of modern topsoil (L1) onto a post-medieval silty soil (L3). The groundworks revealed a modern topsoil layer, a pot-medieval soil layer, a modern cable trench (2001), and a post-medieval pit. Interestingly, a small quantity of human bone was identified both unstratified and within the post-medieval subsoil layer. A number of inhumation burials are known from within the bailey, possibly dating to the late 16th and 17th centuries when the keep was used as a gaol, and those who died in custody were buried adjacent to the keep. It is likely that the bone recorded during the groundworks was disturbed from nearby graves. <1>

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1> Watching Brief Report: Pooley, Laura (CAT). 2006. An archaeological watching brief at Colchester Castle, Colchester, Essex. CAT Report 397.

Related Monuments/Buildings (6)

  • Castle Upper Bailey Chapel, Colchester (Monument)
  • Colchester Castle Barbican, Colchester (Monument)
  • Colchester Castle, Colchester (Monument)
  • Human bone in Castle Park, Colchester (Element)
  • Roman ?altar base south of Temple of Claudius, Colchester (Monument)
  • Temple of Claudius (Insula 22), Colchester (Monument)

Record last edited

Oct 22 2015 9:29AM

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