Archaeological monitoring of the excavation of a c.2.1km long trench for a replacement water pipe along the causeway across the Strood Channel, West Mersea, uncovered no archaeological remains or deposits. Wooden piles associated with the Anglo-Saxon causeway across the Strood Channel, radicarbon dated to c.700AD were previously identified during the laying of the water pipe in 1978. However, no piles were encountered during then current phase of work. This was due to the depth of the trench only being a maximum of 1.2m deep across the channel, whereas the 1978 work encountered the piles at a depth of 1.6m. Any surviving remains of the Anglo-Saxon causeway were not disturbed during the laying of the water pipe. Below the modern road were a series of stabilisation layers consisting of alternating bands of chalk and gravel. The layers are likely to be associated with the modern road across the causeway. Silt deposits were only identified in the base of the trench in a few locations but were not intruded into by the works. No archaeological remains were identified on dry land either side of the Strood Channel either. <1>