Site Event/Activity record ECC2976 - Excavation and monitoring of the Southern car park (Phase 2), Area C2, Napier Road, Colchester

Location

Location Napier Road (South) car park, Napier Road, Colchester
Grid reference TL 9976 2448 (point)
Map sheet TL92SE
County ESSEX
Non Parish Area COLCHESTER, COLCHESTER, ESSEX

Technique(s)

Organisation

Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd

Date

December 2012 to January 2013

Map

Description

Excavation and monitoring were undertaken by CAT in advance of the construction of the southern car park (Phase 2 site) off Napier Road between December 2012 and January 2013. All the hard-standing was stripped by contractors onto the soil below to form the construction level across most of the site. The strip revealed the top of a Roman cremation burial on the east side of the site, but otherwise no significant archaeological remains survived at this level. The main excavation took place on the area required for the sitting of an attenuation tank. This area was stripped under archaeological supervision by machine onto the top of the natural revealing a number of features, primarily Roman graves. The depth of this construction required the full archaeological excavation of all of the features. In total, 16 features were identified as burials - two cremations, one inside a small ring-ditch, and fourteen inhumation graves or parts of inhumation grave cuts. Smaller areas close to the north edge, consisting of two tree planting pits and a pit excavated for a man-hole, were also subject to archaeological observation and recording, producing parts of more Roman graves. Subsequently a service trench excavated from the central west edge of the site to the attenuation tank revealed more Roman graves.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1> EXCAV REPORT: Wightman, A., Shimmin, D., Benfield, S. and Masefield, R.. 2014. Stages 2 & 3 archaeological monitoring and excavation on the Napier Road car parks and footpath (GAL Area B1b and C2), Colchester Garrison, Essex. CAT report 652.

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Record last edited

Mar 7 2017 3:50PM

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