Site Event/Activity record ECC4215 - Archaeological monitoring and recording at Fingringhoe Ballast Quarry, 2008

Location

Location Fingringhoe Ballast Quarry, Fingringhoe
Grid reference Centred TM 0322 1989 (59m by 171m)
Map sheet TM01NW
County ESSEX
Civil Parish FINGRINGHOE, COLCHESTER, ESSEX

Technique(s)

Organisation

Archaeological Solutions

Date

July to August 2008

Map

Description

Archaeological monitoring and recording was undertaken by Archaeological Solutions at Fingringhoe Ballast Quarry in 2008. The monitoring encompassed two areas: Area A, which measured 1.46 ha, was to the north and slightly west of Area B, which measured 13.47 ha.<1><2> The features were located mainly in Area A, comprising a cremation (F3016), a pit (F3034) and two or three boundary ditches. Area B contained mostly tree hollows and gullies. Two tree hollows (F3012 and F3038) contained prehistoric pottery. The unphased features comprised gullies, ditches and pits/postholes. The monitoring defined (among other features) a large pit (F3034) in Area A containing Neolithic pottery (including a vessel that had been flattened) and struck flint including end scrapers and a variety of blades and a leaf-shaped projectile point, as well as four hammerstones (36 fragments of struck flint and 14 fragments of debitage in total). The vessel was encased in a dark grey brown silty, ashy soil (L3035) capped by a dark greyish orange-brown silty sandy soil (L3036). The flint projectile point (DP6) and a few distinct flint blades appeared un-used and finely crafted, more similar (the report suggests) to grave goods (although no bone was recovered) or offerings (i.e. deliberate deposits rather than rubbish) than used implements. A Roman urned cremation (F3016), within a subcircular-shaped pit, was also defined in Area A. The surrounding fill (L3018) comprised mid to dark greyish orange-brown silty sandy soil which contained ash, charcoal, vessel fragments, and burnt human bone. The cremation pit was truncated by F3026, which disturbed the cremation vessel and contents (L3017). The vessel (256g) is identified as Roman but there is no further information in the 2008 interim report. Other archaeological features comprised boundary ditches, gullies, and pits/post-holes. Tree hollows and natural features were also investigated, some of which contained residual pottery fragments. Tree hollows F3000 and F3002 were defined in Area A and F3010, F3012 and F3038 in Area B. F3012 contained a small fragment(1g) of Neolithic pottery and F3038 contained a small fragment (<1g) of prehistoric pottery. F3010 had a sherd (116g) of Roman pottery on the surface. Ditch F3019 (Area A) contained a residual sherd (7g) of Neolithic pottery; the ditch cut Cremation F3016. Roman pottery (80g) was recovered from the surface of ditch/gully F3008 (Area B). A struck flint (<1g) was recovered from gully F3004 in Area A.

Sources/Archives (2)

  • <1> EXCAV REPORT: Greene, Richard. 2008. Fingringhoe Ballast Quarry, Colchester, Essex. Interim Report. AS Report 3159.
  • <2> EXCAV REPORT: Tweedie, Hannah. 2010. Fingringhoe Ballast Quarry, Fingringhoe, Colchester, Essex. Research Archive report.. AS Report 3616.

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Record last edited

May 16 2018 11:33AM

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