Groundworks (foundation trenches, service trenches and a soakaway) for a small residential development at Lexden Grange recovered part of a Late Iron Age pedestal urn, which is likely to be the remains of a disturbed cremation burial. Other pits found and Roman pottery from spoil heaps may also be burial-related. A crucible and possible metal-working debris point to metal-working on the site in the Roman period.<1>

The strip footings for two new residential blocks were dug, 600mm wide and 1.0-1.35m deep. Five features (F1-F5), all thought to be Roman, were exposed. F1 was a deep pit seen at the intersection of two of the southernmost foundation trenches, in the west- and north-facing sections. Roman pottery, dated early 2nd century to 3rd-4th century, was present throughout the fill, as were flecks of tile. The heavy concentration of charcoal flecks at the base of the pit suggested a cremation burial. However, the feature was checked for cremated bone and none was found. F1 was not bottomed but continued to below 1.35m below ground-level. It was sealed by 400mm of post-Roman subsoil (L2) and by 300mm of modern car-park layers. In one of the central foundation trenches for the new residential block in the southern part of the site was a large pit with a charcoally inner fill and burnt daub edges (F2). This is the western half of a large pit that was excavated during the evaluation trenching of 2005 (F3 in evaluation trench T1). The feature was seen to be 1.5m wide, circular, and with straight sides. It was sealed by L2 subsoil and L1 topsoil and it cut L3 natural sand and gravel. Roman pottery, dated early to mid 2nd to ?3rd century, was present throughout the fill.

After the concrete for the foundations for the southern residential block had been poured, the oversite was stripped off. This reduction exposed a narrow ditch (F3) running east-west between two of the foundation trenches. The top of F3 was 400mm below ground-level and it was seen in plan only. It was 630mm wide and at least 2.5m long but did possibly carry on to the east for another 2.5m. Noticeable on the surface of F3 was smashed grey ware pottery (from a single vessel). This may relate to a linear feature recorded in the evaluation (F2 in trench T1).<2> The foundation trenches for the new residential block in the northern part of the site, by the coach house, revealed two features. A ditch (F4), aligned N to S, was seen in the north- and south-facing sections of one of the foundation trenches. This contained Late Iron Age and early Roman pottery and a small amount of charcoal flecks. F4 was sealed by 400mm of L1 topsoil and it cut L3 natural sand and gravel. To the east of F4 was a 1.8m-wide pit (F5) containing some charcoal, some very degraded bone and a small amount of Late Iron Age and early Roman pottery. F4 was sealed by 400mm of L1 topsoil and it cut L3 natural sand.

Three long service trenches were dug. The first of these was a narrow trench, about 150mm in width, which was dug from the north side of Lexden Grange around the back of the new northern residential block near Sander’s Drive and to the east of the coach house. The trench was approximately 500mm deep and did not encounter any features of archaeological significance. Subsequently, a large pipe trench was dug from the Lexden Road entrance to the coach house. This was 2.5m deep and 2.2m wide in total, because the trench had to be stepped out due to its depth. The northern end of the trench (near the coach house) had already been filled in without any archaeological monitoring. Most of the rest of the trench (which included two inspection chambers) had been dug out before CAT were informed. Therefore some features may have been missed, particularly as the contractors were using a mechanical excavator with toothed bucket. The contractors had salvaged some large sherds of a Late Iron Age pot from a pit in the northern part of the still-open trench. The hand-cleaning of this pit (F6) produced more of the same pot as well as a very small amount of cremated animal bone. Examination of the pot showed it to be a Late Iron Age pedestal urn, a type often associated with cremation burials. F6 was cut into a light brown sandy silt layer (L4) which is likely to be a Roman topsoil. The top of the pit was 750mm below ground-level and sealed by L1 and L2. Roman pottery was picked off the spoil heap near F6. This pottery may also have derived from F6 or from other features that were not recorded. A narrow trench was dug around the south and west sides of Lexden Grange in an area that was formerly gardens. A large fragment of a large grey ware jar (finds no 18) was retrieved from the spoil heap, probably from L2 subsoil. This is possible evidence from a further cremation burial.

Pits F7 and F8 were recorded in the north-west corner of the soakaway trench (3m² in area x 3m deep), on the western boundary of the site, SW of Lexden Grange. The contractors reported a pit on the southern side of the trench as they had dug down. By the time that the visit was made, this pit (F7) had been largely dug out. The contractors had saved some of the Roman pottery that had come out of the soakaway trench and more was collected from the spoil heap. F7 could be seen in the north-facing section, almost straight-sided and c.1.5m wide. It was deep, continuing beyond the base of the trench. At this lower level, its fill became lighter grey and it contained much Roman pottery. Charcoal flecks and some reddening of the natural sand around the edge of the pit was also observed. The contractors reported that in plan the pit had perfectly square edges. However, at the lower level it had rounded edges. There was no later material so the feature is probably Roman (2nd century). Pit F8 had much charcoal at the base and Late Iron Age and Roman pottery in its fill (1st-2nd century). A very small amount of cremated bone and non-cremated bone was retrieved from the lower fill. The bone, charcoal and two lumps of copper alloy which may be pyre debris suggest that this feature is cremation-related, although the lumps of copper alloy may be metal-working debris. The small amount of bone suggests a pyre-debris dump rather than an actual cremation burial. However, a crucible was also found in pit F8 and it could equally be associated with metal-working (of copper alloy). A sherd salt briquetage and a small amount of iron-working slag were also found in its fill. Some pottery from the spoil heap may have come from F8. F8 was sealed by 700mm of L1 topsoil. Contractors reported a circular pit (F9) in the centre of the soakaway but this was entirely removed without archaeological recording.

A large quantity of pottery (9244g) was recovered during the watching brief. Of this, 2060g was unstratified. Apart from two unstratified post-Roman sherds (16g), all the pottery is of Late Iron Age or Roman date. While the Roman pottery spans the whole of the Roman period, much of the closely datable pottery is of 1st- or early 2nd-century date. The latest closely-dated Roman pottery is a group of abraded sherds from a single pot from F1 (finds no 3). The fabric of these sherds indicates that the pot is a product of the Hadham potteries and can be dated to the mid-late 3rd to 4th century.

Fragments of at least one crucible from pit F8 indicate metal-working on the site in the Late Iron Age or early Roman period. They are in a fabric that appears to match that of a group of brass-making crucibles from Culver Street, some of which were stratified in Period 1 military contexts.<3> Two fragments of resolidified copper alloy may be metal-working debris or all that remains of burnt pyre deposits. Two fragments of undiagnostic slag from F8 point to iron-working somewhere in the vicinity of the site.

A single sherd of salt briquetage, from a rectangular trough, was found at Lexden Grange (F8). The Lexden Grange fragment can be seen as an outlier to the assemblage of briquetage vessels and salt-making hearth furniture found at Sheepen.<4>