Brookhouse Road, Great Tey (GTEBR98).<1><3>

River floodplain peat deposit: A shallow clayey peat deposit measuring 60m across was exposed to the south-west of the excavated area, in the floodplain of the tributary stream near its junction with the Roman River. Within this, a palaeochannel around 10m wide and 0.28m deep was investigated, revealing a shallow profile in the top of the natural boulder clay. This was initially filled with off-white calcareous silts, 0.18m thick, described as having a creamy texture, and finally by dark brown clayey peat, 0.10m thick, containing shell and wood fragments. A series of spot samples was obtained from the section for palynological assessment but detailed analysis was not carried out due to lack of funding. No palynomorph of any kind was found in the base of the palaeochannel and the earliest polleniferous samples came from the top 50mm of the calcareous silts. These indicate deciduous woodland near the river floodplain, dominated by lime and oak, with evidence of climbers, such as honeysuckle, and herbaceous plants and ferns in gaps in the woodland canopy. This is typical of plant cover in the early part of the current Flandrian interglacial, probably dating to c.10,000-5,000 BP. Charcoal was more
abundant in the upper peat deposits, although still relatively sparse, implying a low level of human activity in the area. It is tentatively suggested that the absence of lime and the presence of ash, which favours a more open environment, towards the top of the peat deposit, may represent evidence of the
beginning of woodland clearance in the Neolithic.

An early Iron Age bow brooch, dated to the 5th century BC, was a residual find in a late Roman context, as well as six small sherds of undiagnostic prehistoirc pottery.

Early Roman (mid 1st to early 2nd century): Early Roman features consisted of a trackway crossing the centre of the site, a sequence of boundary and drainage ditches at its southern limit, post-hole structures, gullies and two corn-driers. A shallow irregular pit [342], dug across the northern gateway, contained the fragmented remains of eleven near-complete vessels, including the bases of three vessels recorded in the bottom of the pit. These vessels include bowls, jars, beakers and a flagon, and represent a votive deposit dated to the late 1st-early 2nd century. This votive pit is interpreted as a gateway termination offering.

Mid-Roman (mid-2nd to mid-3rd century): The site underwent a major reorganisation in the mid-late 2nd century. A large amount of rubbish was dumped in the top of early Roman features that were still open at the southern limit of the site. New boundary ditches were dug, enclosing a much larger working area with two sub-enclosures containing corn-driers, and a new trackway to its north. Many of the features in the working area can be dated to the mid-late 2nd to mid-3rd century, but the major boundary ditches in the new layout are not closely datable, although it is argued that they originated in the mid-Roman period.The main result of the mid-Roman reorganisation was that the working area with its corn-driers was made much larger, covering over half of the site area perhaps suggesting an expansion or intensification of agricultural production.

Late Roman (mid-3rd to 4th century): Late Roman activity on the site represents a further development of the existing mid-Roman layout. Late Roman pottery in the upper fills of two of the major boundary ditches suggests that these were not finally filled until the 4th century, while a large and sophisticated corn-drying kiln in the south of the working area is securely dated to the late 3rd-4th century. The final Roman activity on the site is dated by small amounts of later 4th-century pottery.

Early Anglo-Saxon: A single rim sherd was found in a medieval feature.

Later Medieval: A cobbled (external) surface bounded on one side by a large boundary ditch and overlain by an occupation deposit dating from the 12th/13th to 15th century. These are interpreted as a stock enclosure (although 394 sherds of pottery, weighing c.6kg might suggest settlement very close by), alongside Brookhouse Road.

A field walking survey was undertaken by Colchester Archaeology Group in 2004, at Warrens Farm covering an area of c.11ha (this and the adjacent field to the east). Finds were collected up to 1m each side of each 20m grid line, giving a 10% sample of the area. Finds were recovered from the prehistoric to modern (although no Anglo-Saxon meterial was recovered). Four sherds of prehistoric pottery was recovered. The majority was medieval (230 sherds) or post medieval (344 sherds), and there was also a large quantity of Roman tile (848 pieces, weighing 22kg) and pottery (70 sherds).<2>