A small excavation was undertaken by Colchester Archaeological Trust in June 2015, involved the stripping of two house plots (plots 4/5 and 6, total area, 370m2) with the aim of further exploring the prehistoric features revealed by a trial trenched evaluation in May 2015 (ECC2865). <1><2> The excavation was undertaken in advance of the construction of new dwellings on the site, funded by the developer Hills Building Group (CBC planning reference 146334).

Modern topsoil 250-400mm thick (L1), and a silt/clay accumulation 250-300mm thick (L2) were removed by machine under archaeological supervision. The removal of L2 revealed the archaeological features cut into natural (L3).

Twenty-nine archaeological features were excavated (including three which had been examined at evaluation stage) - three prehistoric ditches, two pits (and three probable prehistoric pits) and six post-holes (and nine probable prehistoric post-holes), a Roman ditch and three modern pits, and also a large post-medieval / modern pit probably associated with gravel extraction.

A single trench (T11) to intercept a possible ring-ditch defined in the evaluation (F9 in T9) on the southern edge of the site showed that it was a large modern gravel? pit.

Monitoring of the digging of footings trenches for three house plots (1-3), between July and September 2015, on the southern edge of the site revealed, in section, four undated pits (probably post-medieval).

A small finds assemblage of pottery, three worked flints and heat-altered (burnt) stones (HAS) was recovered from ten features (F17, F20, F23-F25, F27-F28, and F41-F43). The closely dated finds were primarily of prehistoric date (17 sherds weighing 49g), indicating a date not later than the Early Iron Age (some sherds might be earlier, Late Bronze Age), with one sherd of imported Roman samian pottery dated to the 2nd century (16g). Three of the handmade sherds were decorated.

Samples were taken from features for environmental remains. The assemblages were all small (i.e. 0.1 litres or less in volume) and limited in composition. The material (it was suggested by the specialist) was probably derived from scattered midden waste, but it offers few insights into the day-to-day functioning of the site or its component features. Post-depositional contamination appeared to be an issue across the entire excavated area, with all of the current assemblages being compromised by the introduction of intrusive materials.