COLCHESTER
FORTRESS
OF THE
WAR GOD
An Archaeological Assessment
Adrian Gascoyne and David Radford
edited by
Philip J. Wise
ColChester
Fortress of the War God
an arChaeologiCal assessment
ColChester
Fortress of the War God
an arChaeologiCal assessment
by
adrian gascoyne and David radford
With contributions from Philip Crummy, nina Crummy, rosalind niblett,
Dave stenning, steve Benfield, Peter murphy and andrew Phillips
Edited by Philip J Wise
oxbow Books
Oxford and Oakville
in association with english heritage
Published by
Oxbow Books, Oxford, UK
on behalf of Historic England
© Oxbow Books, English Heritage and the individual authors, 2013
ISBN 978-1-84217-508-8
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
This book is published with the aid of a grant
from English Heritage.
English Heritage is now Historic England
Front cover: A view across the late Iron Age defences at Sheepen, Colchester c AD 25
(© Peter Froste. All rights reserved, DACS 2013)
it is a beautiful, populous, and pleasant place, extended on the brow of an hill from west to east, and
surrounded with walls, and adorned with fifteen churches… in the middle of the city, stands a castle
ready to drop with age…
William Camden 1586 (Britannia, 4th edn, 1772, p 356)
may i venture, sir, to take this opportunity of calling the attention of the town Council of Colchester
to the general state of the more important ancient remains which render your town so attractive to
the antiquary and to the historian? some of them, for instance, the town Walls and the Castle, might
be increased in interest by excavations judiciously conducted. a small grant of money, placed under
the control of one or two of the many active and intelligent antiquarians of the locality, would but be
productive of discoveries, which, while they would especially gratify the archaeologist, would doubtless
be advantageous to the town at large, and increase its prosperity.
Charles roach smith (Gentleman’s Magazine, January 1854, pp 70–1)
Contents
List of illustrations (figures and tables)
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Summary
Résumé
Zusammenfassung
xii
xv
xvii
xviii
xix
xx
xxi
introDuCtion
xxii
1 the history of arChaeology in ColChester
the antiquarians and collectors
the excavators
the Colchester archaeological trust
1
1
5
6
2 geology anD the DePosit moDel
solid geology
Drift geology
the Colchester Deposit model
introduction
Character of archaeological deposits in Colchester
sequence and nature of the deposits
Preservation of finds
archaeological deposits
results of the modelling
9
9
9
10
10
11
11
13
14
14
3 PrehistoriC ColChester
introduction
Past work
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
Palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic
the Bronze age
the early and middle iron age
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
19
19
22
22
25
25
26
29
30
30
30
31
viii
Contents
4 CamuloDunon in the late iron age, C 50 BC–aD 43
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
the oppidum
the dykes
settlement – sheepen
other settlement evidence
manufacturing and trade
agriculture and the field system
Burials and ritual structures
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
33
33
36
38
41
41
42
43
45
45
47
52
54
56
56
57
5 the roman legionary fortress, aD 43–49
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
military structures outside the legionary fortress
siting, preparation, laying-out and construction of the fortress
industrial activity
food, water supply and drainage
Disposal of the dead
Claudian occupation evidence and iron age continuity
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
59
59
60
62
64
64
67
70
72
72
73
74
75
76
76
6 the early roman Colonia, aD 49–61
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
the creation of the colonia and its hinterland
fortress into colonia: the revised layout
Defences
Buildings of the colonia
manufacturing and trade
Diet
Cemeteries
resistance to rome – evidence for the Boudican revolt
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
77
77
78
79
81
81
82
82
82
90
92
93
96
97
97
98
98
Contents
ix
7 the later roman toWn, aD 61–410
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the archaeological evidence
topographical organisation
Boundaries, defences and roads
Public and monumental buildings and structures
Water supply
Domestic and commercial buildings
manufacturing and trade
farming strategies and diet
religious and burial practice
extramural development
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
99
99
101
103
103
106
113
119
120
134
140
142
162
170
172
173
173
8 early anglo-saxon ColChester, 410–916
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
occupation
Coins
Burials
Possessions
Pottery
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
175
175
177
177
178
178
181
181
183
183
184
186
186
187
9 late anglo-saxon ColChester, 917–1066
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the nature of the evidence
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
town defences, street system and urban plan
religious buildings
secular buildings
Pottery and metalwork
manufacturing and trade
the late anglo-saxon countryside
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
189
189
191
192
192
193
193
196
199
199
200
201
204
204
205
205
x
Contents
10 early meDieval ColChester, 1066–1348
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the nature of the evidence
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
the castle
town defences
streets
monastries and churches
Public buildings and works
Domestic architecture
open space
suburbs
the re-use of roman materials
the hythe, commerce, trade and manufacturing
the countryside
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
Colchester medieval deposits: biological remains
207
207
209
210
211
213
213
220
221
222
230
230
236
237
238
239
247
249
251
252
252
253
11 late meDieval ColChester, 1349–1540
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the nature of the evidence
the finds evidence
the archaeological evidence
the urban plan
Public buildings and works
the town wall, town gates and castle
manufacturing and trade
Domestic and commercial architecture
Cellars and undercrofts
the religious foundations and charitable institutions
Churches
the countryside
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
255
255
257
258
258
259
259
263
264
266
269
271
271
274
275
276
277
277
278
xi
Contents
12 Post-meDieval ColChester, 1540–1700
introduction and historical framework
Past work
the nature of the evidence
summary of finds assemblages
the archaeological evidence
the urban plan
the impact of the Dissolution
Public buildings and other works
the hythe
the town wall, town gates and castle
Domestic and commercial architecture
standing buildings
excavated buildings
Brick and tile
manufacturing and trade
the cloth industry
the Civil War
agriculture
the current state of knowledge
Preservation
importance
Potential for future research
279
279
281
282
283
283
283
285
286
287
287
288
289
289
290
290
292
293
294
295
295
295
295
13 Post-1700 ColChester
introduction and historical framework
assessment of importance and potential
297
297
300
aPPenDiCes
gazetteer of
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gazetteer of
gazetteer of
gazetteer of
tables
303
303
305
307
338
339
340
344
348
351
358
365
prehistoric monuments, elements and finds from the study area
late iron age monuments, elements and finds from the study area
roman monuments, elements and finds from the study area
early saxon monuments, elements and finds from the study area
late saxon monuments, elements and finds from the study area
medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
the significant late medieval buildings of Colchester
late medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
post-medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
excavations in Colchester 1845–2008
BiBliograPhy
369
inDex
385
list of illustrations
List of Figures
introduction
0.1 map of eastern england showing the location of Colchester and
places mentioned in the text.
1 the history of archaeology in Colchester
fig 1.1 the Built-up area of Colchester showing modern streets (insert
to fig 3.2).
fig 1.2 the Colchester sphinx, only part of a very large and elaborate
roman tomb, and one of the first archaeological discoveries in the
town to be the subject of scholarly research (from hay 1821).
fig 1.3 Displays in the Castle museum in 1909 (Colchester museums).
fig 1.4 Plan of Colchester showing the find spots of roman antiquities
known in the late 19th century (from Cutts 1889).
fig 1.5 rex hull was a leading figure in British archaeology in the mid20th century and established an early sites and monument record for
essex (Colchester museums).
fig 1.6 ‘the head street’ excavation in 2000, on the site of the former
Post office, was one of the Colchester archaeological trust’s largest
projects in recent years (Philip J Wise).
2 the uaD and Deposit model
fig 2.1 total depth of deposits to natural.
fig 2.2 schematic section through the archaeological deposits at the west
end of the walled town.
3 Prehistoric Colchester
fig 3.1 Prehistoric and iron age Colchester: distributions of find spots
and significant elements shown in relation to the later roman town
wall.
fig 3.2 the Colchester area showing the principal features from the
Prehistoric to roman periods, including cropmarks (in light grey),
roman roads (in grey) and dykes (in black).
fig 3.3 the ritual pit deposit excavated at Culver square is the earliest
settlement evidence from what is now Colchester town centre
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 3.4 the sheepen Cauldron (the society of antiquaries).
fig 3.5 reconstruction painting of a middle iron age enclosure at ypres
road, Colchester (© Peter froste. all rights reserved, DaCs 2013).
fig 3.6 Plan of the middle iron age enclosure at ypres road, Colchester
(Colchester archaeological trust).
4 Camulodunon in the late iron age, c 50–aD 43
fig 4.1 a gold quarter-stater of tasciovanus with the mint mark Caml.
this coin was struck around 25 BC and is the oldest surviving
representation of the ancient name of Colchester (Colem:
2006.4).
fig 4.2 fragments of ‘coin moulds’ as found during excavations at Kiln
road, sheepen in 1971, which were used to make blanks rather than
the coins themselves (Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 4.3 Distribution of the coins of tasciovanus and Cunobelin (Cunliffe
2010, source CCi 2003).
fig 4.4 a view of gryme’s Dyke, showing the usual arrangement of an
outer ditch and an inner bank. although gryme’s Dyke is 1st century,
definitely post-Conquest and probably post-Boudican, it is of the
same design as earlier iron age examples (Colchester museums).
fig 4.5 a reconstruction painting of a late iron age ship based on a
design found on a coin of Cunobelin (frank gardiner).
fig 4.6 the lexden tumulus was arguably subject to one of the first
scientific excavations in Colchester and certainly demonstrated the
significance of the area for the study of late iron age Britain (Philip
J Wise).
fig 4.7 the burial site at stanway, to the west of Colchester, is of
international importance for the study of the funerary rituals of
the late iron age elite (insert to fig 3.2) (Colchester archaeological
trust).
fig 4.8 Cropmark features in the gosbecks area (insert to fig 3.2)
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 4.9 sheepen, showing a selection of features from the various
excavations (insert to fig 3.2).
5 the roman legionary fortress, aD 43–49
fig 5.1 the legionary fortress and annexe; distribution of find spots,
monuments and significant elements shown in relation to the later
roman town wall.
fig 5.2 an aerial photograph of the roman fort at gosbecks taken in
1979 (ida mcmaster).
fig 5.3 Construction methods for roman walls, from lion Walk, Culver
street and Balkerne lane (Colchester archaeological trust).
6 the early roman colonia, aD 49–61
fig 6.1 the early colonia and its eastward extension showing distribution
of find spots, monuments and significant elements.
fig 6.2 the ‘vaults’ or foundations of the temple of Claudius as these
appear today; the sand, which originally filled the void was dug out
in the late 17th century (Colchester museums).
fig 6.3 the tombstone of marcus favonius facilis provides remarkable
evidence for the weapons, armour and clothing of a centurion of
the mid-1st century aD (Colchester museums).
fig 6.4 the tombstone of longinus shows a mounted roman
cavalryman riding triumphantly over a cowering barbarian (Colchester
museums).
fig 6.5 the ‘Child’s grave’ is an outstanding burial from roman Britain
and demonstrates the pre-eminence of Colchester in the early years
of the colonia (Colchester museums).
xiii
list of illustrations
7 the later roman town, aD 61–410
fig 7.1 Plan of the roman town, with insulae numbered, in relation to
the modern town.
fig 7.2 the later roman town showing street grid and distribution of
monuments and significant elements.
fig 7.3 the roman town wall to the south of the Balkerne gate
displays characteristic alternating courses of tile and septaria (tony
nichols).
fig 7.4 the surviving pedestrian archway of the Balkerne gate is only a
small part of what was a massive entranceway into roman Colchester
from the west (tony nichols).
fig 7.5 a view of Duncan’s gate taken in 1929, following its conservation,
which clearly shows the separate block of fallen masonry representing
part of the tower (Colchester museums).
fig 7.6 elevation showing the interior face of the roman town wall and
the roman culvert at short Wyre street (Colchester archaeological
trust).
fig 7.7 the roman drain at st Peters street under excavation (Colchester
archaeological trust).
fig 7.8 the roman theatre in maidenburgh street as it might have
appeared in c aD 275 (© Peter froste. all rights reserved, DaCs
2013).
fig 7.9 excavations have now revealed evidence for the whole of the
plan of the circus, including the central barrier, the running track, the
stands and the starting gates (Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.10 Culver street aD c 44–49 (insert to fig 7.2) (Colchester
archaeological trust).
fig 7.11 Culver street aD 60/61 – c 150/200 (insert to fig 7.2)
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.12 Culver street aD c 150/200 – c 275–325 (insert to fig 7.2)
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.13 lion Walk aD c 49–61 (insert to fig 7.2) (Colchester
archaeological trust).
fig 7.14 lion Walk aD c 100–450 (insert to fig 7.2) (Colchester
archaeological trust).
fig 7.15 Bathhouse and town houses at the sixth form College
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.16 Bathhouse at the sixth form College under excavation
(Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.17 Part of a cylindrical glass cup decorated with an image of a
charioteer with four horses reigned to a halt. it was found at Balkerne
lane, Colchester in 1976 and dates to the period aD 60—80
(Colem: 1986.67.9999).
fig 7.18 the middleborough mosaic (Colchester archaeological
trust).
fig 7.19 ground plan of temple of Claudius (P Crummy 1980).
fig 7.20 gosbecks in the roman period (Colchester archaeological
trust).
fig 7.21 reconstruction drawing of the ‘temple-tomb’ found at the
royal grammar school in 2005 (© Peter froste. all rights reserved,
DaCs 2013).
fig 7.22 location map of roman cemeteries.
fig 7.23 Plan of roman burials excavated at abbey field, napier road
and garrison areas J1 north and C2 (insert to fig 7.22) (Colchester
archaeological trust).
fig 7.24 Plan of roman burials excavated at handford house (insert to
fig 7.22) (Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.25 Plan of roman burials excavated at Butt road (insert to fig
7.22) (Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 7.26 the site at Butt road is one of only a handful of roman churches
recognised in Britain (Philip J Wise).
fig 7.27 Plan of Butt road roman Church (Colchester archaeological
trust).
fig 7.28 extramural development at Balkerne lane and st mary’s
hospital site (insert to fig 7.2) (Colchester archaeological trust).
8 early anglo-saxon Colchester, 410–916
fig 8.1 the early anglo-saxon town showing distribution of find spots,
monuments and significant elements.
fig 8.2 hut 1, a sunken-featured building from lion Walk, is one of
very few pieces of evidence for an early anglo-saxon presence in
Colchester (Colchester archaeological trust).
fig 8.3 a group of anglo-saxon objects from the guildford road estate,
Colchester found in the early 1970s: 1 bronze brooch spring; 2–3
bronze rings; 4–5 bronze brooches; 6–11 beads; 12 silver finger-rings
(from CAR 1, fig. 13).
9 late anglo-saxon Colchester, 917–1066
fig 9.1 the late anglo-saxon town showing distribution of find spots,
monuments and significant elements.
fig 9.2 the tower of holy trinity church is the only surviving architectural
evidence of late saxon Colchester (tony nichols).
fig 9.3 the triangular-headed west doorway of holy trinity church tower
is of characteristic anglo-saxon design (tony nichols).
fig 9.4 a silver penny of Æthelred ii struck by the moneyer swetinc
during the period aD 991–7. this is one of the earliest coins minted
in Colchester (Colem: 1929.517).
10 early medieval Colchester, 1066–1348
fig 10.1 the early medieval town showing distribution of monuments
and significant elements.
fig 10.2 the south front of Colchester Castle said to be the largest
norman keep in existence (tony nichols).
fig 10.3 although the present scheregate only dates to the 17th century,
it is retains the feel of a medieval gateway, the only point on the circuit
of the town wall where this is possible (tony nichols).
fig 10.4 st John’s abbey church from the south; a late 15th-century view,
as shown in morant’s ‘history of Colchester’ of 1748, appears to
show a norman building with later gothic additions.
fig 10.5 the west front of st Botolph’s Priory contains the traces of the
earliest major round window in england, c 1150 (tony nichols).
fig 10.6 Detail of the architecture of the west front of st Botolph’s
Priory (tony nichols)
fig 10.7 a plan showing the medieval stone houses recorded in the town
centre (from CAR 1, fig. 53).
fig 10.8 the norman house at foundry yard photographed during its
demolition in 1886, showing the exterior western wall and the interior
of the building beyond (Colchester museums).
fig 10.9 the cellar beneath 35–37 high street showing a rubble wall
with surviving 14th-century features (Philip J Wise).
11 late medieval Colchester, 1349–1540
fig 11.1 the late medieval town showing distribution of monuments
and significant elements.
fig 11.2 the angel Court excavation site as it was in the late medieval
and post-medieval periods (from esah 27, fig 9).
fig 11.3 Bastion 2 in Priory street is one of a series of external towers
added to the town wall to strengthen its south-eastern corner (Philip
J Wise).
fig 11.4 the red lion hotel dates to 1515. it is probably the most
significant surviving timber-framed building in Colchester (Colchester
museums).
fig 11.5 the Marquis of Granby on north hill, built in the 1520s, has a
surviving rear door with carved spandrels (Colchester museums).
fig 11.6 the east wing of the Marquis of Granby has a main ceiling beam
resting on brackets with very well-carved male figures dating to c 1525
(Colchester museums).
fig 11.7 st John’s abbey gatehouse was built as a tangible expression
of the power and prestige of the abbey during the 15th century
(tony nichols).
xiv
12 Post-medieval Colchester, 1540–1700
fig 12.1 the post-medieval town showing distribution of monuments
and significant elements.
fig 12.2 the timber-framed building at all saints Court in Culver street
was recorded by the royal Commission in 1922, but sadly demolished
in 1939 (Colchester museums).
fig 12.3 speed’s map of 1610 is the earliest accurate depiction of
Colchester showing many details which may still be verified today such
as the location of the town’s churches (essex record office).
fig 12.4 the 1648 siege map shows the Parliamentarian batteries and
siegeworks encircling the town (essex record office).
13 Post-1700 Colchester
fig 13.1 a view of Colchester high street in 1858, including three
buildings now demolished: the Cups hotel in 1972, the first victorian
town hall in 1899 and st runwald’s Church in 1878 (Colchester
museums)
list of illustrations
fig 13.2 the officers’ quarters at the le Cateau Barracks built in the
period 1873–5 for the royal artillery and part of a very rare surviving
group of military buildings (Colchester museums).
fig 13.3 Workmen leaving Paxman’s engineering works at the hythe in
1910 (Colchester museums).
List of Tables
table 1
table 2
table 3
table 4
table 5
table 6
table 7
lesser streets in the legionary fortress
legionary barracks in the fortress
major excavations in the early Colonia
earliest documentary references to medieval streets
analysis of medieval and early modern houses and ‘buildings’
on the statutory lists for Colchester and saffron Walden by
century
significant surviving late medieval buildings in Colchester
excavated post-medieval buildings in Colchester
foreword
three simple letters - ‘Cam’ – appear on certain coins
minted in Britain shortly before the birth of Christ. these
letters confer on Colchester the signal distinction of being
the oldest recorded town in the British isles, because ‘Cam’
is an abbreviation of ‘Camulodunon’, the Celtic name (later
rendered in latin as ‘Camulodunum’) for the place we now
know as Colchester. these coins were almost certainly
minted here, because Camulodunum was a capital for
British tribal kings before the roman conquest of Britain
in 43 aD. it was then the place where the victorious roman
emperor Claudius accepted the submission to roman rule
of a number of British tribes. Camulodunum subsequently
became a roman colonia (a settlement for retired legionary
soldiers) and was one of the most important cities in the
roman province of Britannia. in saxon and medieval times
it became a significant regional centre, a role that Colchester
retains to this day.
given this long and illustrious history, it is no surprise
that Colchester has a rich archaeological and historical
heritage. archaeologists and antiquarians have been
collecting information about Colchester’s past since the
16th century. the town has many monuments and historic
buildings, while much more has lain hidden until uncovered
by archaeological excavations. the history of archaeological
research in Colchester, as in many other places, has been
closely bound up with discoveries made during development
and expansion of the town. important excavations were
carried out in the 1930s, and then again from the 1950s
onwards. the pace of activity has quickened in recent
decades, with some 157 archaeological interventions
having taken place in the Borough since 1990. Planning
permission for new development is now routinely linked to
a requirement for archaeological work before building starts,
so there is a steady stream of important new information
coming to light.
this is the background to the present volume. it is a
product of a long-term english heritage programme,
launched in 1992 under the title Managing the Urban
Archaeological Resource. one part of that programme has
been to carry out detailed studies of the archaeology of
35 selected major historic towns and cities in england.
Colchester was, naturally enough, one of the places
chosen. from the start, the project was envisaged as having
three stages. the first was to compile a detailed urban
archaeological Database (or uaD), linked to computerised
mapping, of archaeological excavations and discoveries
in Colchester. the uaD is held by Colchester Borough
Council. the second stage was to produce a synthesis
(an ’urban archaeological assessment’) of this mass of
material. the present volume is the result of that work.
the third and final stage was to produce a strategy for the
future care and appreciation of Colchester’s archaeological
and historic heritage. some work has been done on this, but
frequent changes in the planning system in recent years have
impeded the completion and adoption of such a strategy.
this remains an important task for the Borough.
this volume therefore represents the culmination of
a long-term process. the Colchester uaD was compiled
between 1998 and 2000, with subsequent updates in
the following years. the first draft of this volume was
completed in 2002 but staff changes and other pressures
meant that it was not possible to submit the manuscript until
2011. the long gestation of the volume is a testament to
the difficulties of undertaking synthesis of archaeological
results on this scale. there have been many hundreds of
archaeological excavations, observations and discoveries
in Colchester since the 18th century, and drawing these
together into an accessible narrative has been a major task.
the value of having achieved this synthesis lies in the fact
that there is now, in this volume, a comprehensive and
authoritative summary of the archaeology of Colchester,
fully supported by a detailed bibliography, gazetteer and
cross-references to the Colchester uaD for anyone who
wishes to follow up the original sources.
the appearance of this volume is in itself a considerable
tribute to the efforts of its authors. Warm thanks are to
be extended to the main authors, David radford and
adrian gascoyne, who did much of the basic work of
distilling the contents of the Colchester uaD – which they
themselves had compiled – into an integrated narrativebased account. very considerable thanks are also due to
the other contributors to the volume (Philip Crummy, nina
Crummy, rosalind niblett, Dave stenning, steve Benfield,
Peter murphy and andrew Phillips) for their hard and
xvi
foreWorD
diligent work, which has brought much detailed
and specialist knowledge and insight to the
text. the greatest debt of gratitude, however,
is owed to Philip Wise, who co-ordinated the
work on the volume throughout, and who has
made a major contribution by bringing together
and editing the contributions of each of the
authors. Without Philip’s great determination
and many hours of hard work, fitted in around
other duties in Colchester museum, it is quite
possible that the volume would never have
seen the light of day. on behalf of english
heritage, at whose suggestion the project was
carried out, i would like to thank all of these
people.
one of the defining characteristics of
archaeology as a subject is that it does not
stand still. new discoveries are constantly
being made, and fresh interpretations and
ideas are always being developed. the
finding in 2007, on a development site, of
the internationally important Colchester
roman circus demonstrates, in a particularly
graphic way, how even a place as thoroughly
explored as Colchester still has the capacity to
yield surprises. the flow of discoveries will
continue and, at some point in the future, a
fresh synthesis of Colchester’s archaeology will
undoubtedly be needed. that day, however,
seems likely to lie far in the future. the present
volume will stand as a major milestone in the
study of Colchester’s past for many years to
come. furthermore, the publication of this
volume will, in itself, almost certainly prompt
renewed debate about Colchester’s past,
and the framing of new questions on which
archaeological work may be able to shed light.
i hope, therefore, that this volume, as well as
marking the conclusion of a major endeavour,
will also signal a beginning: the start of a further
chapter in the investigation of this town’s rich
and internationally important archaeological
and historic heritage.
roger m thomas
english heritage
august 2012
acknowledgements
the Colchester urban archaeological Database was created
by David radford and adrian gascoyne under the direction
of a steering group comprising roger thomas, Deborah
Priddy, ian vipond, Paul gilman, Peter Berridge and Philip
J Wise.
the principal authors would like to thank their coauthors, Philip Crummy, nina Crummy, rosalind niblett,
Dave stenning, steve Benfield, Peter murphy and andrew
Phillips, for their contributions to this assessment volume.
its preparation has been greatly assisted by steve Benfield,
howard Brooks, Chris lister, maureen mcDonald and
the staff of the Colchester archaeological trust. in
addition, assistance and advice has been received from
mark Davies, richard shackle, Paul Coverley, rod ross,
simon Collcutt and alison Bennett. lastly, we would like
to thank Pat Brown, John mallinson and other members
of the Colchester archaeological group for their roles in
undertaking the Colchester Cellar survey.
the authors and editor would also like to thank the
following for acting as referees for individual chapters: Bob
markham, nigel Brown, rosalind niblett, Paul sealey, steve
roskams, Catherine hills, andrew reynolds, Brian ayres,
nigel Baker, John schofield and mike fulford. in addition,
stanley ireland has commented on the sub-sections dealing
with roman history and Peter Berridge on those relating
to Colchester Castle. the gazetteers were checked by alex
richards and the remainder of the text by sarah harrison.
additional editorial assistance was provided by Kate orr to
whom the editor is most grateful. the photographs were
taken by tony nichols and Philip J Wise.
abbreviations
AS Chron
Bodl
Bl
Cal Inq Misc
Cam.
Cat
CatB
Close R
Cm
Cmr
Colchester Archaeol
Colem
CPl
CR
CuCaP
DNB
ehCr
elm
ero
fnD
gg
grP
mon
os
PoW
rChme
RIB1
RIB 2
Rot Parl
sau
Trans Essex Archaeol Soc
uaD
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Bodleian library, oxford
British library
Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery) preserved in the Public Record Office (hmso 1965–
68)
Camulodunum pottery fabric series described in hawkes and hull 1947, 202–81
Colchester archaeological trust (where followed in the text by a series of numbers and letters
this represents an archive report)
Colchester archaeological trust Buildings series
Close Rolls of the Reign of Henry III preserved in the Public Record Office (hmso 1902–75)
Colchester museums
Borough of Colchester [annual] report of the museum and muniment Committee
The Colchester Archaeologist (Colchester archaeological trust annual magazine)
Colchester museums accession register
Colchester Public library
Colchester Court Roll
Cambridge university Collection of air Photos
Dictionary of National Biography
essex heritage Conservation record
element
essex record office
find
grave group; m r hull’s unpublished Index of Grave Groups, Colchester museums
group
monument
ordnance survey
prisoner of war
royal Commission on the historical monuments of england
r g Collingwood and r P Wright (eds) 1965 Roman Inscriptions of Britain, vol 1. oxford: Clarendon
Press
s s frere and r s o tomlin (eds) 1991 Roman Inscriptions of Britain, vol 2, fascicule 3
s s frere and r s o tomlin (eds) 1994 Roman Inscriptions of Britain, vol 2, fascicule 6
Rotuli Parliamentorum (1783, 1832). london
suffolk archaeological unit
Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, the former (pre-1972) title for Essex Archaeol Hist
urban archaeological Database
summary
this volume is a critical assessment of the current state of
archaeological knowledge of the settlement originally called
Camulodunon and now known as Colchester. the town has
been the subject of antiquarian interest since the late 16th
century and the first modern archaeological excavations
occurred in 1845 close to Colchester Castle, the town’s most
prominent historic site.
the earliest significant human occupation recorded
from Colchester dates to the late neolithic, but it was only
towards the end of the 1st century BC that an oppidum
was established in the area. this was superseded initially
by a roman legionary fortress and then the colonia of
Camulodunum on a hilltop bounded on the north and east
by the river Colne. there is little evidence for continuing
occupation here in the early post-roman period, but in 917
the town was re-established as a burgh and gradually grew
in importance.
after the norman Conquest, a castle was built on the
foundations of the ruined roman temple of Claudius, and
a priory and an abbey were established just to the south
of the walled town. although the town, as elsewhere,
was affected by the Dissolution of the monasteries and
the english Civil War it remained essentially medieval in
character until the 18th century. During the 19th century
this process of change was accelerated by the arrival of
the railway, industrialisation and the establishment of the
military garrison.
since the 1960s Colchester has been subject to recurring
phases of re-development, the most recent having ended
only in 2007, which have had a significant impact on the
historic environment. fortunately the activities of the
Colchester archaeological trust have resulted in the town
being one of the best studied in the country and thus
enabled this present volume to be written.
The UAD Study Area
the Colchester urban archaeological Database (uaD)
covers an area of 20 square km. the boundaries of the
study area follow os grid squares in a rectangle defined
by the ngr points tl970230, tl970270, tm020230
and tm020270. the uaD encompasses the iron age
and roman settlement at sheepen, the iron age burials
at lexden, the roman walled town, the roman suburbs
and cemeteries, the medieval suburbs and ecclesiastical
precincts, the port at new hythe and the bulk of the Civil
War siege circuit. monuments only partly falling into the
uaD area are excluded, with the exception of the gosbecks
complex and iron age and roman dykes. the cut-off date
for the uaD is 1700.
Note on site names
over time the place-names of certain locations in Colchester
have changed. most notable examples are the nineteenthcentury union Workhouse, which during the latter part of
the twentieth century was known as st mary’s hospital and,
following its closure in 1993 and subsequent demolition, is
now known as Balkerne heights; and the building which
from 1959 to 1987 was known as the gilberd school and
today is the sixth form College.
Note on report preparation
the first draft of the Colchester urban archaeological
assessment was completed by David radford and adrian
gascoyne in 2002. Work on revising the manuscript
following the comments of external referees occurred in
the following years and the text of the main chapters was
revised by Philip J Wise in 2008 to take account of recent
discoveries. the contributions by Philip and nina Crummy
were originally written in 2002 and, likewise, where possible,
were revised to bring them up to date. in 2010–11, following
comments by an external reader, the prehistoric, iron age
and roman chapters were further revised.
résumé
Ce volume est une évaluation critique de l’état actuel de
nos connaissances de l’archéologie d’un campement qui
s’appelait à l’origine Camulodunon et est maintenant connu
sous le nom de Colchester. la ville a fait l’objet de l’intérêt
des passionnés d’antiquité depuis la fin du xvie siècle et
les premières fouilles archéologiques modernes ont eu lieu
en 1845 près du château de Colchester, le site historique le
plus proéminent de la ville.
la plus ancienne occupation humaine de quelque
importance répertoriée à Colchester date de la fin du
néolithique, mais ce ne fut que vers la fin du ier siècle av.
J.-C. qu’un oppidum fut établi dans cette zone. Celui-ci
fut remplacé initialement par une forteresse légionnaire
romaine puis par la colonia de Camulodunum sur un sommet
de colline bordée au nord et à l’est par la rivière Colne. il y
a peu de témoignages d’occupation continue à cet endroit
au début de la période post-romaine, mais, en 917, la ville
fut réétablie en tant que bourg et son importance s’accrut
graduellement.
après la conquête normande, un château fut construit
sur les fondations du temple romain de Claudius, alors en
ruines, et un prieuré et une abbaye furent fondés juste au
sud de la ville fortifiée. Bien que, comme ailleurs, la ville
fut affectée par la dissolution des monastères et la guerre
civile anglaise, elle a essentiellement gardé son caractère
médiéval jusqu’au xviiie siècle. au cours du xixe siècle
ce processus de changement s’accéléra à cause de l’arrivée
du chemin de fer, de l’industrialisation et de l’implantation
d’une garnison militaire.
Depuis les années 1960, Colchester a été l’objet de
récurrentes phases de remise en valeur, la plus récente
n’ayant pris fin qu’en 2007, qui ont eu un impact significatif
sur l’environnement historique. heureusement, les
interventions du trust archéologique de Colchester ont eu
comme résultat que la ville est l’une des mieux étudiées du
pays et ont ainsi permis la rédaction du présent volume.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Band ist eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme des
aktuellen archäologischen Kenntnisstands über die
ursprünglich Camulodunon genannte siedlung, die jetzt als
Colchester bekannt ist. Die stadt war schon seit dem späten
16. Jahrhundert gegenstand antiquarischen interesses, und
die ersten modernen archäologischen ausgrabungen wurden
1845 in der nähe von Colchester Castle durchgeführt, der
bedeutendsten historischen stätte der stadt.
Die frühste gesicherte menschliche siedlungsaktivität in
Colchester stammt aus der späten neusteinzeit, aber die
gründung eines oppidums in diesem Bereich fand erst
gegen ende des 1. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. statt. Diesem folgte
zunächst ein römisches legionslager und später die auf
einem im norden und osten vom fluss Colne begrenzten
hügel gelegene colonia Camulodunum. es fanden sich bislang
nur geringe hinweise für eine fortdauer der Besiedlung in
der frühen nach-römischen Periode, aber seit der im Jahre
917 erfolgten neugründung der stadt als eine burgh nahm
ihre Bedeutung stetig zu.
nach der normannischen eroberung wurde auf den
fundamenten des römischen Claudius-tempels eine Burg
errichtet, und unmittelbar südlich der stadtmauer wurden
ein Priorat und eine abtei gegründet. obwohl die stadt, wie
andere orte auch, von den auswirkungen der auflösung der
Klöster und dem englischen Bürgerkrieg nicht verschont
blieb, behielt sie ihren mittelalterlichen Charakter doch
bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Während des 19. Jahrhunderts
beschleunigte sich dieser veränderungsprozess mit der
ankunft der eisenbahn, der industrialisierung und der
gründung der militärischen garnison.
seit den 1960iger Jahren sah sich Colchester wiederholte
male sanierungsphasen ausgesetzt; die jüngste Phase, die
bedeutende auswirkungen auf das historische umfeld
hatte, wurde erst 2007 abgeschlossen. Die abfassung dieses
Bandes wurde ermöglicht, da Colchester durch die arbeit
des Colchester archaeological trust glücklicherweise eine
der am besten erforschten städte des landes ist.
Übersetzung: Jörn schuster
introduction
Colchester lies in the south-east of england, in
the county of essex, 82km (50 miles) northeast of london. its estuarine location has been
significant throughout its history. the town
sits on a low plateau of glacial outwash sands
and gravels delimited by the river Colne to the
north, and the roman river to the south.
the earliest settlement on this site was
the massive iron age territorial oppidum of
Camulodunon. the oppidum was defended by
an extensive dyke system enclosing some 28
square km. the significance of this settlement
was such that it was the main strategic objective
of the roman invasion force in aD 43,
with the emperor Claudius himself entering
the oppidum as commander-in-chief of the
victorious army.
the main areas of iron age settlement
were situated to the west and south-west
of the town, at sheepen and gosbecks. at
sheepen, extensive excavations between 1930
and 1939 produced evidence for a major
trading and manufacturing settlement dating
back to around aD 5. to the south-west, at
gosbecks, excavations and aerial photography
have revealed an extensive native farm based
around a large trapezoidal farmstead enclosure
and associated ritual enclosure. Coin evidence
suggests the existence of a defended settlement
here by 25 BC. elsewhere, important iron
age prestige burial areas have been located at
lexden and stanway.
in aD 49 the legionary fortress was converted
into a colonia and effectively became the first
capital of roman Britain. its high status was
assured by the construction of the impressive
temple of Claudius in the city, which was built
to worship the deified emperor after his death
in aD 54. the temple and city were burnt to
the ground during the Boudican revolt of aD
60/1, but were rebuilt shortly afterwards. the
difficulty of bringing larger roman ships up
the relatively shallow river Colne, as well as
the city’s geographical isolation, quickly led
to london overtaking Colchester in terms of
political importance. nevertheless, Colchester
remained an important provincial centre until
the collapse of roman rule in the 5th century,
although the settlement may have declined
significantly from the end of the third century,
as the suburbs appear to contract after this
time. today the richness of Colchester’s
roman legacy can be seen in the exceptional
period collections held at Colchester Castle
museum and in the upstanding roman
structures – including the town wall, the
Balkerne gate, the roman drains and the
podium of the temple of Claudius.
roman Colchester appears to have finally
succumbed to saxon settlers by aD 450.
three ‘sunken-featured buildings’ have been
identified within the walls, the earliest dating
to c aD 400–50 and the latest to the 7th
century. the pattern of early saxon settlement
is dispersed and low-level; pottery, coins,
loomweights and brooches of the 5th–8th
centuries have been found spread across the
walled area. outside the walls a number of
saxon graves have been located at mersea
road, the guildford road estate and the
union, apparently continuing the use of
roman burial areas. During the 8th and 9th
centuries Colchester appears to have been little
more than a village, the inhabitants of which
were engaged in subsistence farming.
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in
aD 917 the town was besieged and taken
from the Danes by the english, although
no archaeological evidence for a settled
Danish presence has been found to date.
the chronicler also mentions the subsequent
repair and restoration of the town by King
edward the elder, which could indicate the
strengthening of the town walls and possibly
xxiii
introDuCtion
Fig 0.1 Map of Eastern
England showing the
location of Colchester and
places mentioned in the
text.
the relaying of the street grid at this time.
archaeological evidence for the 10th century is
also sparse. however, once again history gives
us some indication of the town’s re-emerging
urban status with the establishment of a mint
in Colchester during the reign of Æthelred ii
(aD 979–1016).
By the time of the norman Conquest
Colchester was a thriving saxon burgh with a
number of churches within its walls, including
holy trinity, whose tower, dated to c 1000,
is Colchester’s finest surviving example of
saxon architecture. the normans had a
substantial and lasting influence on the town
which included the construction of a castle,
the keep of which was of larger size than that
of the tower of london. in 1072 William i
granted the borough to eudo Dapifer, who
became very prominent in the norman town.
in particular, he founded st John’s abbey and
the leper hospital of st mary magdalen. During
eudo’s life a second monastery was created
with the building of st Botolph’s Priory, the
first augustinian foundation in Britain.
it is rare for early medieval structures which
are neither churches nor castles to survive
the ravages of cellar construction and urban
renewal. the moot hall, constructed around
1160, was demolished in 1843 to make way for
a new town hall, but, miraculously, a number of
13th-century structures survived until the 20th
century. six stone houses have been recorded
inside the town walls and it seems likely that
these buildings (now mostly demolished)
were originally occupied by the town’s Jewish
population. none of the houses appear to have
dated from after the expulsion of the Jews
from england in 1290 and it is likely that the
stone construction provided extra security for
the occupants in these dangerous times.
Colchester achieved self-government in
the 12th century, a status that was to generate
tensions between burghers and local manorial
lords that resulted in a number of sieges and
confrontations over hunting rights and legal
jurisdiction during the next two centuries.
xxiv
introDuCtion
another key event in the early medieval history
of Colchester was the relocation of the town
port from old heath or old hythe to the new
hythe. the first reference to the ‘new’ hythe
is made in 1272, although it is possible that it
had taken over from old heath long before
this. the town records note many attempts to
improve the watercourse along the Colne, with
only limited success; nevertheless, the new
hythe did survive as a working port well into
the 20th century.
the Black Death makes its first appearance
in Colchester in 1348–9, taking a third of the
population, yet its return in 1360 did not stop
the growth of the town’s cloth industry. By the
late 14th century immigrants from across the
country were being attracted to Colchester and
all five mills along the Colne had been adapted
for fulling. the rapid growth of the town’s cloth
industry was interrupted by war in europe
in the 1420s, but resumed in the mid-15th
century when the hanseatic league was at its
height. the early 16th century saw the industry
contract once again, only to be revived by the
influx of flemish immigrants in the 1560s. the
flemish and their cloth-making skills created a
building boom in the town, the legacy of which
can be seen today in the timber-framed town
houses of the Dutch Quarter and elsewhere.
the plague returned in 1514 and again at regular
intervals until 1679. But neither the devastating
Civil War siege in 1648, which led to the loss
of an estimated 200 buildings, nor the death
of half the population from plague in 1665–6,
stopped the cloth industry thriving once again
in the late 17th century.
in the 18th century the town got a glimpse
of its future with the arrival of a temporary
garrison during the napoleonic Wars. this was
disbanded in 1815, but the soldiers returned
40 years later when a permanent garrison was
established, which to this day occupies a swathe
of land to the south of the town. in 1792 essex’s
first iron foundry was established just off the
high street and, with the arrival of the railway
in 1843, Colchester was primed to develop a
thriving engineering industry in the late 19th
century. the Britannia engineering Works,
mumford’s marine engineers and Davey
Paxman, manufacturers of steam engines and
boilers, became the town’s biggest employers.
this resulted in terraced housing for factory
employees spreading out of the medieval
suburbs and consuming the land previously
occupied by the napoleonic garrison and parts
of the former monastic precincts.
the 19th and early 20th centuries saw the
construction of a number of major public
buildings, including the essex County hospital
(1819 onwards), the royal grammar school
(1852–3), the Water tower or ‘Jumbo’ (1882–
3), Colchester north station (1895–6), the
predecessor of the present sixth form College
(1908–9) and, most notably, the new town
hall (1897–1902). these buildings and others
have had a defining role in the appearance of
modern Colchester and in some cases their
construction, or subsequent redevelopment,
led to some major archaeological discoveries.
the two World Wars, as elsewhere, had a
significant impact on the town, although this
was perhaps more in terms of social factors
than the town’s buildings as, apart from the
february 1944 bombing of st Botolph’s
Corner, Colchester suffered comparatively
little damage from air raids. Considerably more
visible are the post-war housing estates, built
from the late 1950s onwards, and the results
of the redevelopment of the town centre,
with first the lion Walk Precinct (1968–76)
and then the Culver Precinct (opened 1988)
being constructed along with an inner ring road
known as southway (1973–4) and Balkerne
Way (1976–7). this redevelopment led to a
series of major rescue excavations which have
very greatly contributed to our knowledge of
Colchester’s archaeology.
today, the population of Colchester is
around 170,800 (according to the mid-2006
estimate) and is expected to continue to rise
during the coming years. there is thus certain
to be further development and redevelopment
of the town and, with this, the opportunity for
further archaeological discoveries in ‘Britain’s
oldest recorded town’.
1 the history of archaeology in Colchester
The antiquarians and collectors
Colchester first became the subject of scholarly
curiosity about its ancient past during the
renaissance. it was in the late 16th century
that the discovery of roman coins and other
remains at Colchester attracted the attention
of the english historian William Camden,
who included these in a topographical survey
of Britain published in 1586 (Camden 1772,
356). local interest first developed in the
early 18th century when Charles gray, a keen
local antiquarian, came into possession of
Colchester Castle and started a programme
of repair. he assembled a private collection
of archaeological objects and curiosities,
which were put on display in the castle from
1756. around the same time the revd Philip
morant, the rector of st mary-at-the-Walls,
published his groundbreaking History and
Antiquities of Colchester. the book was based
on an examination of town documents dating
back to the 14th century that had been kept in a
chest in the moot hall. it also included a section
on ‘antiques, roman Pavements, Coins, and
medals’ from Colchester (morant 1768, bk iii,
182–91). morant was apparently a flamboyant
character, who wore great wigs and carried a
gold-topped cane, but he was also a serious
historian and his work became a landmark
publication for the study of Colchester’s past,
setting a standard for all that followed.
in the late 18th century Colchester began
to feature in the journals and publications
that had emerged in response to the growing
interest in antiquarian pursuits. for example,
an account of ‘a roman pavement with wheat
underneath it’ was published in Archaeologia in
1773 (hull 1958, 103 nos. 21 and 22), while in
1794 a summary of pavements in Colchester,
including a description of a pavement found
in st martin’s lane in the previous year,
was published in volume iii of Vetusta
Monumenta (ibid, 104 no. 25). in the early 19th
century more widely read publications filtered
archaeology and history into the consciousness
of the town’s literate classes. for example, in
1810 The History and Antiquities of the Borough of
Colchester, a popular guide to the town’s history
based largely on morant’s work and intended
as an affordable guide (priced two shillings),
was published (marsden 1810).
in 1820 the Colchester Philosophical
society was founded and established its
own museum in Queen street; this was
unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1835. in 1821
the discovery of a carved stone sphinx during
the construction of the essex County hospital
generated much excitement in the town,
but despite this the corporation remained
reluctant to commit funds to the protection of
antiquities or monuments (fig 1.1). fortunately
William Wire, a clock-maker and postman, kept
a diary of discoveries made during building
works between 1842 and 1857. his notes
went beyond simply recording objects; he also
recorded where they came from, and provided
descriptions of the work and occasional
sketches of features and monuments. Wire
was able to supervise a number of the large
public works of victorian Colchester, such as
the railway and the first deep sewers and new
gas mains. he also advocated the creation
of a town museum, but was frustrated in his
efforts by the local establishment, who were
2
Fig 1.1 The Built-up Area of Colchester Showing Modern Streets (insert to Fig 3.2).
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
the history of arChaeology in ColChester
3
suspicious of his radical Whig politics. at
one point he tried to set up his own public
museum, but lacked the funds to sustain it.
later he was forced through poverty to sell
his collection, a substantial portion of which
ultimately ended up in the British museum,
although some returned to Colchester. Wire’s
attempts to salvage information sometimes
met with stiff opposition, as described in, for
example, his entry relating to the destruction
of the moot hall:
visited the town hall works, upon mr Jenkins saying
there is the man looking after antiquities mr. franklin
Bricklayer one of the contractors told me he would
imprison any man on the works who sold me anything
found there and if he knew i asked for anything found
there he would transport me if he could … so i told
him i was out of reach of so ill tempered a man.
(Wire nd, 4.8.1843)
Wire was central to the formation of the
Colchester archaeological association in 1850
and held the secretary’s position until being
ousted by a local vicar whose political and
religious views were more attuned to those
of the club members. after two years the
association merged with the newly formed
essex archaeological society which was firmly
under the control of the local gentry and
which held its meetings in the afternoons when
working men like Wire could not attend. on
the positive side, the principal aim of the new
society was the creation of a town museum. in
1846 the town council succumbed and agreed
to make space in the new town hall for articles
of antiquity. the accession book was opened
on 2 september 1846, but it was another 14
years before the museum was opened to the
public.
the deepening of local interest in
archaeology corresponded with the expansion
of Colchester’s western suburbs and the
development of urban infrastructure, which
resulted in a series of exciting archaeological
discoveries. Westward expansion led to the
recovery of large numbers of roman grave
groups along the london road, stimulating
collectors and antiquarians to actively pursue
more finds. Private collections were accumulated
by individuals such as george Joslin, a m
Jarmin, John taylor and the revd J h Pollexfen,
and many of these finds eventually found their
way into the museum’s collections (may 1930).
taylor and Joslin comprehensively trenched
their gardens at West lodge and Beverley road,
producing remarkable collections of roman
pottery, jewellery and glass. south of the
town the development of the military garrison
revealed densely packed cremation cemeteries
and, at Butt road, a gravel pit disturbed a
large late roman inhumation cemetery. West
of the town walls, within the grounds of the
union Workhouse, a plethora of finds was
recovered, with inmates encouraged to dig
pits by the possibility of financial reward for
roman objects. Beyond the north-east corner
of the town walls a brickyard produced more
scattered roman burials, while the railway
cutting north of the river Colne ploughed
through yet more internments. only from the
east of the town was little recovered in the
19th century, probably because east hill had
been built up from the medieval period and
later georgian terracing may have removed
surviving evidence without record. By contrast,
the extramural deposits west of the town
benefited from the closing of the west gate in
the 3rd century.
the clergy formed the archaeological
vanguard in Colchester, with the first extensive
archaeological investigation in the borough
Fig 1.2 The Colchester
Sphinx, only part of a very
large and elaborate Roman
tomb, and one of the first
archaeological discoveries in
the town to be the subject
of scholarly research (from
Hay 1821).
4
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
Fig 1.3 Displays in the
Castle Museum in 1909
(Colchester Museums).
taking place at gosbecks in 1842 under the
supervision of the revd henry Jenkins. Jenkins
excavated what he believed to be a roman villa,
but which later proved to be a roman temple.
he was followed by the revd J t round, who
excavated part of Castle Park in 1845. seven
years later the essex archaeological society
held its inaugural excavation in hollytrees
meadow; this was overseen by Dr P m Duncan
and resulted in the discovery of a northeast gate in the roman town walls, known
afterwards as Duncan’s gate. subsequently
the archaeological enthusiast Charles roach
smith made a plea to the town Council for
more funding for archaeological work, but the
pace of investigation remained slow (smith
1854, 70–1). the next significant project was
in 1865, when Josiah Parish carried out the
first excavation of a roman town house on
north hill.
the embryonic town museum was boosted
by the donation in 1849 of John taylor’s roman
grave group collection. further interest in the
town’s past was stimulated by articles in the
Journal of the British Archaeological Association: in
1847 Charles roach smith published an article
on the standing roman remains at Colchester,
seeking to ‘draw the attention of antiquaries to
some of the more remarkable roman remains
still extant in the town of Colchester’ (smith
1847, 29–30). this was followed by a report
on the finds of ‘roman sepulchral urns’,
including the famous ‘Colchester vase’, found
to the west of Colchester at lexden by John
taylor (lodge 1858, 128–32). another boost
was the donation of the vint collection of
roman bronzes to the museum in 1852, on the
condition that a fire-proof museum building
be provided within three years, otherwise the
bronzes were to pass to the British museum.
spurred on by this, the then owner of the
castle, Charles round, offered the use of the
castle crypt as a public museum; the space was
dedicated to this use in 1855 and finally opened
to the public in 1860 (fig 1.2). much material
collected by William Wire found its way to the
museum through the donation of the acton
collection in 1860, and the following year Dr
Duncan donated his important coin collection.
the purchase in 1892 of the extensive Jarmin
collection of roman material from Colchester
was followed a year later by the acquisition
of the Joslin collection, which provided
the museum with perhaps the finest private
collection of roman material gathered from
one locality in the country.
Fig 1.4 Plan of Colchester showing the find spots of Roman antiquities known in the late 19th century (from Cutts 1889).
the history of arChaeology in ColChester
the developing local interest in archaeology
also extended to a concern for the surviving
ancient monuments around the town,
especially the roman town walls. in 1856
Duncan published a condition survey and
perambulation of the walls with a plea for
their preservation (Duncan 1858a, 35). the
late 19th century also saw the publication
of popular guides to Colchester, which were
unlike previous pamphlets as they focused
on the monuments of the town rather than
its history (Barrett 1893; lingwood 1896).
important stray finds and monuments were
marked on the 1st edition ordnance survey
maps of 1876 and by the revd edward Cutts
on the maps in his book on the history of
Colchester (fig 1.3; Cutts 1889).
The excavators
in 1909 the morant Club was founded as a
local archaeological club to supplement the
pre-existing essex archaeological society and
the essex field Club. membership was by
invitation only and the club was chaired by
Dr henry laver, who became the founder of
a miniature archaeological dynasty, as he and
his two sons were involved with recording the
town’s archaeology for nearly 50 years. laver
was a keen natural historian and archaeologist
whose activities included the excavation of
lexden mount in 1910 (at the age of 81) and
the first surveys of the iron age dykes and
roman roads in the borough. his younger
son Philip, also a medical doctor, continued
the family tradition, publishing on subjects
such as pargeting, mosaic pavements and
local churches, and recording excavations
and building work in Colchester in his diaries.
likewise, his elder son, henry ‘ted’ laver,
a master mariner whose interest was in far
eastern archaeology, helped with the excavation
of the lexden tumulus in 1924. the 1913
excavation of the Balkerne gate by henry
laver (senior) and ernest mason resulted in the
first dating of a roman structure by the modern
excavation methods of careful recording and
stratigraphic analysis. this excavation was
continued in 1917 by mortimer Wheeler,
who became addicted to archaeology during
his posting to the wartime garrison. Wheeler
returned in 1920 to excavate a series of large
town houses in Castle Park. the same period
saw an important contribution to the study of
Colchester’s historic buildings and monuments
in the form of a survey undertaken by the royal
Commission (rChme 1922). this volume
included accounts of the dykes and roman
remains, along with a note on every building
identified as being pre-1700 in date.
Colchester’s archaeology entered the
modern era with the appointment of m r
hull (1897–1976) as museum curator in 1926.
rex hull was a prolific excavator and writer
who carried out numerous excavations and
observations before his retirement in 1963
(fig 1.4). in 1926 hull helped to found the
first Colchester excavation Committee to
continue the excavation of hollytrees meadow
begun by Duncan. four years later a second,
hastily reformed, committee was established to
undertake work at the iron age and roman site
at sheepen in response to the building of a town
centre bypass there. this was one of the first
rescue excavations in advance of road building
in the country. Preliminary work by hull and
his assistant e J rudsdale in 1928 had examined
a gravel pit at sheepen and established the
potential of the site. a large rescue excavation
was instigated, beginning in the summer of
1930 and lasting until 1939. at sheepen, hull
teamed up with the young Christopher hawkes,
then of the British museum, who was to form
a long and fruitful relationship with the town.
hawkes and J n l myers excavated the route
of the bypass and hull dug south of sheepen
lane in 1930. over the next two years hawkes
continued his work further to the south and
from 1933 to 1939 hull worked on extending
the site yet further. it was expected that the
whole area would be built on, but the second
World War interrupted these plans and the site
remains largely open land.
there was considerable anticipation
regarding the sheepen site, as this was the
first excavation of a possible ‘Celtic town’;
such expectations may have been connected
to some rather high notions of early British
civilisation held at the time (Peers 1930,
211). however, by 1933 there was a tone of
disappointment in the annual address at the
society of antiquaries when it was revealed
that sheepen appeared not to be the anticipated
early British town, but what could be more
accurately described as a series of ‘kraals’ (Peers
1933, 219). nevertheless, the excavation went
on to produce a formative text for the study
of the late iron age.
5
6
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
hull, helped by rudsdale and others,
continued to excavate and observe throughout
the 1940s and 1950s. the scope of this work
was very much focused on the roman town
and suburbs, although the museum collection
continued to accumulate finds of all periods.
the culmination of hull’s work was the
publication of a seminal volume in British
archaeological literature, Roman Colchester,
covering work on the roman town, gosbecks,
the burial areas, the religious precincts and
roads (hull 1958). to this was added a volume
on roman pottery kilns (hull 1963) and a
series of unpublished notebooks, containing
amongst other things a catalogue of roman
grave groups and a corpus of late iron age
and roman brooch types. hull’s legacy is
considerable and it should also be mentioned
that, amongst his many achievements, he was
instrumental in convincing o g s Crawford to
undertake the first aerial survey of the borough
in 1932.
a third Colchester excavation Committee
was founded in 1950 to undertake two research
excavations, one in Castle Park and the other
behind the town wall at the technical College
on north hill. it also encompassed sporadic
work undertaken by hawkes on the dykes.
Post-war rebuilding saw a number of rescue
excavations undertaken on development sites
in the town with the aid of grants from the
ministry of Works: for example, those at
st nicholas’s Church and the Queen street
Bus Park. During the 1950s the academics,
museum staff, local clergy and retired army
officers who comprised the archaeological
workforce of the town were joined by an
increasingly enthusiastic band of amateur
archaeologists. a f hall, for instance, was a
schoolteacher at the royal grammar school
who, between 1943 and 1961, took advantage
of the fact that the school was sited over a
busy roman landscape to press-gang pupils
into excavation work during school detentions.
although he did not publish a great deal his
notes and plans were passed to the museum
and incorporated into the thinking of hawkes
and hull (CAR 11, 2). a major development
in amateur involvement was the formation
of the Colchester archaeological group in
1958, which has published an annual bulletin
ever since. the group evolved out of a
Workers’ educational association course on
archaeology that had been sponsored by the
university of Cambridge, and continues to be
involved in fieldwork around the borough.
By 1963 the pressure of development
was such that it became clear that an ad hoc
excavation committee would not suffice.
a public appeal launched by sir mortimer
Wheeler led to grants from Colchester Borough
Council, the ancient monuments Division
and the Pilgrim trust. this was followed by
a funding commitment from the ministry of
Works which enabled the creation of a more
permanent Colchester excavation Committee
and the appointment of a full-time professional
archaeologist, rosalind Dunnett, who became
the first such archaeologist in essex. in the
course of her employment at Colchester,
Dunnett managed to complete a series of
excavations at north hill (in 1965 and 1970),
telephone exchange (in 1966), gosbecks
theatre (in 1967), the town Walls and mercury
theatre (in 1967–8) and at sheepen (in
1970). During the same period Brian Blake,
who had joined the museum staff in 1958,
also worked on a number of sites on behalf
of the museum. Preliminary reports from
the 1964–5 excavations were published in a
pamphlet entitled ‘Challenge accepted’, along
with a further plea for funds (anon 1965). an
increasing recognition of the town’s regional
and national significance led Colchester to be
declared an area of national archaeological
importance for funding purposes in the late
1960s.
The Colchester Archaeological Trust
in 1970 rosalind Dunnett moved to st
albans to work on another important late
iron age/roman settlement, and her post
was filled by Philip Crummy. in the 1960s
excavation facilities had been based around
the museum, but the redevelopment cycle
that began in 1970 led to the creation of an
independent archaeological unit. thus the
Colchester excavation Committee became
the Colchester archaeological trust (Cat).
excavations at this time were often undertaken
under salvage conditions – for example, when
roman foundations were uncovered in 1969 at
the Caters site and again in 1970 at sainsbury’s
in the Wyre street arcade – and little could be
done but observe the construction work. the
new trust sought to provide a more effective
response and between 1971 and 1985 Cat
the history of arChaeology in ColChester
excavated seven major urban development sites
and 30 smaller sites. the large sites resulted
from a series of major town redevelopment
and improvement schemes: the construction
of the inner ring road; the royal london
insurance building; the Co-op redevelopment;
high street redevelopment at the Cups hotel;
the construction of the sixth form College, the
lion Walk and Culver street shopping Centres,
and the Butt road Police station. five of these
sites were enormous in scale, the largest being
Culver street, which covered a massive 4 acres
(1.6ha).
excavations were undertaken with grant
aid from the Department of the environment
(english heritage from 1984), Colchester
Borough Council, the Pilgrim trust and
essex County Council, along with grants
from some of the private companies involved
in the schemes, such as the land and house
Property Development Corporation (lion
Walk), the royal london mutual insurance
society (middleborough), the Carroll group
and Balfour Beattie (Culver street). additional
help came from staff provided by manpower
services Commission schemes. summary
reports appeared in the form of Colchester:
Recent Excavations and Research (Crummy 1974)
and Not Only a Matter of Time, the latter also
addressing the issues of the integration of
archaeology into the planning process and the
desirability of preservation in situ (Crummy
1975, 39). the vast body of data from these
excavations was synthesised and published
in a series of 12 ‘textbook’ publications, the
Colchester archaeological report series.
other major advances at this time were the
aerial photograph surveys by ida mcmaster
at gosbecks, which revealed more of the
late iron age/roman field systems, and in
1976 the discovery by David Wilson of the
Committee for aerial Photography at the
university of Cambridge and, independently,
by John hampton of the national monuments
record, of a roman fort at shrub end. the
churches of the town also received some
attention (rodwell and rodwell 1977, 24–41),
as did the castle and the temple of Claudius
(Drury 1982; Drury 1984).
Between the mid-1980s and the end of
the millennium there were no excavations of
comparable scale to Culver street or Balkerne
hill; nevertheless, there has been a steady
stream of excavations of medium-sized sites,
either published or in preparation. the start
of the 21st century has seen major excavations
at st mary’s hospital and the Colchester
garrison, the latter including the discovery of
the internationally important roman circus.
Philip Crummy has written widely about
the late iron age and roman town: notable
among his publications is the best-selling
City of Victory, a popular guide to the town’s
archaeology (Crummy 2001). summaries of
the current state of knowledge of essex’s
archaeology have been published in the
form of the Clacton and Writtle conference
reports (Buckley 1980; Bedwin 1996), while a
resource assessment for the eastern counties
was published in 1997 and a regional research
agenda and strategy in 2000 (glazebrook 1997;
Brown and glazebrook 2000).
the introduction by the government of
Planning Policy guidance note 16 (PPg 16)
in 1991 has had a major impact on excavation
within Colchester. some of the themes
introduced by PPg 16 – for example, the
presumption in favour of preservation in
situ for nationally important remains and the
integration of archaeology in the planning
process – are echoes from Not Only a Matter
of Time, written by Philip Crummy some 16
years before (Crummy 1975). another crucial
dimension was the introduction of the principle
of developer funding for archaeological work.
since 1991 Cat has undertaken a steady flow
of developer-funded watching briefs and
evaluations, the results of which are held in
bound volumes by Colchester museums, or
in some instances have been published in
the relevant period journals and in the trust’s
annual magazine, The Colchester Archaeologist.
for a period after the arrival of PPg 16,
Cat provided archaeological development
control advice to Colchester Borough Council
and developers; however, this role passed to
Colchester museums in 1997.
in recent years other units have joined the
Colchester archaeological trust in carrying
out archaeological investigations within the
borough, although the overwhelming majority
of the work is still undertaken by Cat. at
the start of the new millennium the pace
of work showed no sign of slacking, with a
considerable increase in urban regeneration
either occurring or planned. in particular, four
regeneration areas were created within the
borough: east Colchester (around the former
7
8
Fig 1.5 Rex Hull
was a leading figure in
British archaeology in the
mid-20th century and
established an early sites
and monument record
for Essex (Colchester
Museums).
Fig 1.6 (below) ‘The Head
Street’ excavation in 2000,
on the site of the former
Post Office, was one of the
Colchester Archaeological
Trust’s largest projects
in recent years (Philip J
Wise).
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
port at hythe), north Colchester (the former
severalls hospital site and Cuckoo farm), the
garrison and st Botolph’s Quarter. of these,
the last two have been especially significant for
archaeological assessment and evaluation, with
very valuable data being recovered about the
origin of the oppidum and the town’s southern
extramural roman cemeteries, as well as the
discovery of the roman circus coming from
the garrison. Within st Botolph’s Quarter,
information has been forthcoming about
the roman, medieval and post-medieval
development of the town. other major projects
included the old Post office site in head street
(fig 1.5), the former st mary’s hospital site and
several phases of fieldwork at both the sixth
form College and the Colchester institute. in
late 2007, as the impact of the credit crunch
and world banking crisis began to be felt locally,
developers suspended work on their projects
and there was a considerable reduction in the
amount of archaeological fieldwork being
undertaken in the town.
2 geology and the Deposit model
Solid geology
the Borough of Colchester lies in the eastern
sector of the london Basin, a bowl-shaped
depression formed during the tertiary era
in the thick bed of the Cretaceous Chalk.
the chalk comes to the surface in northwest and south essex, but at Colchester it
lies deeply buried beneath younger deposits.
Boreholes around the town have identified
the upper Chalk between 79ft (24m) beneath
oD (ordnance datum) at severalls hospital
and 135ft (41m) beneath oD at old heath
Brewery, with records at around 116ft (35m)
beneath oD in the town centre (natural
environment research Council data 1969).
the Cretaceous Chalk was overlain during
the Palaeocene (c 60 million years BP) by the
thanet sand formation, which was in turn
overlain by the lambeth group (formerly
known as the Woolwich and reading Beds).
Deposits identified as the thanet sand and
formations within the lambeth group have
been recorded in boreholes at a depth of 144ft
(44m) beneath the surface at the Balkerne lane
Pumping station and 143ft (44m) at the hythe
sewage works (ibid).
the only eocene (c 52 million years BP)
strata in the district are the harwich formation,
sandy clay and silts which were formerly known
as the lower part of the london Clay, and the
london Clay itself, which underlie the whole
of the Colchester area. the clay is stiff, darkor bluish-grey and contains variable amounts
of silts and sands, particularly towards the
top and base of the formation. it weathers
to chocolate or orangey-brown on exposure.
in north-east essex several hard beds of
a cementstone called septaria occur in the
london Clay and outcrop along the river stour
and on the beach at harwich. it was these beds
that formed a source of stone for the town
walls and buildings of roman and medieval
Colchester, while the clay itself has been used
for the manufacture of pottery, tiles and bricks.
surface exposures of london Clay occur
around Colchester on the sides of the Colne
and roman rivers and their tributaries. in the
south of the district a ridge of london Clay
passes through in a south-west to north-east
direction between messing cum inworth and
layer de la haye. south of this line the clay
outcrops continually to mersea island and the
coast, although in places it is covered by sands
and gravels of the pre-glacial thames and by
holocene alluvial deposits.
Drift geology
in Colchester and large areas of north and
central essex the london Clay is overlain by
extensive deposits of sand and gravel which,
until the 1970s, were thought to have originated
solely as glacial outwash. the lower deposits
are now known to have derived from a large,
braided river, the pre-glacial ancestor of the
thames, which moved gradually south-east
without reworking its deposits. By around
500,000 BP this proto-thames was flowing
across the county in a wide flood plain between
harlow and Colchester. the eight pre-glacial
thames terraces that resulted from this
migration are known as the Kesgrave sands
and gravels (Whiteman and rose 1992), and
are divided into upper and lower levels. these
10
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
vast spreads of gravel formed flat terrace
surfaces at various heights, becoming lower to
the south as the river downcut.
the sand and gravel now lie largely beneath
later glacial deposits but are exposed in the
sides of the major river valleys and their
tributaries, where springs mark the base of the
deposit at its junction with the london Clay
(ellison and lake 1986, 25–6). the sand and
gravel has been well exposed in the sides of
modern quarries at Warrens lane, in stanway,
and the disused quarry next to Kidman’s Dyke
at shrub end. the deposits vary in colour from
almost white to orange-brown and deep rusty
brown hues, depending upon the iron oxide
content. Contained within the Kesgrave sands
and gravels are sediments which represent
soils formed during warmer periods in the
early middle Pleistocene ‘Cromerian Complex’.
three different interglacials are probably
represented at ardleigh, little oakley and
Wivenhoe, to the north and east of Colchester
(sumbler and sherlock 1996, 117).
By the beginning of the anglian stage the
proto-thames had already established its
most southerly course through Colchester and
eastwards to Clacton-on-sea where it formed
the st osyth gravel, the youngest terrace
of the Kesgrave sands and gravels. about
440,000 years ago the anglian ice sheet spread
south into essex, blocking the proto-thames
in the vale of st albans and diverting it towards
the current course of the modern thames.
as the ice sheet advanced into essex
it deposited lodgement till at its base and
sand and gravel as pro-glacial outwash. the
ice sheet dumped vast quantities of eroded
material to form a sheet of glacial till (boulder
clay) sometimes referred to as the lowestoft
formation. this till contains numerous
fragments of chalk, flint and other rock in
a matrix of bluish-grey clay. the margin of
the till around Colchester coincides with the
maximum extent of the ice sheet. it was
probably during this period that the presentday south-eastward and southward drainage
patterns in the region were initiated as subglacial channels and outwash streams carrying
melt water and gravelly detritus away from
the ice front (rose et al 1976, 492–4). this
resulted in the scouring of new courses, which
eventually found their way to the sea (Wymer
1999, 128). Deposits of fluvio-glacial sand and
gravels outcrop principally east of a line through
stanway, Birch and West Bergholt which marks
the maximum limit of the ice sheet. these form
a flat plateau east of the boulder clay margin
and are probably the final aggradation surface
of a glacial outwash plain formed at the end
of the anglian glaciation as the climate became
milder and the ice sheet gradually melted. two
of the over-deepened outwash routes at marks
tey and Kelvedon became the sites of lakes
when the ice melted. at marks tey varved lake
sediments contain pollen which demonstrates
a transition from a cold period (the anglian)
through a succeeding temperate interglacial
period (the hoxnian – a 25,000-year period at
this location), and back into cold conditions
(the Wolstonian). later glacial phases are
substantiated by cryoturbation structures and
solifluction deposits.
When the river reached the area of southend
it combined with the medway and flowed
northwards towards Clacton. at east mersea
a ‘channel deposit’, previously associated with
the post-diversion thames/medway river but
now considered to have been an interglacial
channel of the Colne, has yielded bones of
beaver, bear and monkey. Channel deposits of
similar age discovered downstream at Clacton
contained flint tools. in the latest Devensian
and throughout the flandrian, during a period
of generally rising sea levels, the river valleys
were filled with argillaceous sediments which
are still accumulating as alluvium and forming
flood plains.
The Colchester Deposit Model
by Stephen Benfield
Introduction
Deposit modelling is a technique designed to
provide a guide to the nature and depth of
archaeological deposits in towns. urban sites,
of which Colchester is a particularly important
example, especially for the roman period, are
characterised by high densities of occupation
over an extended time period, often up to
and including the present day. this density
of occupation results in the importation of
material for buildings and streets as well as
various items relating to everyday existence,
the latter frequently becoming rubbish which
is best disposed of by being buried in pits.
through time, these quantities of materials,
11
geology anD the DePosit moDel
and the displaced soil from features such as
pits, accumulate. Buildings are abandoned
and demolished, their structures often broken
down on the site, and new buildings are
constructed or other activities take place on
the top of their levelled remains. low areas,
such as small valleys or stream channels, tend
to accumulate deposits or are deliberately filled
in. the result is a build-up of archaeological
deposits, a stratigraphical and chronological
sequence that can be unpicked by excavation
to reveal the physical history of the site. if
the settlement is provided with defences, a
bank or defensive wall as at Colchester, the
accumulation of deposits from the focus
of occupation within the walled area tends
to be greater than that of the surrounding
extramural areas. indeed, Colchester is an
urban site that has, to all intents and purposes,
seen continuous occupation on the same area
since the roman invasion in aD 43. the area
of the town centre was surrounded by a wall in
the early roman period. intensive extramural
settlement of roman, medieval and postmedieval dates is known from the area within
about half a kilometre of the walled area.
Character of archaeological deposits in
Colchester
the underlying drift geology of the ridge and
the areas immediately south and west of the
town is sand. the sand is generally slightly
acidic and affects the potential for survival
of organic finds such as bone. however, the
continuous occupation in and around the town
centre has incorporated organic material and
other soil types which have become mixed with
the sand base. the archaeological soil deposits
thus usually consist of a sandy loam, and
therefore preservation of finds, including some
organic finds such as bone, is usually good.
the area of the most intensive and
continuous settlement is that within the area
defined by the roman town wall, although
extensive archaeological deposits extend
beyond this area for some distance. it is clear
that, at some point beyond the town centre, the
deep urban stratigraphy ends and the surviving
archaeology becomes more akin to that of rural
sites, with little or no stratigraphy. While there
is not necessarily a sharp boundary where this
change occurs, it can be broadly defined by the
extent of the areas of extramural settlement,
and also by the area of the small valley south
of the town and areas up to and around the
river Colne to the north of the town.
extramural settlement extending beyond
the walled area is known for the roman,
medieval and post-medieval periods. roman
settlement is known from the north, west and
south of the walled town extending up to a
kilometre or more from the wall, but is most
intensive within about half a kilometre of the
walled area. much of this extramural settlement
appears to be centred on the roman roads, but
buildings and small streets are also known from
the areas between these roads. the medieval
and post-medieval extramural occupation is
essentially clustered around the modern road
system close to the town wall, with the addition
of several important medieval religious houses,
the friary of the Crutched friars, st Botolph’s
Priory and st John’s abbey, all located within
the area up to about a quarter of a kilometre
away from the town wall.
two valleys, that of the river Colne to
the north and east of the town, and a small
valley to the south, also played an important
part in shaping the nature of the surviving
archaeological deposits. the historic town
of Colchester occupies part of the ridge of
an east–west spur of land between these two
valleys. the top of this ridge approximately
corresponds with the line of the modern high
street. a stream that runs at the base of the
small valley to the south is now culvetted and
the valley partly infilled, but is known to exist
beneath st John’s street. however, both this
stream and the river Colne are within 100–
200m of the town wall on the north and south
sides of the town. the north side of the town
slopes relatively steeply down into the Colne
valley, while to the south the slope into the
small valley is more gentle. Deep deposits are
known to exist along these watercourses close
to the town, parts of which are waterlogged in
places, preserving organic remains (shimmin
1994; Brooks 1999b). various springs are also
known within the walled area on the north side
of the town, and waterlogging is known to have
preserved timber pipes associated with one of
these springs (CAR 3, fig 14).
Sequence and nature of the deposits
at the base of the archaeological sequence are
features and finds (mostly pottery and flints) of
12
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
prehistoric date (Brooks 2006a, fig 1). much of
this finds material has come from deposits of
pre-roman soil which consist of a light-grey
loamy sand, described as ‘cover loam’, which
seals the natural sand and is believed to have
originated as a wind-blown deposit dating
from the end of the last ice age. however,
the original thickness of this early soil is not
known and its survival on sites is patchy. the
absence of an extensive pre-roman soil may
be due to the clearing of the site prior to the
construction of the roman fortress, with the
roman army literally stripping much of the soil
off the site down to the natural sand (CAR 3,
31; CAR 6, 37). Where the lowest deposits have
been able to be excavated prehistoric features
have so far proved rare, although a few small
pits containing only prehistoric material have
been located (ibid, 37). the assemblage of
pre-roman finds consists of small numbers
of Palaeolithic and mesolithic flints, larger
quantities of pottery and flints dating from
the neolithic and Bronze age, including a
pit containing later neolithic grooved Ware
(ibid, 317–19), and some material dating from
the early, middle and late iron age (Brooks
2006a, 9–10). these neolithic and Bronze age
finds, including cut features, are sufficient to
indicate possible domestic occupation during
these periods (ibid, 9–10).
apart from thin spreads of natural cover
loam containing prehistoric finds, the earliest
stratigraphical layers so far encountered during
excavations in the town are from the roman
fortress, begun c aD 44, and from the early
colonia, aD 49–60. these can be seen as one
major stratigraphic group because of the
continuity between them which results from
some of the fortress buildings being partly
adapted for use in the early colonia. it appears
that all of the buildings surviving in aD
60/1 were dramatically destroyed during the
Boudican revolt.
the fortress was laid out on the ridge
between the river Colne to the north and
the small valley to the south (P Crummy
1997, 45), and was surrounded by a ditch and
rampart (CAR 3, 31, fig 15, fig 18). the latter
consisted of a sand bank revetted by walls of
clay block on top of an oak corduroy surface.
a ditch and bank of identical construction
extended around an annexe on the east side
of the fortress (ibid, 31). of the fortress
buildings, most parts of barrack blocks have
been excavated. these were constructed of
timber frame with daub block infill resting on
mortared plinths (opus caementicium) set into the
natural sand. the floors were usually of clay
(ibid, 20, 22–2, fig 21).
in aD 49, the fortress was relinquished
by the military and converted into a colonia.
the foundation of the town did not involve
the demolition and wholesale replacement of
the fortress buildings by new civilian ones,
but rather a more pragmatic and piecemeal
approach. some of the fortress buildings,
or certain parts of them (most notably the
centurions’ quarters of the former barrack
blocks), were retained and converted into
dwellings or workshops. the fortress defences
were filled in and the rampart was levelled.
given the reuse of fortress buildings in
the town, the requirement of space for the
necessary public buildings for the new colony
was met by placing these on the site of the
fortress annexe on the east side of the new
town (P Crummy 2001, 56–7).
in aD 60/1, the colonia was completely
destroyed by fire during the Boudican revolt.
Destruction deposits have been encountered
over the entire extent of occupation in and
around the early town, from the extramural
site at st mary’s hospital, 100m west of the
town wall, almost to the area of long Wyre
street on the east side of the town (CAR 3,
fig 4). following the revolt, the remains of the
destroyed buildings were levelled and, within
the walled town, these form a thick layer of
red and brown burnt clay.
the roman town was rebuilt over the levelled
remains from the Boudican destruction. By the
2nd century the area within the wall, especially
in the eastern and central area, appears to
have been densely occupied with buildings,
commonly well-appointed houses (P Crummy
2001, 92). the footings of these houses are
usually of mortared stone that, to provide a
firm base, are cut through the earlier deposits
into the natural sand. their rooms often have
mortared floors surfaced with tesserae or mosaic.
the walls of the houses appear to have been
of timber and daub construction, as layers of
clay demolition frequently cover the latest floor
levels (CAR 3, 23). only major public buildings
are likely to have had mortared stone walls.
the town wall was constructed c aD 65–80
(Crummy 2003; Crummy 1999, 95–8). it was
originally a freestanding structure, but an earth
13
geology anD the DePosit moDel
rampart was added c aD 150–200 (Crummy
1997, 86–8). a ditch about 20m wide and 4.5m
deep was excavated in front of the wall, broadly
following the line of the old fortress defences
over much of its course on the west and south
sides of the town (CAR 6, 63).
the late 3rd–4th centuries saw a decline
in the density of occupation within both
the walled area and the extramural suburbs.
the suburbs disappeared, the houses being
replaced by cemeteries, quarrying and dumping
or abandonment. inside the wall, many large
houses were demolished and not replaced,
so that the built-up areas appear to have
shrunk, being centred on the area of the main
east–west street, along the line of the modern
high street (P Crummy 2001, 118). areas
appear to have been left open and some were
probably cultivated (ibid, 115). By this time,
deposits from the earlier phases of building
had accumulated to some depth, and there
may have been an increasing use of wooden
piles in the base of foundation trenches, rather
than digging through to the stable natural sand
below, to give stability.
Between the latest roman occupation and
the anglo-saxon or medieval occupation there
is often a layer of homogeneous dark soil,
commonly referred to as the ‘dark earth’. this
is often associated with the abandonment of
areas of the town and a general impoverishment
both in the nature and intensity of occupation
following the roman period however, the
dark earth is a more complicated phenomenon
(CAR 3, 92). open areas with cultivated soils
appear on some sites from the early roman
period, and increasingly in the later roman
town (CAR 6, 33). in addition, dark earth
continued to accumulate in some areas through
the medieval period, and in some places it was
almost certainly cultivated during the medieval
period (ibid, 34). the origins and history of the
dark earth in different areas of the town are
probably slightly different.
three early anglo-saxon sunken-feature
buildings are known from the lion Walk and
Culver street sites (P Crummy 2001, 134–35
and 141), while anglo-saxon artefacts occur
in small numbers on sites in the town. early
anglo-saxon burials are known from south of
the town at mersea road and also probably
Butt road (CAR 1, fig 2).
the foundations or parts of at least seven
now-demolished medieval stone houses are also
known (CAR 1, 53–70; CAR 3, 29). however,
the number of medieval houses excavated in
Colchester is relatively low in relation to the
number and extent of excavations that have
taken place (CAR 3, 28). this is because most
development sites have not included medieval
street frontages, and, where they have, medieval
remains have in many cases been badly affected
by the construction of post-medieval and
modern cellars.
in terms of deposits, there is continuity
between the medieval and post-medieval
periods, although the Dissolution of the
monasteries saw the closure of Colchester’s
four monastic institutions. thus, most of the
general comments applied to the archaeology
of the medieval period remain the same for the
post-medieval period. one unique aspect of
the post-medieval archaeology of Colchester,
however, is the traces of the Civil War siege
of 1648.
Preservation of finds
the great majority of deposits at Colchester are
accumulations of soils and degraded remains
of building materials that preserve within them
only inert finds such as ceramics or bone.
small quantities of identifiable organic remains
which are usually subject to decay have been
recovered when these have been carbonised or
mineralised. anaerobic deposits, where organic
finds usually subject to decay can be preserved,
are not commonly encountered during most
archaeological recording in Colchester. this is
because the main part of the town is situated
on a well-drained sandy ridge and these types
of deposits rely predominantly on permanent
waterlogging for their preservation.
much of the information and potential for
carbonised and mineralised finds is summarised
in CAR 6 (273–87). of particular note are the
organic finds which were carbonised during the
Boudican revolt and mineralised organic finds
preserved in pits that had contained cess.
there are three sources of waterlogged
deposits: low-lying areas around watercourses,
springs, and wells (CAR 3, fig 14). Preserved
timber of roman date has been recovered
from close to north Bridge (over the river
Colne) at middleborough house and st Peter’s
house, while medieval and post-medieval
timber, leather and other organic materials have
been recovered from middleborough house,
14
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
st Peter’s house and osborne street (Brooks
2004d; Benfield 1998c; shimmin 1994). there
are various springs known in the north area of
the town, situated on the slope of the valley
of the river Colne. excavations at the sixth
form College have revealed preserved timbers
of roman date relating to a spring and from
beneath the roman town wall at the bottom
of Balkerne hill. other finds of preserved
roman timber from extramural sites just to
the north-west of the sixth form College
indicate that the waterlogged deposits in this
area are extensive (CAR 3, 146). roman wells
are known from areas where the water table is
close to the surface (CAR 3, 26), most notably
at sheepen (hawkes and hull 1947, 126–8).
a number of wells of roman date are also
known from the middleborough area. Within
the walled town, all of the known wells are of
medieval or post-medieval date. here, wells
not directly associated with springs are usually
post-medieval and about 50ft (15m) deep
(CAR 3, 26). none of the latter have been
archaeologically excavated to their base.
Archaeological deposits
one of the main limitations in modelling the
deposits is the uneven distribution of known
levels. this relates to the uneven distribution
of opportunities in the past for archaeological
recording within the town, and the nature of
the available archaeological archive in providing
information allowing depths of deposits below
modern ground level to be calculated.
the distribution of archaeological work in
the town is patchy. some areas – for example,
much of the south-western part of the town –
have seen numerous excavations and watching
briefs, so there is a large body of recording
from which records of depths of stratigraphy
can be extracted. other areas, notably that
comprising much of the Dutch Quarter and
Castle Park, have seen less archaeological
investigation.
however, the nature and accessibility of
the archaeological archive is a major factor
in the quantity and quality of information
available for the modelling. the source for
the depths of deposits used here is either
the section drawings, reproduced with the
site report, or, for some evaluations, a list of
recorded depths for archaeological deposits
in each trench. there is often a difference in
the information relating to modern ground
levels between excavations and evaluations
or watching briefs, which results mainly from
a difference in the aims of the two types of
recording. modern evaluations are often partly
designed to specifically test the depth at which
various deposits occur, while excavations are
an exploration and recording of deposits.
illustrated scaled sections recorded during
evaluations and watching briefs commonly
include the modern surface, so depths below
this can be measured directly. the results
of almost all the major excavations in the
town since 1970 are readily available as final
publications, but, for excavations, modern
deposits are cleared from the excavation area
and as a consequence, the modern surface will
not appear in most of the recorded sections,
and in many cases does not appear among the
published sections at all. Where ordnance
Datum (oD) levels appear on sections, it is
often difficult to relate these to the modern
ground level on the site. this is because the
spot heights recorded for the modern ground
level on maps are widely spaced. however,
information which could be related to modern
ground levels is probably contained with the
original paper record of the site archive, but
is not easily or rapidly accessible. in addition,
a number of small sites and watching briefs
which have been archived were published on
microfiche, and here the depth of deposit
information needed for the modelling is, again,
not easily accessible.
Results of the modelling
While many of the records of the depth of
deposits below modern ground level vary
considerably, some general observations
relating to the depth of the archaeological
deposits can be made (fig 2.1). these are
essentially trends.
firstly, data is available on the depths of
the base of the roman deposits below modern
ground level. Within the town wall, the overall
total depth of deposits, including the modern
levels, tends to increase down the slope to the
south from the centre line (approximately,
the line of the modern high street) of the
ridge on which the town stands (fig 2.2). the
overall depth of deposits around the area of
the high street and to the south tends to be
between about 2.0m and 2.5m; south of Culver
geology anD the DePosit moDel
15
Fig 2.1 Total depth of deposits to natural.
16
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
street West this increases to between 3.0m and
3.5m. in the west of the town, the depth of
deposits appears to be shallower. in the area
of Balkerne gardens, at the top of the ridge,
overall deposit depths are between about 1.2m
and 1.5m. south of these, the depth increases
to between about 1.8m and 2.2m in the area
of the former Post office (now the odeon
cinema). little is known of the level of the base
of the archaeological deposits in the north and
west of the town. records of 2.0m at the south
end of the sixth form College and 2.6–2.5m
just north of the high street at angel Court
and in east stockwell street indicate an increase
in the overall depth of deposits on the slope
just north of the top of the ridge. the depth of
the deposits at east stockwell street is certainly
due to a roman building platform or terrace in
that area (Benfield and garrod 1992, 28). total
depths of deposits in the region of 0.5–1.6m
are indicated in the south-east corner of the
town, and about 1.0m in the south of upper
Castle Park, and there is one record of 1.3m
close to north gate.
outside the town wall, the small amount of
information available suggests that, ignoring
the area of the town ditch, the total depth
of deposits decreases immediately outside
the walled area when compared with the
depth of deposits inside the wall. however,
as would be expected, the overall depth of
deposits outside the town wall does increase
on moving away from the wall into the lower
slopes of the small valley bottom south of
the town, and around the river Colne to the
north. in the area of vineyard gate, south
of the town wall, overall deposits are between
about 2.0m and 2.9m deep. the very shallow
depth at which natural sand is encountered
immediately east of the east gate, at between
0.1m and 1.2m, indicates a severe truncation of
deposits here, as previously indicated by rex
hull (hull 1958, 44). the total depth of all
deposits immediately south of Crouch street
is about 1.0m, increasing toward the south
frontage of Crouch street. at the st mary’s
hospital site (now Balkerne heights), prior to
redevelopment total depths of all deposits on
the upper part of the slope was about 1.4m;
lower down the slope, to the north, this tended
to decrease to about 1.0m.
secondly, the top of the latest surviving
roman deposits in relation to the modern
ground level has the largest number of records
available for plotting. Coverage within the town
wall, while patchy, is more extensive than for
any of the other periods. however, there are
very few records available for the area of the
Dutch Quarter, in the central north part of
the town.
for the western half of the town, the
depth of the deposits below modern ground
level tends to increase down the slope, away
from the area of the high street at the top
of the ridge (fig 2.2). records indicate that
the top of the roman deposits in the area of
the high street is mainly between about 0.4m
and 0.6m below the modern ground surface.
to the west, in the area of Balkerne gardens,
and to the south, around Culver street West,
this increases to between about 0.9m and 1.1m.
south of Culver street West, towards the town
wall, this increases again, up to about 1.6m. the
depth of the top of the roman deposits below
modern ground level then decreases over the
area of the rampart, immediately behind the
town wall. it is noticeable that, by contrast to
the situation elsewhere within the town wall,
the depth of deposits overlying the roman
is much less in the area of head gate, being
between 0.2m and 0.4m.
to the north, apart from the area between
freda gunton lodge and north hill, where
recorded depths are similar to those at the
high street, there is an increase in the recorded
depths below modern ground level of the top
of the roman deposits until about the area
of east stockwell street. however, there are
almost no records available to this survey for
the Dutch Quarter itself. the recorded depth
of deposits over much of the north-west
area of the town is between about 1.0m and
1.2m. there are areas of deeper recordings of
between about 1.5m and 1.8m from the area
just east of the telephone exchange site, and
of between about 1.4m and 1.6m from the area
of the Cock and Pie Court. in addition, the
recorded depth in the area of the former tennis
courts of the sixth form College is less than is
generally recorded in the north-west area of the
town, at between about 0.5m and 0.7m.
records from the south-east area of the
Dutch Quarter, around the south end of east
stockwell street, and from upper Castle Park,
indicate that, over this area, roman deposits are
generally of similar depth below the modern
ground level to those around the high street,
at between 0.5m and 0.7m. only in the area of
Fig 2.2 Schematic section through the archaeological deposits at the west end of the walled town.
18
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
the putting green are greater depths recorded,
at about 1.0m. the little that is known from the
east end of the town – that is from about the
area of hollytrees and east of the bus station
– also suggests that, overall, these deposits are
also at a similar depth below modern ground
level to those at the high street, at between
about 0.4m and 0.6m.
in the area of the castle bailey, most records
indicate depths below ground level of between
about 0.9m and 1.2m, although there are
greater recorded depths – over 3.0m below the
area of the norman defensive bank, and over
2.0m in front of the castle keep itself. a wide
range of recorded depths from north of the
high street, in front of the castle keep, come
from the area of the arcade in front of the
temple of Claudius and probably represent
differential preservation of the upstanding
elements. it is likely that, overall, the top of the
roman archaeology survives here in places to a
similar level to that along the high street. the
greater depths recorded around Culver street
east are, similarly, associated with the site of a
major roman building and may be overly deep
in relation to the level that might be generally
expected. they could, for example, represent
records of parts of deep foundations.
outside the walled area, the overall depth
of the roman deposits below modern ground
level tends to increase on moving downslope
– that is, moving away from the wall into the
lower slopes of the valley bottom south of
the town, around the river Colne to the north,
and down the slopes to the north and west
of the st mary’s hospital site (now Balkerne
heights). the recorded depths of the top of
the roman levels on the site of the former
st mary’s hospital are similar to the range of
those recorded for the walled town. over much
of the top of the hill the roman levels are from
about 0.5m to about 0.7m below the modern
ground level. this increases downslope to
the west and north to about 1.0m and, lower
down the valley, to 2.0m or more. the range
of depth below ground level to the top of the
surviving roman deposits recorded at Crouch
street and north station road is also similar to
that for the central area of the walled town. at
Crouch street, depths vary between about 0.5m
and 1.1m and are slightly less at north station
road, being between 0.4m and 0.7m.
greater depths below the modern ground
level are recorded close to the river Colne to
the north and from the areas on either side of
osborne street to the south of the walled town.
towards the river Colne, deposits are recorded
as between 1.0m and as much as 2.5m close
to the river on the south side. Depths below
ground level also increase into the small valley
south of the town in the osborne street area
from between 0.7m and 2.6m, recorded north
of osborne street, to 3.0m, recorded to the
south close to the st Botolph’s roundabout.
thirdly, the division of medieval and postmedieval deposits is not always clear for many
sites, and too few levels are available at present
to construct a map for either of these periods
alone.
the largest number of records is from
the west of the town, in the area of the high
street and Balkerne gardens. here, along
the top of the ridge, the recorded depths
are between about 0.2m and 0.5m below the
modern ground levels. a few levels from the
south-west of the town indicate that the depth
below the ground level increases on this slope
towards the town wall. recorded depths here
are between about 0.6 m and 0.7m below
modern ground levels.
outside the town wall the depth of modern
deposits over the medieval and post-medieval
levels is generally between about 0.2m and
0.5m. however, the top of the medieval and
post-medieval deposits is deeper below the
modern surface close to the river Colne in the
area south of north Bridge, where levels vary
from about 0.5m to 1.5m for post-medieval
deposits and are up to 2.0m for medieval
deposits. the depth of deposits below the
modern ground level also increases into the
small valley south of the town: recorded
depths for medieval deposits in the areas
north and south of osborne street range from
between about 0.8m and 2.0m close to the
walls, increasing up to about 2.4m towards the
bottom of the valley. records of post-medieval
deposits for the same area vary from about
0.5m to 1.1m close to the wall to about 0.6m
to 1.0m toward the bottom of the valley.
3 Prehistoric Colchester
by David Radford
Introduction
the first traces of human settlement in northeast essex are handaxes, flint flakes and cores
dating from the hoxnian interglacial, which
began approximately 428,000 BP (based on
oxygen isotope analysis). these tools were
developed by pre-modern humans engaged
in scavenging, hunting and foraging. the
early inhabitants of the region occupied a
landscape considerably different from that
of today. Britain was linked to the continent
and during warmer periods it was periodically
roamed by exotic animal species such as
Dicerorhinus kirchbergensis (rhinoceros) and
Palaeoloxdon antiquus (elephant). the objects
that survive from this era are almost entirely
stone implements strong enough to survive
redeposition by glacial streams and rivers,
although in exceptional circumstances bone
and wood have been found in organic lake
deposits, along with animal footprints (racham
and sidell 2000, 15). an important local find
is the famous Clacton spearpoint, the only
wooden artefact of its kind in Britain (singer
et al 1973, 43). the flint tools recovered from
this time can be divided into at least two
distinctive flint-working industries of the
lower Palaeolithic: one typified by handaxes
and accompanying waste material (known
as acheulian) and the other characterised by
the removal of flakes from cores to produce
flake tools (sometimes called Clactonian). the
traditional tendency has been to interpret these
as distinct cultural groupings (Wymer 1996, 2),
although others have argued for an alternative,
functional, explanation (ashton et al 1992;
ashton et al 1994). human remains from this
period are unknown in essex, but have been
found elsewhere in Britain (Wymer 1996, 1).
early anatomically modern human activity
associated with upper Palaeolithic finds has
been recorded in Devon dating to c 38,000
BP, perhaps related to a seasonal hunting
party (green and Walker 1991, 33). however,
the upper Palaeolithic reoccupation of essex
river valleys by anatomically modern humans
began at the end of the last glaciation, around
13,000 BP. the new settlers brought with
them a refined lithic technology based on the
production of blades, replacing the flake tools
of the lower and middle Palaeolithic. at this
time sea level was about 30m below present
levels, and although rapid warming occurred
from around 13,000 BP, essex remained
attached to the rest of europe until the 9th
millennium BP, after which time rising sea
levels cut it off from the continent. the land
was becoming densely forested: by 10,800 BP
much of lowland Britain was covered with birch
and pine forest, followed by hazel, oak and elm.
faunal remains suggest that the herds of wild
horse and reindeer that roamed the tundra of
the late glacial period were replaced by a wider
range of woodland species, including elk, red
deer, aurochs and boar. evidence for upper
Palaeolithic activity is scarce in Britain and it
may be that activity was limited to seasonal
hunting trips from less marginal areas. as
the environment changed, however, so did
human technology: mesolithic flint industries
20
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
appear around 10,000 years ago when humans
adopted microliths (small retouched blades)
as the dominant component of their toolkits.
essex has a far richer distribution of mesolithic
sites – mostly surface finds – than of upper
Palaeolithic ones, and it may be that upper
Palaeolithic settlement was focused along the
lower parts of the thames and other rivers,
which are now submerged beneath the north
sea (Jacobi 1996, 10).
By the 5th millennium essex was inhabited
by hunter-gatherer communities who spent
much of the year close to the coast and
rivers. Breaks in tree cover near fresh water
were created by beavers and could be used as
temporary camps by hunter-gatherers following
seasonal food procurement strategies. from
spring to early autumn food could be obtained
by gathering plants and berries, hunting, fishing
and collecting shellfish. in the winter months
groups may have travelled deeper inland in
search of deer, moose, aurochs and boar.
the first traces of a new pattern of activity,
as humans began planting crops to increase
their food supply, date from the end of the 5th
millennium BP. By c 3100 BC parts of essex
were occupied by neolithic communities who
were cultivating cereals, rearing domesticated
animals, producing pottery and using a new
flint toolkit which included polished stone
axes, sickles, leaf-shaped arrowheads and, in
later stages, maceheads and plano-convex
knives. the increase in food production
led to an expansion of social, political and
religious organisation, a transformation that
was expressed physically in the form of more
substantial and durable ritual and occupation
structures. monuments such as causewayed
enclosures appeared in the landscape from
the early neolithic, followed by long mortuary
enclosures, henges, ring-ditches and cursus
monuments. all these forms can be found in
essex, although none of the possible henge
sites have been excavated and confirmed. the
river terraces of eastern and southern essex
became the focal point for settlement and
communal/ritual monuments. elsewhere in
Britain such sites can be associated with traces
of early field systems, although similar systems
have yet to be identified in essex.
the earliest pottery vessels found in essex
are early neolithic carinated bowls dating to
between 3100 and 2850 BC. these forms were
overlapped or succeeded by mildenhall Ware;
then, around the mid-3rd millennium, grooved
Ware, Peterborough Ware and Beaker pottery
began to appear, the last of these accompanied
by the earliest use of metalwork and new forms
of flint tools (holgate 1996, 22).
the first copper metalwork in Britain comes
from south-west ireland, where it appears in
association with Beaker pottery dating to c 2500
BC (Budd 2000, 16). the technological advance
to bronze production occurred c 2000 BC with
the raw materials being derived from mines in
Cornwall. metal artefacts of the early Bronze
age (c 2000–1500 BC) include copper and
bronze axes, daggers, spearheads and halberds.
at this time unusually rich grave goods are
found in barrows, perhaps indicating the
fusion of indigenous and external traditions.
evidence for domestic structures of neolithic
and early Bronze age date is scarce in essex
and traces of occupation generally consist
only of the bases of pits and flint scatters,
but both grooved Ware and Beaker pottery
are found at ritual and domestic sites, hinting
at a complex pattern of continuity and change
(holgate 1996, 20).
the middle Bronze age (c 1500–1000 BC)
is characterised by the appearance of grouped
cremation cemeteries and distinctive pottery
forms of Deverel-rimbury type. single or
multiple barrow/ring-ditch and urn-field
cemeteries from this period are recorded in
some number. a large amount of Deverelrimbury pottery has been recovered from
essex, enabling the identification of separate
stylistic groups in the north and south of the
county (Brown 1996, 26). the northern group
is focused on the stour and Colne estuaries, the
southern group on the Chelmer-Blackwater
and thames estuaries. other geographical
differences are reflected in burial practice, with
large cremation cemeteries comprising tight
clusters of ring-ditches found in the north of
essex: for example, at ardleigh (Brown 1999)
and Chitts hill (Crummy 1977b).
evidence for settlement sites and domestic
structures remains elusive in the middle Bronze
age and mainly consists of pits, although a
rectangular structure of broadly Bronze age
date was recorded at howells farm in the lower
Blackwater valley (Wallis and Waughman 1998,
109, figs 83 and 84). at north shoebury a series
of rectilinear enclosures bounded by ditches
has been recorded; one feature of the site was
the apparent placing of ritual deposits near
21
PrehistoriC ColChester
boundaries (Wymer and Brown 1995, 153).
During the middle Bronze age, loomweights
are found in domestic pits, postholes and
wells, reflecting the importance of sheep and
pastoral farming to the economy. Cattle and
pigs were also kept, and oats and wheat were
grown in increasingly developed rectangular
field systems, some of which have left traces
in the essex landscape (Couchman 1980, 42).
the metalwork from the middle Bronze age
is of considerable interest, with new forms
developed, notably a new form of axe (the
palstave) and narrow-bladed swords. During
this period bronze is ritually deposited in rivers
or ritual pits, although such hoards are rare and
concentrated in the south of the county. stray
finds of bronze palstaves are common, but of
spearheads less so.
the increasing intensification and regulation
of farming is suggested by the development
of large co-axial field systems in southern
england during the middle and late Bronze age
(Bradley 1978b). large-scale forest clearance in
essex during the late Bronze age (c 1000–650
BC) is also traceable in the pollen cores from
the mardyke pollen sequence (murphy 1996a,
172). a transformation of material culture at
the beginning of the 1st millennium BC can
be seen in the pottery forms of south-east
england: there is a general trend towards more
decorative pottery and the style distinction
between north and south essex disappears at
this time. late Bronze age pottery is tempered
with crushed burnt flint, gradually evolving
into sand-tempered forms in the early iron
age. new metalwork forms of this period
included leaf-shaped swords and socketed
axes.
there is a noticeable absence of late
Bronze age burial sites in the region, although
barrow construction may have continued at
ardleigh (erith 1975). one striking feature
of this period is the deposition of metalwork,
with ewart Park-type material being ritually
deposited in watery contexts, as, for example,
at mersea island (Brown 1986, 104). there
is considerable evidence for late Bronze age
settlement sites in essex, usually circular
ditched enclosures of a type common in
south-east england, although rectangular
forms are also known. these settlements
may have combined ritual, ceremonial and
domestic functions. often settlements are
comprised of substantial enclosure ditches
with considerable variation of internal features,
although unenclosed settlements are also
recorded. During this period there appears to
have been some exploitation of low-lying clay
areas in addition to the established settlements
on the lighter soils.
the introduction of iron objects c 700
BC masks an underlying continuity from the
late Bronze age and the ongoing evolution
of a pastoral and arable landscape covering
large parts of essex. early iron age pottery
developed from earlier styles and features
grooved lines on angular bowls. a few early
iron age inhumations are known from the
county, but otherwise evidence for burials
is scarce, suggesting that burial rituals must
have taken a form that leaves little trace. few
sites of this period have been investigated in
essex; there is settlement evidence from the
Blackwater estuary, but less from the north
of the county. the existing evidence points to
the predominance of defended sites located
within an agrarian landscape. round post-built
dwellings have been recorded, although none
have been encountered in essex in the last 20
years of excavation. a pottery style known as
Darmsden-linton, characterised by carinated
fine-ware bowls, was widely adopted in southeast Britain during this period, but has a much
sparser distribution in essex (sealey 1996,
fig 1).
the middle iron age is generally dated
to c 350 BC, but there is an evolution of
pottery types and building forms rather
than a marked boundary at this date. sandtempered wares gradually replaced the flintgritted Darmsden-linton pottery, although
the use of the latter continued for longer in
the Colchester area. there also appears to
have been an evolution in building design,
with the post-built roundhouses of the
early iron age being replaced by structures
represented only by ring gullies in the middle
iron age (Brown 1999, 177). large numbers of
roundhouses have been recorded from middle
and late iron age sites and the population was
evidently expanding during this period. there
was also a growing diversity of settlement
types and morphology, with a variety of
small farmsteads, hamlets, open villages and
enclosed defended sites developing in the
landscape. one characteristic of the period
is the appearance of rectangular or square
shrines located within nucleated clusters of
22
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
huts, a phenomenon seen at, for example, little
Waltham, stansted and mucking. such shrines
may also have been erected in more isolated
locations, as, for example, at Chelmsford site
Z (sealey 1996, 50). Burials remain elusive,
although ritual practice may have included a
severed-head cult, judging by the recovery of
skull fragments from several essex sites (ibid,
51). early contact with the roman empire
is suggested by the appearance of Dressel
1a amphorae at essex sites such as stansted
at the beginning of the 1st century BC.
Coinage, based on a mediterranean tradition
and imported through Kent, appears for the
first time in the middle iron age, although
the coins were not necessarily used for trade
in the modern sense. they may have been
used for war payments, dowries, ransoms,
compensation, temple offerings, bribes or
tribute payments.
Past work
stray finds of flints from the Colchester area
have been recovered and deposited in the Castle
museum in small numbers from the late 19th
century onwards. the volume of excavated
prehistoric material from the study area is
small, although the Culver street excavation
was of particular interest, producing traces of
neolithic settlement and an important ritual pit
deposit (see figs 3.1 and 3.3; CAR 6, 37). small
amounts of neolithic pottery and pits have also
been encountered at gosbecks and stanway in
the 1990s. Bronze age stray finds from the
19th and 20th centuries include a scattering of
palstaves and flint axes from across the gravel
terrace and a number of urn burials from the
west of the town. an impressive find was made
at sheepen in 1932, where a pit was found to
contain a bronze cauldron of middle Bronze
age date (fig 3.4).
a number of significant Bronze age sites
have been excavated on the periphery of
Colchester. the extensive middle Bronze age
cemetery complex at ardleigh, which comprised
at least 37 ring-ditches, was excavated by felix
erith and the Colchester archaeological group
between 1960 and 1974 (Brown 1999; erith
1959; 1960a; 1960b; 1960c; 1962a; 1962b;
1963; 1966; 1972; 1975; edwards 1959), with
further trial excavations in 1979–80 by the
Central excavation unit (hinchliffe 1981;
1986). ardleigh also produced evidence for
a remarkable enclosed roundhouse (Brown
1999, 26–30). in 1973 a Deverel-rimbury
cemetery was excavated at Chitts hill just to
the west of gryme’s Dyke, producing a large
number of Deverel-rimbury cremations
(Crummy 1979b). Philip laver also may have
excavated a Bronze age barrow at Copford
hall, south-east of Copford, in the early 20th
century, but no dating evidence was recovered
(laver nd b). to the south of Colchester a
late Bronze age house was excavated at frog
hall farm in 1975–6 (Brooks 2001), and
metalwork hoards were recovered from nearby
fingringhoe in 1847 and 1985 (sealey 1987).
the only possible middle iron age structures
recorded to date from the uaD study area are
the enclosures at West house farm (lexden
Wood golf Club) (Brooks and austin 2000;
orr 2002a) and at ypres road (figs 3.5, 3.6;
Crossan and masefield 2004, 20–1, figs 4–8;
Brooks and masefield 2005). however, outside
the study area enclosures of similar date have
been examined at abbotstone (Pooley and
Benfield 2005, 1) and stanway (Crummy et al
2007, 26).
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
stratified artefactual evidence from this period
is limited, though there are scatters of flint
and pottery from many sites across the uaD
study area. the largest stratified assemblage
comes from Culver street, which produced
a Palaeolithic handaxe, sherds of some early
neolithic plain bowls and a ritual deposit of
parts of two late neolithic grooved Ware
vessels, as well as some Deverel-rimbury bucket
urn fragments, a few middle iron age sherds,
and some flint and quern fragments. about 500
sherds were stratified in pre-roman contexts
(CAR 6, 37, 317–21). late Bronze age pottery
and a cauldron have been found at sheepen
(hawkes and hull 1947, 3; CAR 11, 3, 134–5),
and Bronze age pottery, flints and a bronze
awl on the head street Post office site (Brooks
2004b, 2, 35). a summary (not complete) of
the pre-roman material culture from the town
centre is given in Brooks 2006a.
there are several sites of note outside
the uaD study area, with ardleigh’s Bronze
age pottery assemblage being of national
importance (erith and longworth 1960;
Brown 1999). north of Colchester, excavations
Fig 3.1 Prehistoric and Iron Age Colchester: distributions of find spots and significant elements shown in relation to the later Roman town wall.
24
Fig 3.2 The Colchester Area showing the principal features from the Prehistoric to Roman periods, including cropmarks (in light grey), Roman Roads (in grey) and dykes (in black).
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
25
PrehistoriC ColChester
at Pitchbury ramparts hillfort produced
mesolithic and late neolithic flints, and a scatter
of pottery ranging in date from late neolithic to
iron age, the majority dating broadly from the
8th to the 4th century BC (CAR 11, 144). late
neolithic pottery and middle iron age sherds
have been found at gosbecks (fig 4.8; Benfield
1994; Dunnett 1971b, 29, 44–5), while late
neolithic and early iron age pottery and early,
middle and later neolithic flints, together with
some that may be iron age, came from stanway,
the site of a middle iron age settlement that
produced major assemblages of pottery and
loomweights and a hoard of two currency
bars (fig 4.7; Crummy et al 2007, 16–68).
sealey’s study of the early–middle iron age
pottery from stanway provides a yardstick for
future work (sealey 2007). further assemblages
of middle iron age pottery, together with
other prehistoric finds, have been found at
abbotstone near stanway (Pooley and Benfield,
2005, 69–72 and on the garrison site (sealey
2006a, 25).
The archaeological evidence
by David Radford
Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic
Colchester’s contribution to the distribution
pattern of lower and middle Palaeolithic
artefacts in essex is a scattering of seven
acheulian handaxes, which probably derive
from the coarse gravel deposits located below
the town (CAR 6, 320–1; Wymer 1985, 255–6;
niblett 1985, microfiche 3:f12). West of the
town there is a site with nationally important
palaeo-environmental data: during the anglian
stage (478,000–423,000 BP) what is now the
village of marks tey lay at the maximum
advance of the ice sheet (Wymer 1996, fig 1).
in the succeeding hoxnian interglacial, a lake
formed as the ice retreated, and over time this
gradually filled up with sediment. marks tey
thus has the distinction of being the only site
in Britain, apart from Quinton (northants),
where laminated lake clays contain a pollen
record of the vegetation throughout the whole
of the hoxnian interglacial (turner 1970).
an antiquarian find of a handaxe from marks
tey (now in Colchester Castle museum) may
be associated with these deposits, and there
is also a 19th-century report of possible red
deer remains from this area (Dalton 1880, 20).
Wymer suggests (1999, 163) that at marks tey
‘some rich Palaeolithic site could exist around
the edges of the lacustrine deposits, awaiting
discovery’. at nearby Copford similar deposits
have produced a rich mammalian assemblage
of elephant, red deer, bison, aurochs and giant
beaver (Dalton 1880, 20). Within the uaD
study area, brick earth deposits at lexden
have been found to contain the remains of
rhinoceros and a primitive mammoth (shotton
et al 1962, 19).
no upper Palaeolithic finds have been
identified in the uaD study area (and only a
handful of finds are recorded from the wider
borough). however, Colchester has produced a
modest scatter of mesolithic flints which have
been catalogued by Wymer (1977, 89). more
recent finds are a tranchet axe and other blades
from Culver street (CAR 6, 320–1), flints from
Brook street (Cat report 1994/07a PX) and
a single flint from st mary’s hospital (Cat
report 5/97c). there is little to say about this
collection other than that one tranchet axe from
middlewick is from a typical mesolithic lowland
valley context, and another from st mary’s
hospital could be grouped with other residual
finds from nearby, perhaps part of the same
occupation (Wymer 1977, 89; CAR 6, 321).
By the late neolithic a small community
of farmers had chosen the area that is now
the Culver street shopping Precinct in the
town centre, as a home (fig 3.1). a number
of rubbish pits were excavated at the site,
including one of late neolithic date (elm186)
Fig 3.3 The ritual pit
deposit excavated at Culver
Square is the earliest
settlement evidence from
what is now Colchester
town centre (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
26
Fig 3.4 The Sheepen
Cauldron (The Society of
Antiquaries).
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
which was situated away from the scatter
of pottery and flints in the cover loam
and contained large fragments of two late
neolithic grooved Ware pots, with one sherd
placed on a large water-worn stone, possibly
a rubbing stone from a quern. the pit has
been interpreted as a ritual deposit (fig 3.3;
CAR 6, 21, 317). similar acts of deliberate
deposition can be seen at later domestic sites
at springfield lyons, near Chelmsford and
mucking (Brown and lavender 1994). another
probable late neolithic pit containing small
sherds of grooved Ware was excavated in
1994 beneath the road line of Cunobelin Way,
on the northern edge of gosbecks (Benfield
1994, 10); this was the only pit found in the
600m of road examined. neolithic pottery
was also recovered from the nearby stanway
site (Crummy et al 2007, 17–18). Just south of
Colchester an isolated and shallow neolithic pit
at layer de la haye contained a carinated bowl,
and was possibly a votive deposit (hedges
1982, 114; herne 1988, 26–7). a number of
neolithic flint implements have been recovered
from the uaD study area (fig 3.1).
The Bronze Age
an oblate amber bead from glen avenue
(found with a group i palstave) may be one
of the few finds from essex connected to the
Wessex Culture of the early Bronze age (Davies
27
PrehistoriC ColChester
1968). other early Bronze age finds included
a sherd from 18 north hill interpreted as
possibly of Beaker type (Brown 1995, no. 159)
and a small amount of Beaker pottery from
the 1970s sheepen excavation (niblett 1985,
22, m3: a14). the most significant middle
Bronze age site in the uaD study area is that
at sheepen, where, during excavations in 1932,
a bronze cauldron was found lying on its side
in an oval pit measuring 5ft 6in (1.67m) long
by 4ft (1.21m) across and 3ft (0.91m) deep; the
pit had been backfilled with loose gravel (fig
3.4; hawkes and smith 1957, 161, pl xxic).
until a few years ago it was widely assumed
that prehistoric cauldrons were innovations of
the late Bronze age–early iron age, ultimately
inspired by mediterranean prototypes (ibid). it
is now realised that their origins go back to the
late 2nd millennium BC, the middle Bronze
age, and that they developed in northern
europe without influence from the south.
the sheepen cauldron has been dated to the
12th century BC (sealey 1987, 13; northover
1985). the two earliest cauldrons in Britain are
those from sheepen and feltwell (norfolk),
and these are of major importance for the
history of technology because they represent
the introduction of sheet metalworking,
a technique still in use for the production
of motor cars and planes (P r sealey, pers
comm; gerloff 1986, 88–92). elsewhere at
sheepen fragmentary bronze implements were
recovered from region 3 and late Bronze age
flint-gritted pottery was widely scattered over
the top of sheepen hill, where occupation
seems to have been focused. smaller scatters
were found lower down the hill in regions 3
and 4 (CAR 11, 3).
Fig 3.5 Reconstruction
painting of a middle Iron
Age enclosure at Ypres
Road, Colchester (© Peter
Froste. All rights reserved,
DACS 2013).
28
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
Fig 3.6 Plan of the
Middle Iron Age enclosure
at Ypres Road, Colchester
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
to the south of sheepen hill a number of
features were recorded at the Kiln road site
in 1971. here a slot, a pit and 33 postholes,
many containing flint-gritted
pottery, were
encountered, which may have been linked to
the settlement
at sheepen hill (ibid, 132–3).
Dispersed late Bronze age settlement across
the Colne-roman river terrace is indicated
by clusters of small pits recorded at a number
of sites in Colchester. at Kirkee mcmunn
Barracks, on the south side of Colchester,
a small pit (elm1124) contained a small
amount of probable Bronze age pottery
(shimmin 1998b, 262). at the gilberd school
site (now the sixth form College) two pits cut
into a thick deposit of periglacial cover loam
(elm36–7) were dated by late Bronze age
body sherds. small pits were also found at st
John’s abbey (elm57–8); these contained
leached topsoil and one contained a sherd of
flint-gritted pottery (CAR 9, 205). at Culver
street three pits were dated late Bronze age
or earlier and one to the middle or late Bronze
age (elm188–91) (CAR 6, 37). During an
evaluation in the northern part of gosbecks
archaeological Park a single large pit, almost
certainly of late Bronze age date, was found to
contain pottery and a quantity of worked and
burnt flint. the pale silty fill suggested that the
soil of the time had not been heavily cultivated
(Benfield 1998b, 11). to the south-west of the
town, at abbotstone, a single pit containing a
small amount of pottery from the late Bronze
age was interpreted as settlement evidence (P
Crummy 2000, 5). another late Bronze age
pit was noted at stanway to the north of the
late iron age enclosure 1 (Crummy et al 2007,
16). one sherd of late Bronze age or early iron
age flint-gritted pottery was found in 1949 in
the gosbecks trapezoidal enclosure ditch (hull
1958, 271).
at frog hall, to the south of Colchester near
fingringhoe, excavations in 1975–6 revealed
a late Bronze age oval pattern of posts lying
slightly off-centre inside an irregular ring-ditch,
set within a wider pattern of undated cropmarks.
finds included domestic pottery and a sample
of horse bean that gave a radiocarbon date
29
PrehistoriC ColChester
of 2760±80 BP (uncalibrated); other finds
included spindlewhorls and struck flints. this
may have been a domestic structure associated
with a field system where both arable and
pastoral farming took place. the ring-ditch
produced no dating evidence from lower fills
(Brooks 2001).
aerial photography and excavation have
identified a series of barrows around Colchester
at gosbecks, Chitts hill, ardleigh, lexden and
perhaps the hythe and the recreation ground
in old heath road. most of these remain
unexamined although major excavations, which
are beyond the scope of this summary, have
taken place at ardleigh. in 1973 a cemetery was
excavated at Chitts hill, to the west of Colchester,
producing a large number of Deverel-rimbury
pots and demonstrating that the burials were
set out in rows apparently respecting the
surrounding ring-ditches (Crummy 1979b).
a similar relationship was noted at ardleigh
(Brown 1999) and Brightlingsea (Clarke 1991).
another possible barrow was excavated near
Copford hall, south-east of Copford, by laver
in the early 20th century, although little was
recovered except the dimensions (laver nd b).
an evaluation at the moler Works site at the
hythe in 1998 was designed to locate a ringditch visible on aerial photographs, but failed to
locate any trace (thomas 1998, 4). other ringditches are visible on aerial photograph plots of
the town with the most distinct concentration
being at gosbecks, although hawkes noted
that some of the single ring-ditches could
be roundhouses of Bronze or iron age date
(CAR 11, 97).
a number of Bronze age urn burials were
also recovered as stray finds from the west
of the town in the 19th and 20th centuries
and these have been catalogued and discussed
(Brown 1995; 1999, 174). Bucket urns have
been found at st Clare road (elm873) (Brown
1995, 161), lexden road (ibid, 157–8), abbey
field (elm1223) (ibid, 172) and acland avenue
(elm1224) (ibid, 171). Corporation workmen
recovered seven Bronze age bucket urns and
two loomweight fragments from a drain trench
in Water lane (sheepen) in 1889, the site
being ‘on the north side of the cattle market’
(elm868–872). urns of unspecified type have
been found at Dugard avenue (Brown 1995,
156; hull nd a), Butt road in 1905 (fnD206),
st mary’s hospital (elm1269) (Brown 1995,
160) and shakespeare road (elm1272) (ibid,
162). a bucket urn is also recorded from outside
the uaD study area at fingringhoe (laver
1926, 270–1).
The early and middle Iron Age
the uaD study area contains very little evidence
of early or middle iron age activity. hawkes
claims that the late Bronze age occupation on
the top of sheepen hill was followed by ‘fresh
occupation in the earliest iron age’ represented
by a good deal of scattered pottery (hawkes
and smith 1957, 161, note 4). however, neither
the 1930s nor the 1970s excavations produced
middle iron age pottery and it seems that the site
went out of use at this time. an evaluation at st
mary’s hospital to the east of sheepen in 1997
produced a small abraded potsherd of sandy
fabric typical of the middle iron age (fnD
229, Brooks 1997a, 12). elsewhere, at gosbecks
a dozen sherds of possible middle iron age
pottery were found during the excavation of
the theatre site in 1967 (Dunnett 1971b, 29,
44–5) and a single sherd was recovered from the
temple portico in 1977 (Crummy and smith
1977). to the west of the dyke system at Church
lane, stanway, a droveway ditch was sectioned,
and produced small abraded sherds that may
be early iron age in date. the droveway was
connected to a sub-enclosure that contained
typical middle iron age sherds in its ditch fill
(Partridge 1993a, 218). to the north at the main
stanway site, pits within enclosure 1 are early
iron age in date and finds include a bucketshaped pot and Darmsden-linton pottery of
c 650–300 BC.
middle iron age features are largely absent
from the uaD study area. however, recent
work at ypres road revealed an important new
discovery of this period: a roundhouse in a
ditched enclosure cut by a later droveway. the
roundhouse was about 12m in diameter and a
shallow pit containing a disturbed cremation
was found in its centre (figs 3.5, 3.6). the
cremation urn is of middle iron age type and
its discovery enabled the roundhouse to be
provisionally dated to c 75 to c 25 BC (Crossan
and masefield 2004, 20–1, figs 4–8; Brooks
and masefield 2005). outside the study area,
beyond the later dyke system, a rectangular
enclosure at West house farm (mon999)
was first sectioned in 1952, when the ditch was
recorded as 4ft (1.1m) deep and 16ft (4.9m)
wide. the ditch fill contained some pottery,
30
an assessment of the arChaeology of ColChester
now lost, which was apparently datable to c
700–c 30 BC (appleby 1952, Cmr 1950–4,
13; CAR 11, 137). the site was re-examined
in 2000, when an archaeological evaluation
investigated the interior of the enclosure and
produced middle iron age pottery from the
subsoil (Brooks and austin 2000). outside the
study area at abbotstone a deep sub-circular
ditched enclosure, perhaps a settlement site,
was found to contain middle iron age pottery
(P Crummy 2000, 5; Pooley and Benfield 2005,
69–72).
at nearby stanway a linear field boundary,
perhaps part of a droveway, was dated middle
iron age, and a later sub-rectangular enclosure
(enclosure 2) built onto the boundary was
associated with two currency bars and pottery
of middle iron age date (Crummy et al 2007,
26, 30–1). Currency bars of this type have
been suggested as ritual foundation deposits
by hingley (1990, 105–7; 2007, 33–6). the
distribution of pits within the enclosure
suggests that a roundhouse was located in the
south-west corner (Crummy et al 2007, 33, fig
17). at the middle–late iron age transition (c
50 BC) a rectilinear enclosure (enclosure 1) was
added, respecting the earlier sub-rectangular
enclosure and taking the same axis as the
earlier boundary (ibid, 69–73). elsewhere,
the hillfort at Pitchbury, to the north-west of
Colchester, was excavated in 1933 and again
in 1973, although the investigations failed to
locate any structures or provide clear dating
evidence. Pottery spanning the late neolithic
to the late iron age was recovered in small
quantities. however, a 1st-century BC date
is favoured for Pitchbury’s main period of
activity (CAR 11, 138–54). at ardleigh a
middle iron age roundhouse was excavated
in the 1960s and proved to be a substantial
ring-gully roundhouse of some ‘architectural
grandeur’ (erith and holbert 1970, 14, fig 11;
Brown 1999, 177).
1977b), no sites pre-dating the late iron age
have been targeted for excavation in their
own right and those that have been dug have
been found accidentally during the course of
excavating sites of later date.
any assessment of the prehistoric remains
in the Colchester area needs to be of a much
wider landscape and, fortunately, reviews
of this kind have recently appeared in print
(Brown 1996; Brown and murphy 2000; Bryant
2000; holgate 1996; sealey 1996). as far as
can be gauged, prehistoric occupation within
the Colchester area was typical of northeast essex generally and too little is known
to determine if there were any significant
or exceptional concentrations which might
indicate major settlements. the middle Bronze
age is disproportionately well represented, not
just at Colchester but in the county generally
where, for example, over 400 Deverel-rimbury
urns have been recorded (Brown 1996, 26). this
is largely because of the practice of burying the
cremated remains of the dead in large pottery
urns which, 3,000 or so years later, are relatively
easy to spot when accidentally uncovered or
disturbed in ploughed fields, quarry pits and
building sites. similarly, ring-ditches make up
a distinctive and easily identified component
of cropmark palimpsests, particularly in the
north-east corner of the county (holgate
1996, fig 3).
The current state of knowledge
Preservation
as in essex generally, sites in the Colchester area
are poorly preserved in arable fields because of
the effects of deep ploughing. Preservation
may be better in areas which were built over
before the widespread introduction of the
deep plough during the 1940s. fortunately,
sheepen (at least on top of the hill) is wellpreserved, because the site has never been
deep-ploughed. the best preserved areas of all
are likely to be under the roman fortress and
town, particularly in places where the topsoil
was not stripped off in c aD 44–50 (CAR 6,
317, 779–80).
By Philip Crummy
our knowledge and understanding of the
nature and changing patterns of prehistoric
occupation in the Colchester area is patchy
and unbalanced, despite the extensive list of
prehistoric sites and stray finds which now
exists. this is hardly surprising considering
that, with the exception of Chitts hill (Crummy
Importance
a few prehistoric sites in Colchester do
merit comment. at sheepen, the middle/
later Bronze age component of the site is
likely to be of regional importance because
of its exceptional state of preservation and
its possible high status, as suggested by the
31
PrehistoriC ColChester
discovery of the bronze cauldron. excavations
in the 1980s at Culver street produced a rare
late-neolithic domestic site which is of more
than local significance. a small pit contained
large fragments of a grooved Ware pot and
a rubbing stone which may have been ritually
buried, and in the surrounding topsoil there
was a scatter of similar pottery as well as flint
(CAR 6, 21, 37–8, 317–20). landscape features,
particularly at gosbecks, are important, since
they may have a bearing on the development
of the oppidum in the 1st century BC. at
gosbecks, the cropmarks include ring-ditches
and linear features (CAR 11, fig 5.1). some of
the latter may prove to be part of a Bronze age
landscape although, as far as can be judged,
nearly all the ditches are likely to be late iron
age or roman in date.
Potential for future research
much of Colchester is built over and not
available for large-scale investigations.
nevertheless, the study of cropmark sites inside
and close to the late iron age oppidum should
be of value in reconstructing the landscape in
which Camulodunum was eventually set. these
investigations may also help to determine if
Camulodunum was the first major settlement
in the area or if it evolved from a series of
earlier ones. large-scale area excavation of the
late Bronze age site at sheepen would almost
certainly produce a type site for the region.
Publication of the past excavations at the site
would be helpful in clarifying the relationship
of the site to the Bronze age metalwork which
was found there. a small investigation in 1971
showed that area excavation might reveal
structural evidence (CAR 11, 133–6) which
had been missed in the original excavations
of the 1930s, when trenching was the norm.
excavations in the town centre are likely to
produce more well-preserved prehistoric sites,
but their discovery will be a matter of luck, and
the areas available for excavation are likely to
be too restricted to exploit their full potential.
finally, the exceptionally large ring-ditch at
Chitts hill, to the west of holmwood house
school, must be mentioned (CAR 11, fig 6.1).
Known only as a cropmark, this is a site which
does not fall readily into any recognisable
category, and it would undoubtedly repay
investigation regardless of the date that it
proves to be.
4 Camulodunon in the late iron age, c 50 BC–aD 43
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
the late pre-roman iron age is distinguished
from what went before by the appearance of
cultural and technological developments such
as wheel-thrown pottery and cremation burial
in cemeteries. these developments, often
described as the aylesford-swarling Culture
after their first identification at two Kent
cemetery sites, appear in the wider region
from the late 2nd to the early 1st century BC.
however, their adoption is not uniform and
communal cremation burial, for example, does
not appear in essex before c 50 BC (sealey
1996, 57). this cultural transformation is
closely similar to that recorded in gaul, where it
is sometimes labelled southern Belgic Culture;
this suggests that continental influences or
settlers played a key role in its development
in south-east Britain. This period also sees the
emergence of political territories and tribal
groupings that enter history for the first time
through the mediums of inscribed coinage and
Classical literature.
In the hundred years between Caesar’s
expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC and
the Roman Conquest in AD 43 it is possible to
trace a significant evolution in the settlement
pattern of south-east Britain. During this
time a more pronounced hierarchy emerges
with larger, more nucleated, sites appearing
in lowland riverside locations. In the century
before the arrival of Caesar the cultural
influence of the Roman Empire could be
characterised as peripheral, with small amounts
of luxury items, such as wine, glassware and
Armorican wheel-made pottery, arriving via
Hengistbury Head on the south coast (Cunliffe
1987, 271–2, 183, 340).
In the late Iron Age, exchange with the
Roman world became a conspicuous feature of
the archaeological record. Wine was the most
important single import. It is first attested in
Essex at the Stansted Airport site in Dressel
1 amphorae dated to c 100 BC (Havis and
Brooks, 2004a, 141 and 158). Imports of wine
were joined by imports of tableware from Gaul
and Italy by the end of the century, as well as
by other commodities from Spain such as fish
sauce and grape syrups which were transported
in amphorae. Imports are well attested on both
settlement sites and in rich graves. Imports of
wine peaked c 10BC but declined dramatically
afterwards and remained depressed until the
time of the Roman invasion (Sealey 2009, 1).
Colchester has more Dressel 1 amphorae than
any other site in Essex. The most significant
concentration comes from the Sheepen site,
but the form is also present in the Lexden
Cemetery and stray finds of single sherds have
been reported elsewhere in field boundaries
in the oppidum (P Sealey, pers comm). Imports
were not confined to pottery; a striking
example is the late first century BC glass bowl,
imported from the Mediterranean, found in the
warrior burial at the Stanway cemetery, which
survived as an antique until the funeral in the
Conquest period (Crummy et al 2007, 342–3).
These imports were paid for by exports of
the primary commodities listed by the Greek
34
Fig 4.1 A gold quarterstater of Tasciovanus
with the mint mark
CAML. This coin was
struck around 25 BC
and is the oldest surviving
representation of the
ancient name of Colchester
(COLEM: 2006.4).
Fig 4.2 Fragments of
‘coin moulds’ as found
during excavations at Kiln
Road, Sheepen in 1971,
which were used to make
blanks rather than the
coins themselves (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
geographer Strabo: grain, cattle, gold, silver,
iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs (Strabo,
Geography Book IV, 5).
Increasing contact with the Roman world,
whether through trade links or diplomacy,
had an impact on many aspects of life. The
Latin script and indeed language were used on
native coins and some limited knowledge of
literacy is also evident from graffiti on native
and imported pottery. Motifs on coins were
drawn from the classical world and indicate
some knowledge, however limited, of GrecoRoman tastes and beliefs. Although imported
pottery is well attested at Colchester, translating
this into terms of its influence on the broader
political scene is more difficult.
The wealthiest graves at Colchester, such
as some of those in the Lexden Cemetery, are
eloquent testimony to the wealth and tastes
of local elites. With their imported wines and
foodstuffs, for the first time we see a divergence
between elite cuisine and the staple fare of
the population at large. It is understandable
in the circumstances that many have taken the
view that society at the time was becoming
increasingly stratified (P Sealey, pers comm.).
These tastes and developments reach their
apogee in the Lexden Tumulus (dated to c
15–10 BC) where the funerary rite and the
wealth of grave goods testifies to the funeral
of someone from the very highest echelons
of society (see page 53). On the eve of the
Roman invasion the kingdom whose capital
was Colchester was a state which enjoyed
diplomatic relations with Rome and which
covered much of south-eastern England.
The most politically and economically
developed sites in Britain, of a type often
described as expanded or territorial oppida,
emerged at Braughing–Puckeridge and
Verlamion (St Albans) in Hertfordshire and
Colchester. These settlements appear to have
fulfilled separate political and commercial
functions. Colchester grew to combine the
political and commercial qualities of both
Braughing and Verlamion but on a far larger
scale.
Coinage bearing the names of British
leaders and their settlements appears from the
late 1st century BC. This coin evidence, along
with Roman historical sources, suggests that in
the south-east of Britain two powerful tribal
groupings or dynasties rose to prominence:
the Catuvellauni of Hertfordshire and the
Trinovantes of Essex and southern Suffolk.
Rare coins bearing the inscription ‘CAM’ and
minted by the tribal leader Tasciovanus appear
around the years c. 25–15 BC (Figs 4.1 and 4.3;
Kretz 2000, 49). They refer to a settlement
known as Camulodunon (later Latinised as
‘Camulodunum’), -dunon meaning ‘high place’
or ‘fortress’ and Camulos being a native god of
war (Rivet and Smith 1979, 294–5; Mays 1992).
Thus the coin evidence points to the presence
of a defended settlement at Colchester by c
25–15BC, presumably defended by the earliest
components of the dyke system that developed
around the settlement. Its earlier history is
opaque, but it may be linked with the coinage
called British G which circulated in north-east
Essex and south-west Suffolk from perhaps
the time of Caesar’s Gallic Wars and a decade
or two later (De Jersey and Newman 2001, fig
1). Eventually Cassius Dio felt able to describe
Camulodunon as a basileon, a royal seat, at the
time of the Roman invasion, but this need
not imply either density of population nor a
multi-functional proto-urban settlement. The
fortress of the war-god Camulos became the
power base of Tasciovanus’s son Cunobelin,
who was described by the Roman biographer
Suetonius as ‘Britannorum rex’ (king of the
Britons), the first description of this kind
relating to a British king (Suetonius, De vita
Caesarum Book IV Gaius Caligula, 44). Coin
distribution patterns confirm the impression
that Cunobelin was at the head of a powerful
affiliation of tribes covering much of south-
35
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
Fig 4.3 Distribution of
the coins of Tasciovanus
and Cunobelin (Cunliffe
2010, source CCI 2003).
east Britain (Fig 4.3). Although we think of
the local population as Trinovantes, their
ruler Cunobelin declared himself to be a son
of Tasciovanus, of the Hertfordshire-based
Catuvellauni. His first gold coins are the rare
biga series which are more or less confined to
Essex. It would seem therefore that before
Cunobelin created a unified polity out of the
Trinovantes and Catuvellauni, his realm was
confined to Essex. Although warfare must
have been a factor in the development of the
hegemony created by Cunobelin, little direct
archaeological evidence for warfare is extant.
A striking exception is the chain mail in the
Lexden Tumulus (Foster 1986, 82–8).
By the time of the Roman invasion
Camulodunon had become important enough
to be Claudius’s prime military objective
36
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
and it was Cunobelin’s sons Caratacus and
Togodumnus who led the native resistance
against the Roman forces.
A crucial question is how and why
Cunobelin, described by a Roman author as
Catuvellaunian, came to be based at a settlement
in Trinovantian territory where the population
is described as Trinovantian by Tacitus at
the time of the Boudican revolt. Cunobelin
minted coins both at Camulodunon and at
Verlamion in Catuvellaunian territory. The
legends on these coins display some variation
and, crucially, the coins that claim descent
from the Catuvellaunian leader Tasciovanus are
centred on Hertfordshire, whereas the earliest
coins minted by Cunobelin (the biga series) are
centred on Camulodunon. The considerable
debate as to the lineage of tribal leaders and
the tribal status of Camulodunon has been
discussed elsewhere (CAR 11, 53, 173; Sealey
1996, 61–3).
Past work
Curiosity about the earthworks to the west of
Colchester led mapmakers the Revd Thomas
Lufkin and Payler Smith to undertake the first
recorded survey of the dyke system in 1722,
and soon afterwards the dykes were sketched by
two antiquarians, the Revd Philip Morant and
William Stukeley. Morant arrived in Colchester
in 1738 and set about producing a history of
the town in which he challenged the view of
the 16th-century historian William Camden
that Camulodunon (or Camulodunum) was
located at Maldon; rather, he made a case for
Colchester based on the numerous gold coins
of Cunobelin found in the locality (Morant
1768, bk I, 13). Stukeley also came to accept this
idea, writing in his journal for 13 August 1759
of his having ‘survey’d the wonderful works of
Cunobeline at Colchester’ (Bodl, Gough Maps
7). Others, however, were still unconvinced and
the location of Camulodunon continued to be
debated until the end of the 19th century: the
Revd John Skinner (1772–1839), a diarist and
antiquarian, argued that Camulodunon was
Camerton in Somerset, where he was the vicar
(DNB 2004, vol 50, 865), while Chesterford in
Essex was another suggested location (Gould
1895). Only with the evolution of modern
excavation techniques was Morant’s thesis
finally accepted.
The 19th century saw a rather fanciful
interpretation of the dyke system by the Revd
Henry Jenkins (Jenkins 1842) and, in the
later part of the century, the inclusion of the
dykes on Ordnance Survey maps of the town.
Between 1885 and 1905 local enthusiast Henry
Laver published a series of papers on the dykes.
With his son Philip, he set out to map the
surviving earthworks with greater clarity and
located previously unrecognised sections. Their
work formed the basis for the dyke entries in
the 1922 Royal Commission volume (RCHME
1922, 73–4). This was followed by the first
excavation of a significant late Iron Age site
in 1924 when Philip and ‘Ted’ Laver excavated
the Lexden Tumulus, which became one of the
best-known and richest late Iron Age warrior
burials in Britain (Laver 1927). The excavation
methods used by the Laver brothers were basic
and of their time, but they were considered
sufficiently coherent to warrant their later
reappraisal (Foster 1986).
The construction of large suburban villas
along St Clare Road in the early 20th century
uncovered a series of burial groups from a
cremation cemetery (‘The Lexden Cemetery’)
dating to the late 1st century BC, situated to the
east of Lexden Dyke and close to the Lexden
Tumulus. Unfortunately, the burials were not
excavated stratigraphically and the cohesion
of the different groups is uncertain (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 13–14; Hull 1958, 252–3;
Birchall 1965, 310–11, 343–5; Thompson 1982,
759–66; CAR 11, 164–9).
The Sheepen site has been excavated on
four occasions: in the 1930s large parts of
Sheepen Hill were excavated by Hawkes and
Hull prior to the creation of the Colchester
bypass (Hawkes and Hull 1947); in 1970
Rosalind Dunnett (now Niblett) excavated
near the foot of Sheepen Hill (Niblett 1985); in
1971 trial excavations and watching brief were
carried out at Kiln Road, on the southern side
of Sheepen (CAR 11, 131–7) and in 2007–9
Colchester Archaeological Trust excavated at
Colchester Institute (report forthcoming). The
investigations confirmed that Sheepen was the
site of Cunobelin’s coin mint. A settlement is
thought to have begun here c AD 5 and to have
carried on until AD 61 when it was destroyed
in the Boudican revolt (Crummy 2001, 15;
Niblett 1985, 1, 3).
In 1932 Hawkes also found the time to
oversee an excavation by Thalaso Cruso of
part of Lexden Dyke. The dyke was sectioned
37
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
and the entrance way examined, producing
dating evidence that linked it with late Iron Age
occupation at Sheepen (CAR 11, 35–45). This
information is of considerable importance
since, despite the numerous sections put across
the various dykes over the years, dating evidence
elsewhere has been elusive. Between the 1930s
and early 1960s further sections were cut across
various dykes by M R Hull, C F C Hawkes, A F
Hall, R J M Appleby and B Blake in what could
be described as research or curiosity-driven
excavation. Subsequently, sections across the
dykes have largely resulted from development
pressures and often circumstances have
required only partial excavation, resulting in
only part profiles being recovered.
Professor Hawkes’s final contribution to
the body of work on Colchester was published
with the assistance of Philip Crummy as
Camulodunum 2 in 1995, and provided a review
of work undertaken on the oppidum over the
years (CAR 11). This volume includes reports
on the Prettygate Junction site where, in
1956–7, Hull made a key discovery, identifying
Heath Farm Dyke as underlying and thus predating Lexden Dyke Middle. Also included
was the 1977 section through Gryme’s Dyke
by the Colchester Archaeological Trust, which
produced evidence pointing towards a Roman
date for the dyke (CAR 11, 109–15).
In 1933 the first systematic aerial survey
of Colchester was undertaken by the RAF.
This revealed extensive cropmarks around the
known Roman site at Gosbecks, as well as five
rectangular enclosures located to the northwest at Stanway. At Gosbecks the probable
late Iron Age ritual/mortuary enclosure ditch
was sectioned by Hull in 1936, but as he
was focusing on the Roman complex built
around it he did not see its possible Iron Age
significance (Hull 1958, 263–4). In 1948 and
1949 the Roman Essex Society excavated at
Gosbecks and found evidence of late Iron Age
settlement. A section placed across the ditch
Fig 4.4 A view of Gryme’s
Dyke, showing the usual
arrangement of an outer
ditch and an inner bank.
Although Gryme’s Dyke is
1st century, definitely postConquest and probably
post-Boudican, it is of the
same design as earlier Iron
Age examples (Colchester
Museums).
38
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of the large trapezoidal enclosure south of the
Roman temple confirmed that it was also of
this date. More detailed aerial photography was
carried out in 1950s by Dr St Joseph, who flew
at 300m, considerably lower than the RAF’s
600m. This showed up the complexity of the
Gosbecks field systems and Hull was able to
establish that a pre-Roman system underlay
the later boundaries (ibid, 261). During the hot
summers of the 1970s the Royal Commission
and Ida McMaster were able to build up an even
more detailed aerial view of the cropmarks
surrounding Gosbecks and Stanway. Using
this information, Philip Crummy proposed
that Gosbecks, and not Sheepen, was in fact
the heart of the Iron Age settlement (Crummy
1979a; 1980b, 8).
In the 1980s a review by Jennifer Foster of
the Lexden Tumulus material helped to clarify
the nature of the burial rite, and a study of
the Sheepen amphorae was undertaken by Paul
Sealey, who proposed an explanation for the
presence of late 1st century BC amphorae at this
early 1st century AD settlement (Foster 1986;
Sealey 1985). C F C Hawkes maintained his
links with the town by editing and publishing
the pre-Roman section of Hull’s corpus of
brooches (Hull and Hawkes 1987). In the late
1980s a major advance in research came with
the designation of the Stanway site for mineral
extraction and the opportunity to excavate the
late Iron Age and early Roman enclosures there
between 1986 and 1995. This site produced
a spectacular sequence of rich chamber and
satellite burials (Crummy et al 2007).
The creation of an ‘archaeological park’ at
Gosbecks in 1994 was accompanied by the
excavation of land north of the park prior to
the building of a housing estate. Here traces of
late Iron Age/early Roman occupation and field
boundaries were recorded. In the late 1990s a
series of research excavations was carried out
in the Archaeological Park itself, involving the
sectioning of the mortuary/ritual enclosure
ditch and the investigation of field boundaries
of late Iron Age/early Roman date on the site
of a proposed visitors’ centre (Benfield 1998b).
In addition, ongoing geophysical work being
undertaken by David and Aileen Black, Tim
Dennis and Peter Cott is gradually building up
a detailed picture of the field system.
Elsewhere in Colchester small-scale
excavations, evaluations and watching briefs
have encountered late Iron Age pits, ditches
and pottery, which, along with various stray
finds, have produced a fragmented picture of
activity within the oppidum. In 1999–2000 the
opportunity arose to excavate a late Iron Age
farmstead enclosure at Abbotstone just to the
west of the dyke system (P Crummy 2000;
Pooley and Benfield 2005).
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
Taken individually and together, the finds from
late Iron Age Camulodunon, the early fortress
(Chapter 5) and pre-Boudican colonia (Chapter
6) have enormous research potential, providing
opportunities to chart the supply and usage of
groups of artefacts and ecofacts within each
discrete period and throughout the transition
of the area from a late Iron Age oppidum, to a
legionary fortress with an adjacent canabae and
industrial area, and then to the first provincial
capital of Roman Britain. All three sections
on the finds evidence for these chapters
should therefore be considered not only as
brief introductions to the published literature
concerning the assemblages from each period
but also as indications of the material that
might usefully be explored in greater detail
both within and across the periods. It should be
stressed here that ‘published literature’ covers
not only conventionally published books and
articles but also the online series of Colchester
Archaeological Trust Reports that are available
at http://cat.essex.ac.uk, which has a facility
for searching by keyword. The keywords
available for artefact and ecofact searches are
very limited, but most of the relevant reports
may be found by period-specific searches.
Much of the printed literature is also available
online at the same website, including articles
concerning Colchester in the Transactions of the
Essex Archaeological Society, now Essex Archaeology
and History.
Looking beyond the study area, the strong
political ties between Camulodunon and
Verlamion in the late Iron Age provide
opportunities for both comparing and
contrasting the material culture and cultural
practices of each place, while the links and
distinctions between the Trinovantes and
Catuvellauni can also be defined by setting
elements of the finds assemblage from the
study area within the context of those from
the wider zone of Cunobelin’s political and
39
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
economic influence (for example: Haselgrove
1982; Pitts 2005; Eckardt and Crummy
2008, 76–9, 84–90). Different perspectives
can be obtained by comparing aspects of
the finds assemblages from Camulodunon
and its hinterland with those of its northern
and southern neighbours, the Iceni and the
Cantii, and there is also considerable research
potential in comparisons drawn between the
material culture of Camulodunon and the
assemblages from the Atrebatan oppidum of
Calleva at Silchester and that of the Brigantes at
Stanwick (Fulford and Timby 2000; Haselgrove
forthcoming).
The late Iron Age finds from the study area
can be divided into funerary and non-funerary
assemblages. The majority date to the period
of Cunobelin’s political supremacy and reflect
a period of economic prosperity marked by
new types of indigenous products and new
types of imported goods. Earlier material,
most notably the burial assemblage from the
Lexden Tumulus, shows that some decades
before Cunobelin the area already supported
a wealthy and prestigious elite with strong
trade links to the continent, and, suggested by
a mounted denarius of Augustus found in the
tumulus, possibly also personal links to the
imperial family in Rome (Foster 1986; CAR
11, 85–94).
The grave goods from the late Iron Age
burials provide a distinctive assemblage of
native and imported pottery, metalwork and
other items from the period running from the
second half of the 1st century BC to the years
immediately following the invasion of AD 43.
Of particular importance in this respect are the
funerary enclosures at Stanway (Crummy et al.
2007), the Barnhall cemetery (CAR 11, 170)
and the Lexden Tumulus together with other
graves in the Lexden area (Laver 1927; Hull
1942; 1958, 252–3; Birchall 1965; Thompson
1982, 758–66; Foster 1986; CAR 11, 85–94,
127–30, 164–70). The value of these closed
assemblages for further study is evident from a
detailed examination of amphorae from funerary
sites in and beyond Camulodunon that has
highlighted a decline in the importation of
Italian wine in the late 1st century BC and a
subsequent shift to imports from Spain (Sealey
2009).
The burial deposits in the Lexden Tumulus,
with a date of c 15–10 BC, were recognised
at the time of its excavation as unique. They
included imported and native British wares,
furniture, figurines, chain mail and precious
metal items, all broken or damaged in some
way (Foster 1986). The ritual breaking of
grave goods was also evident in some of the
funerary features at Stanway and at Folly Lane,
Verulamium. Philip Crummy has suggested this
was a distinctively Catuvellaunian ritual practice
that illumines the origins of Camulodunon and
adds to the evidence for its existence by the
last quarter of the 1st century BC or earlier
(Crummy et al 2007, 447–56). The tumulus
lies within the Lexden Cemetery and is close
to an area used for cremation burials from c.
50–10 BC. Pedestalled urns and carinated cups
are the principal forms in this assemblage and
none need be pre-Caesarean (CAR 11, 164–9;
Birchall 1965, 310–11; Thompson 1982,
759–66). There are scattered late Iron Age
burials in other parts of the study area, and a
1st century BC mirror found during building
works at Hyderabad Barracks just south of
the town may have come from a disturbed
cremation burial (Sealey 2006b).
As a group, the complex of funerary
features at Stanway spans the late Iron Age
and early Roman periods. As well as pottery
and metalwork, some contained high-quality
wooden objects and imported glassware dating
to the pre-Conquest period. Broken pottery
in the ditches of the funerary enclosures is
markedly different in character from the vessels
deposited in the burials and points to feasting
playing an important part in the funerary rites.
Other particularly distinctive elements of
the assemblage are the evidence for literacy,
board games, surgical and medical equipment
and practice, and the use of cosmetics in the
Late Iron Age (Crummy et al 2007, 69–377).
Ecofacts associated with Colchester’s late Iron
Age burial sites are far more scanty than the
artefacts, but the plant macrofossils, pollens,
charcoal and faunal remains from Stanway
provide a benchmark for future research (ibid,
384–99).
The non-funerary assemblages come mainly
from Sheepen, effectively the industrial zone
of Camulodunon, and Gosbecks, a largely
agricultural area that was probably the location
of Cunobelin’s farmstead and may also have
been a focus for ritual activity (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 46–51; CAR 11, 70–84, 95–8;
Crummy et al 2007, 447–9).
The settlement at Sheepen has produced
40
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
nationally important stratified assemblages of
pre-Conquest material, notably Iron Age coins
and both native and imported pottery, brooches
and other metalwork (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
133–42, 161–281, 308–32, 341–4; Sealey 1985;
Haselgrove 1987b). Since the excavations of
the 1930s, the date of the earliest occupation at
Sheepen has always been the subject of debate,
hinging largely on the presence and dating of
some Dressel 1 amphorae (Niblett 1985, 23). To
this can be added the deliberate exclusion of
1st century BC boss-on-bow brooches from
the brooch report in Hawkes and Hull 1947
on the grounds that they conflicted with the
preferred start date of the early 1st century
AD. More generally speaking, the phasing of
the 1930s excavations is not now considered
to be accurate and far more of the assemblage
is therefore likely to be pre-Conquest than
originally thought. Refinement of the phasing,
including an earlier start date for the settlement,
impacts upon analyses of the 1930s finds and
on the results of comparative studies (CAR
11, 80–1). For example, far more Arretine,
other ceramic fine wares and glassware from
Sheepen may be pre-Conquest than is generally
presumed, and conclusions about trade and
consumption previously drawn from these
assemblages may not be accurate. Similarly,
much material in genuinely post-Conquest
features is residual Late Iron Age (Niblett
1985, 22–3). Despite these constraints, strong
pre-Conquest trade links to the continent are
evident in the presence of Augusto-Tiberian
Arretine and Gallo-Belgic wares, wine amphorae
and large numbers of Gallo-Roman Rosette
and Langton Down brooches; much of
Cunobelin’s wealth must have derived from
these imported goods (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
168–286, 308–20; Sealey 1985). A catalogue of
the Gallo-Belgic wares from Sheepen is now
available online (Timby and Rigby 2007). The
assemblage of British-made pottery from late
Iron Age Sheepen is also a valuable resource,
allowing comparisons to be made between
pre- and post-Conquest assemblages on the
site that add to studies of trade, consumption
and identity (Crummy et al 2007, 279–90).
Some pottery may have been made at Sheepen,
but there is no stratigraphic and very little
artefactual evidence to support this (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 281; CAR 10, 488).
The late Iron Age finds assemblage from
the Sheepen excavations of the 1930s has now
been supplemented by that from the Colchester
Institute (Colchester Archaeological Trust,
2007–9). The finds from some of the features,
or in some cases the absence of 1st-century AD
Gallo-Belgic ware, suggest that Camulodunon
was in existence as early as the mid-1st century
BC. To date, the Institute material remains
largely unprocessed as the project had to be
halted due to the economic downturn of the
late 2000s affecting centralised funding for
building works at educational establishments.
Study of this assemblage should enable a full
reassessment of the start date of Iron Age
occupation on the Sheepen site.
The coinage of Cunobelin has already
enabled some refinement of the Sheepen dating,
stressing the usefulness of the assemblage for
studies of the chronology of the late Iron Age
as well as for theoretical analyses of identity,
wealth and prestige (Haselgrove 1987b; van
Arsdell 1989; Hobbs 1996; Creighton 2000).
An associated element of the pre-Conquest
Sheepen finds assemblage is a quantity of coin
flan moulds and other industrial debris from
Cunobelin’s mint. This material is similar to
assemblages from both Britain and France, and
in particular to several from sites in Hertfordshire
associated with the Catuvellaunian oppida there;
they can also be matched at Silchester (Fig 4.2;
Hawkes and Hull 1947, 129–33; CAR 11, 81,
131, 133–6; Cunliffe 1991, 486–7; Niblett 2001,
43, 51–2; Niblett and Thompson 2005, 24, 35–
6; Fulford and Timby 2000, 413–15). Structures
and debris associated with the manufacture
of other metal objects are very scarce in the
pre-Conquest period (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
341, 346), but this may be due in some part
to the phasing problems mentioned above,
and future work on the Colchester Institute
assemblage may present a different picture. It is
certainly likely that the pre-Conquest one-piece
brass Colchester brooches that occur in large
numbers at Sheepen were made there. Similarly,
the manufacture of iron objects somewhere in
the area can be inferred from the local use of
distinctive items such as firedogs. Given the lack
of local ores, it is probable that copper alloys
and iron were imported in the form of ingots
and smith’s bar iron.
Salt from local coastal salterns (red hills)
may be another source of Cunobelin’s wealth
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 347; Rodwell 1979,
159–60; Fawn et al 1990) but, because of the
recovery on inland sites of both briquetage
41
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
vessels and salt-making hearth furniture, the
mechanisms by which this commodity was
marketed are not yet fully understood. There
would have been competition for inland
markets from the Iceni and Corieltauvi to the
north (Rodwell 1979, 159–60, 172; Eddy 1982,
26; Barford 1990, 79; Sealey 1995, 68–9; Lane
and Morris 2001). In addition, Stanway points
to salt being used in some way in funerary rites
(Crummy et al 2007, 375–7). A small number
of loomweights and spindlewhorls are evidence
for textile manufacture at Sheepen, implying
not only self-sufficiency in cloth production
but also the keeping of flocks containing a
proportion of mature animals to ensure a
steady supply of fleeces (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 349; Crummy et al 2007, 43–5). All the
loomweights from Sheepen were from contexts
phased as post-Conquest, but these objects are
a standard feature of pre-Conquest sites in the
area and some of these items, like those from
the middle Iron Age settlement at Stanway,
may predate the oppidum (Pooley and Benfield
2005 312, 383, 485). Sheep are not represented
in the pre-Conquest faunal assemblage at
Sheepen, although they do occur in supposedly
post-Conquest contexts and the problems of
mis-phasing apply equally to animal bone as
to other finds. Species identified in securely
pre-Conquest levels include small horses and
oxen, which, like other finds from the site,
provide the basis for comparison with other late
Iron Age settlements and with post-conquest
assemblages (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 350–3).
Ravens and buzzards were among the birds
identified at pre-conquest Sheepen and they
may represent ritual activity of some kind (ibid,
354). Environmental remains consisted only of
charcoal and some bracken (ibid, 356).
Gosbecks is part of an agricultural landscape
that developed from at least the Bronze Age
(Benfield 1998b, Benfield 2008a, Pooley and
Benfield 2005 and others in preparation). It
has been far less intensively excavated than
Sheepen, but has produced pottery, brooches,
loomweights and spindlewhorls dating to the
pre-Conquest period (Benfield 1998b, 127).
No Arretine pottery has been found there, and
very little Gallo-Belgic ware, but a fragment
of a Dressel 1 amphora of a form generally
considered to have gone out of use in the
mid-1st century BC adds to the evidence for
Camulodunon being of earlier origin than first
proposed (Benfield in prep a).
The finds from the various sections across
the dykes are not numerous but are critical in
dating the defensive system; they are discussed
in detail in CAR 11 (106–60).
Within the town late Iron Age finds are
scarce, although they include some coins and
brooches (CAR 4, 15–16; CAR 6, 294–5;
CAR 2, fig. 2, 16; Hull nd c, no. 0325; Wire
nd, 22/5/1852). One brooch is a mid-1st
century BC form (CAR 2, fig. 2, 16). The varied
origins of the coins and the comparatively
high number of coins to other Late Iron
Age material suggest that they may relate to
immediately post-Conquest rather than preConquest activity.
The archaeological evidence
by David Radford
The oppidum
During the late Iron Age Camulodunon
occupied an area of around 28 square miles,
located on the gravel plateau and mainly
between the valleys of the Colne and the
Roman River. It was bounded by earthworks
or dykes in the west which linked the rivers
and created a defended perimeter of water,
marsh and forest (Fig 3.2). The dykes on the
western side of the oppidum were formed of
two overlapping arcs; one arc (the Lexden
Dyke) protecting the trading settlement
and mint at Sheepen, while the other (the
Heath Farm Dyke) defended the large subrectangular farmstead enclosure and a possible
ritual enclosure at Gosbecks (Fig 4.8). The
eastern boundary of the oppidum is less clear
and appears to have been formed from the
natural boundaries of the rivers. Within the
perimeter of the dykes was an extensive farm
estate with networks of fields, droveways
and trackways linking stock enclosures and
dispersed settlements. Many of the habitation
sites would have had their own cemeteries, for
example the Lexden Cemetery (Fig 4.6). The
burial site at Stanway lies just outside the dyke
system, but must have been intimately linked
with the oppidum (Fig 4.7; Crummy 2001, 13;
Crummy et al 2007, 1).The exact chronology
of development is not fully understood, but it
appears that the settlement was in existence by c
15 BC and flourished and expanded from c AD
5 until the Claudian invasion and beyond.
At Camulodunon the scale of the settlement,
42
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
along with its earthworks, extensive farmland
and evident material wealth, can be contrasted
with the lack of evidence for any sizeable
population (see page 39). In this respect the
Latin noun oppidum, meaning town, appears
completely inappropriate. No proto-urban
centre has been found at Camulodunon:
it appears to be an extensive royal farm
estate, albeit with distinct activity zones and
boundaries, influenced by Roman culture but
retaining strongly native characteristics and
traditions.
The dykes
A series of eight defensive or territorial lines
can be identified in the Colchester dyke
system, excluding the earthworks currently
thought to be Roman in date (Figs 3.2,
4.8). The dykes have been subdivided using
archaeological, geographical and subjective
criteria into 30 named stretches of bank and
ditch. The main defensive lines of known or
possible late Iron Age date are, from east to
west: 1) Berechurch (MON838)/Barnhall
Dyke (MON837); 2) Sheepen phase 1 and 2
(MON400); 3) Lexden Dyke North, Middle
and South (MON830, MON831, MON828)/
Moat Farm Dyke (MON832); 4) Heath
Farm Dyke (MON829); 5) Shrub End Dyke
(EHCR11640); 6) Prettygate Dyke (MON763);
7) Kidman’s Dyke (EHCR11630)/Layer de
la Haye Dyke/Oliver’s Dyke (EHCR11631);
8) Gosbecks Dyke (EHCR11634). Another
stretch of possible dyke was recorded in the
vicinity of Horkesley Heath in the 17th century,
but this remains unconfirmed (Morant 1768,
bk I, 92–3). If this observation is correct then
the dyke would link two tributaries of the
Colne, Black Brook and Salary Brook, and
dramatically expand the defended area (CAR
11, 50, fig 2.26; Crummy 1999b, 88, fig 1).
A number of reproduced plans of the dyke
system have adopted the habit of extending
the line of Shrub End Dyke to follow the
route of Straight Road and Gosbecks Road all
the way to Barnhall. While the geography of
these roads is certainly curious, an excavation
across the projected course of Shrub End
Dyke at the northern end of Gosbecks Road
failed to reveal any trace of the dyke here
(CAR 6, 924).
The dykes consist of U- or V-shaped
ditches, varying in depth from 1.5m on parts
of Heath Farm Dyke to at least 4.6m at Lexden
Dyke Middle (CAR 11, 32 and 37). The upcast
was used to form an internal bank: the largest
surviving stretch of bank, at Lexden Dyke
Middle, stands 3m high and may have originally
stood to 4m. The combined bank and ditch
therefore created a defensive slope of up to
9–10m. The upcast was sometimes placed on
stripped topsoil, the turf presumably being used
to consolidate the bank profile. No conclusive
evidence for revetment or defended gateways
has been recovered, although a cylindrical
posthole 1.2m deep at Lexden Dyke Middle
was interpreted as part of a revetment (ibid,
43–4), and a possible turf or clay revetment
was postulated for Sheepen Dyke (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 60). Also at Sheepen, the stumps
of two stout timber stakes which were found
butted against one side of an entrance through
the dyke were interpreted as part of a wooden
gate structure (ibid, 58).
At present the earliest dyke appears to
be Heath Farm Dyke Middle, which curves
around the Gosbecks trapezoidal enclosure
and surrounding field systems. Excavations
by Rex Hull at Prettygate Junction in 1956–7
showed that the dyke is cut by Lexden Dyke,
which has been dated to c AD 5–43 (CAR
11, 48–50). Heath Farm Dyke is small in
comparison to later dykes (measured sections
show that the ditch varies in depth from 1.5m
to 2.4m and, interestingly, both U- and Vshaped profiles have been recorded, leading
Hawkes to suggest that less centralised control
was being exerted over different work teams
at this time (ibid, 30–3, fig 2.14). Later dykes
appear to be more uniform.
The problems encountered when dating
the dykes are demonstrated by Sheepen Dyke,
which was sectioned several times in the 1930s
(Fig 4.9). This produced only two identifiable
late Iron Age pottery forms as dating evidence
for its construction (Cam. 218 and Cam. 271).
One of these forms was also recovered from
the Lexden Tumulus (Fig 4.6), which was dated
from c 15 to 10 BC (CAR 11, 88; Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 60). However, the Sheepen
assemblage as a whole as published by Hawkes
and Hull point to an occupation period of c AD
5–61, during which time the ditch of Sheepen
Dyke was used as an open midden before being
filled in after the Roman Conquest.
None of the remaining late Iron Age dykes
has been convincingly dated. Philip Crummy
43
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
has suggested a plausible development model,
based on the limited archaeological evidence
and the dyke morphology, starting with the
laying-out of Heath Farm Dyke around
Gosbecks c 25 BC. By c AD 5 Lexden Dyke
had been added to complete the link between
the two rivers and Sheepen Dyke had been
constructed as an extra defence for the
settlement and mint on Sheepen Hill. Over the
next 40 years Kidman’s, Oliver’s and Gosbecks
Dykes were added to reinforce Gosbecks.
Shrub End Dyke was added to further defend
Sheepen, linking with Kidman’s Dyke at its
southern end. Shrub End Dyke was also linked
to the junction of Lexden Dyke and Heath
Farm Dyke by the curious Prettygate Dyke
(CAR 11, 176–7, figs 7.8–7.11). The outermost
western dyke, Gryme’s Dyke, is thought to have
been added after the Conquest (ibid, 115).
A military role for these earthworks is
suggested by the use of high ground, by the
proximity of the dykes to each other and by
the completeness of the barrier between the
Colne and Roman rivers. In addition, the dykes
continue over the two rivers, suggesting an
intention to create flanking defences. A popular
interpretation of the dykes’ military function is
that they were for controlling the movement of
large numbers of chariots (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 15; CAR 11, 162; Black 1990, 142–3). The
defensive utility of such large enclosed areas
– not least the ease of escape from them – was
noted by Julius Caesar (Gallic War Bk V, 21).
Some or all of the dykes may also have had
roles as prestige symbols, territorial markers
or stock enclosures. It is curious why so much
manpower should have been expended on these
structures if they were purely defensive, given
that lesser barriers would have been equally
effective in breaking chariot charges and that
some of the dykes appear to cross slopes.
There has been some discussion as to whether
late Iron Age dyke building represented a new
concept in defensive architecture, one perhaps
continental in origin (Cunliffe 2010, 161),
or the revival of an indigenous tradition of
constructing linear barriers (Haselgrove 1989,
12; Davies 1996a, 75). Interestingly, at nearby
Ardleigh two large linear boundaries of middle
Bronze Age date mark out an area of flat land
between two stream valleys, giving credence
to an indigenous origin for dyke building in
the Colchester area (Brown 1999, 177). It
has been claimed that Bronze Age material
has been recovered from the make-up of a
dyke at Colchester, but there is no surviving
evidence and the assertion remains suspect
(Davies 1968, 1).
Settlement – Sheepen
Despite the obvious importance and prestige
of Camulodunon the evidence recovered
for actual occupation sites is limited. Even
at the focal points of the settlement, such as
Gosbecks, occupation seems to have been
relatively dispersed and low-level. Elsewhere,
domestic pottery from pits and ditches located
inside and outside the dyke system point to
dispersed settlement across the gravel terrace,
although the evidence is fragmentary.
To date, only Sheepen has produced
evidence of settlement density within the
dyke system. Sheepen Hill, or ‘Hilly Fields’, is
a gently sloping promontory which is separated
from the later Roman town to the east by a
small valley and delimited to the south by a
stream course and to the north by the river
Colne. The settlement was significant enough
to warrant its own defensive dyke (MON400),
Sheepen Dyke, which runs over the crest of
the hill, linking the Colne and the stream (cover
illustration and Fig 4.9). Spring lines on the
hill would have provided fresh water and the
river was navigable and fordable nearby. A
number of late Iron Age ‘occupation areas’
measuring between 2.5m and 6m across were
identified during the 1930s excavations. Only
eight of these were identified as securely
pre-Roman, with a further 12 likely to be of
similar date (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 46 and
47, note 2). There is some need for caution
when interpreting the Sheepen evidence as
it is possible that the excavation techniques
used in the 1930s may have missed more
ephemeral features (CAR 11, 163–4). Finds
of Iron Age pottery from a watching brief
at the Colchester Institute car park suggest
that the Sheepen settlement extended to the
south (FND294) (Crossan 2000b), although
evaluation trenching undertaken east of
the Institute produced only residual Roman
material and no identifiable late Iron Age
pottery, thus providing an eastern limit to the
site (CAT Archive Report 11/96a).
The dating of the late Iron Age occupation
at Sheepen has been the subject of some
debate, with c AD 5, rather than c AD 10 now
44
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
proposed as the start date of occupation there
(Haselgrove 1987b, 485; Sealey 1985, 109–11).
The situation is confused by the presence of a
number of Dressel 1 amphorae on the site, which
are known to have gone out of use in c 10 BC.
The accepted explanation for the amphorae is
that the containers were being reused (Sealey
1985, 101–8). Consequently the occupation at
Sheepen is thought to have developed from
the early 1st century AD, flourishing in, but
not necessarily beginning in, the reign of
Cunobelin. The 2007–09 excavations at the
Colchester Institute in Sheepen produced at
least eleven Dressel 1 amphorae plus GalloBelgic ware which is earlier than anything
hitherto discovered at Sheepen, as early as the
inception of the industry c 15–10 BC. Evidently
activity at Sheepen began at different times at
different places, and the publication of this
important excavation can be expected to resolve
the question of the start date of Sheepen once
and for all (P Sealey, pers comm).
The buildings at Sheepen were circular or
sub-rectangular and of simple construction,
some with a central hearth and clusters of
external rubbish pits. The living surfaces were
of trampled clay, either located directly on the
topsoil or dug into it, creating a sunken floor.
Excavated turfs were used to form a shallow
base wall for the superstructure and the walls
themselves were of wattle and daub supported
by either shallow-bedded lean-to poles or
slender vertical stakes driven through the turf
base. The rudimentary character of the huts at
Sheepen is quite different from the developed
roundhouses of the Essex Iron Age (Rodwell
1978a, 38 pace Dunnett 1975, 26). This building
type has not been reported from elsewhere in
Essex and remains an unexplained anomaly in
the prehistoric architectural traditions of the
county, being curious both for its small size and
for the absence of internal bedding posts and
external drip gullies. The diameter of the larger
huts – roughly 6m – can be contrasted with late
Iron Age huts with an average diameter of 13m
at Little Waltham, near Chelmsford (Drury
1978, 123, fig 69), although huts of comparable
size are known from other Essex sites, such as
Chelmsford. In the late 1970s it was suggested
that roundhouse forms died out in Essex at
the turn of the millennium, being replaced
with shallow-bedded rectangular forms that
left little trace (Drury and Rodwell 1980,
70). Subsequent excavations have, however,
demonstrated that roundhouse forms were not
only present in the 1st-century landscape – for
example, at Kelvedon in Essex – but survived
through to the late Roman period, as, for
example, at Stansted (P Sealey, pers comm).
Sheepen’s buildings were mostly found
spread out in an unplanned fashion on either
side of a trackway (MON427) that entered
the dyke midway down Sheepen Hill and ran
south-west–north-east through the settlement,
down towards the river Colne. Although there
was some variation, the structures were of
modest size and showed no clear indications
of social hierarchy. A possible exception was
hut D1, located on the site of the present-day
Colchester Institute, which had apparently
been burnt soon after the Roman Conquest
(ELM 1258). The facts that burning had not
been common across the settlement and that
nearby rubbish pits contained a large amount of
high-quality Roman pottery, led the excavators
to suggest that a high-status individual had
lived here and had been singled out for rough
treatment. This occupation site may have been
the focus for the trackway and was curious for
the presence of distinctly rectangular clay-lined
pits in its vicinity (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
99–101).
Another structure of interest was found
at site Y1 (Fig 4.9), to the south of a fork in
Sheepen Dyke; this was a large sub-rectangular
enclosure measuring 37m by at least 10m
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 118). Parallel bedding
trenches for sleeper beams were identified,
which must have supported some form of
wooden superstructure, but no clear ground
plan was recovered and no trace of a floor
was noted. Native domestic pottery was
recovered, but there were no other clues as
to the building’s function. A loose parallel
can be drawn with long rectangular structures
recorded at Manching (Bavaria), which have
been interpreted as warehouses or barns (Collis
1984, 109). A closer parallel can be found with
both structure 3 (Rodwell 1988, 15–21) and
perhaps building 2 (Eddy and Turner 1982, 9,
fig 5) at Kelvedon (Essex). The comparatively
small number of such structures recorded
could be due to the use of sleeper beams,
the traces of which are susceptible to plough
damage (Sealey 1996, 60).
Other features of the settlement area at
Sheepen include a small number of timberlined storage pits, possibly linked with industrial
45
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
activity, a timber-lined ‘water hole’ (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 48), which has a parallel at
Foxholes Farm (Herts) (Partridge 1989, 31–3),
and evidence for a mint or mints (MON 428).
Groups of coin flans were found in some
quantity near pit K1 at Sheepen (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 129) and 200m to the south
at Kiln Road (CAR 11, 131), suggesting at
least two separate minting sites (Figs 4.2, 4.9).
The Sheepen and Kiln Road excavations also
encountered shallow scoop-shaped features
sometimes described as ‘working hollows’ (ibid,
137). These have been recorded at a number
of sites around the country and are thought
to be linked either to domestic activities such
as threshing or perhaps small-scale quarrying
(Bradley 1978a, 43–4).
In 1970 Sheepen Hill was partially reexcavated, the trackway (MON 427) was
re-examined and a further four late Iron Age
domestic rubbish pits uncovered. However,
no new pre-Roman occupation structures
were found. A rectangular post-built feature
was initially interpreted as a late Iron Age hut
(Dunnett 1975, 26) but is now considered to be
a Roman cellar (MON 685; Niblett 1985, 5).
Other settlement evidence
At Gosbecks the extensive field system no
doubt encompassed dispersed occupation
sites, but as yet no hut structures have been
excavated. In 1948, a late Iron Age hearth
along with domestic rubbish was noted 100m
from the large trapezoidal enclosure (Hull
1958, 259). The enclosure is located on a gently
sloping south-facing field close to a shallow
valley with a spring to the north-west, and is
assumed to be a royal farmstead; the internal
features, discernable as cropmarks, include
what appears to be a hut circle of only modest
size (Fig 4.8; CAR 11, fig 5.2). A geophysical
survey in 2001 identified further pitting in the
southern half of the enclosure and it is possible
that traces of larger structures have been
denuded by ploughing (P Cott, pers comm).
It was evidently remodelled several times,
with later ditches being far more rectilinear,
suggesting continuity of occupation into the
early Roman period. A section in 1949 across
the enclosure ditch suggested a pre-Conquest
construction, with the ditch remaining open
long enough for Roman wares to get into the
fill (CMR 1948–50, 134; Hull 1958, 270–1).
Away from Sheepen and Gosbecks, probable
settlement sites include ‘The Lindens’ (Lexden
Road), where rubbish pits contained pottery
dated to c AD 30–50 (CAR 11, 131; Crossan
2000a); Gryme’s Dyke south of Dugard
Avenue, where a series of shallow features
contained a number of native pottery forms rare
at Sheepen and likely to be of the first quarter
of the 1st century AD (CAR 11, 109–16);
Colchester Fire Station, where finds of pottery
from AD 5–60 were made (COLEM:1943.178);
Kirkee McMunn Barracks, where two ditches
contained Sheepen-type pottery of probable
pre-Conquest date (Shimmin 1998b); and
Margaret Road–Catchpool Road, where finds
of native and Roman pottery, including Cam.
133, a pre-Conquest flagon found only at
Sheepen, were made (Hull 1956). Elsewhere,
A F Hall explored an ‘extensive settlement site’
east of Friday Wood, near Berechurch Dyke,
which produced late Iron Age pottery (CAR
11, 26). As yet, conclusive evidence for late Iron
Age settlement on the site of the later colonia
has not been forthcoming, although David
Clarke noted ‘Belgic’ pits at the NCP Car Park
excavation at North Hill (Clarke 1971, 65).
Elsewhere, it is generally difficult to
distinguish between pre- and post-Conquest
occupation because late Iron Age grogtempered pottery continued in use into the
Flavian period. Sites where occupation could
be pre-Conquest in origin include: Gosbecks
Site B, where a large field ditch contained large
quantities of broken domestic pottery (CAT
Report 7/94b, 10); the Northern Approach
Road near Turner Village, where significant
quantities of pottery were found in two ditches
and a pit (Benfield 1997a); Stanwell Street,
which produced a large quantity of native and
Roman pottery (COLEM:1937.987); Crouch
Street, again with native and Roman pottery
(COLEM:1938–16–21); Acland Avenue, where
more than 100 fragments of native and Roman
wares were recorded (unpub. report, Colchester
Museums archives); Winsley’s House on High
Street, also with native and Roman pottery
(CMR 1954–6, 18–19); and the Glebe Field,
where native and Roman pottery were found
in a street drain (COLEM:1938.14).
Manufacturing and trade
The excavations at Sheepen in the 1930s showed
that from the beginning the community that
46
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
lived there imported amphorae and tableware
from the Roman world in quantity. In fact
the presence of Dressel 1 amphorae in some
numbers show that Italian wine was reaching
elsewhere in Camulodunon in the 1st century
BC (reaching Sheepen as empty vessels in
secondary use). These earlier imports are
most graphically documented by the c 15–10
BC Lexden Tumulus with its minimum of
eleven Dressel 2–4 amphorae and minimum of
six Dressel 1 amphorae (Foster 1986, 128–31).
The amphorae reaching Iron Age Sheepen itself
included wine jars of form Dressel 2–4, as
well as fish sauce amphorae from the province
of Baetica in southern Spain, and Haltern 70
amphorae which would have contained grape
syrups and preserved olives. The quantity of
imported tableware was prodigious. It included
Arretine, Gallo-Belgic ware and central Gaulish
wares. Samian ware from Gaul was conspicuous
for its absence. Vessel glass also reached Iron
Age Sheepen but in only modest quantities.
Hundreds of fragments of clay coin moulds
(Fig 4.2) were recovered from the top of
Sheepen Hill in the 1930s along with fragments
of crucibles, bronze, iron and slag (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 129–33, 345). Coin moulds were
also found during the 1971 excavation and
the 1972 watching brief at Kiln Road (Fig 4.9;
CAR 11, 131–7). No complete moulds were
recovered, but they appear to have comprised
50 circular holes, arranged in seven rows of
seven with the fiftieth in the centre of one
side. The moulds would have been used to
make blanks, which would then be struck,
and the number of holes has been suggested
as evidence of a decimal system (Goodburn
1989, 87). A sealed hoard of 10 coins of
Cunobelin from Sheepen gives further weight
to this theory (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 87).
The die imprints on Cunobelin’s coins are, like
other Celtic coins, generally slightly off-centre
or oversized so as not to fit on the blank in a
symmetrical fashion and opinion varies as to
whether this was a stylistic choice or a casual
attitude to coin production (Creighton 2000,
36–7). Recently, it has been noted that the last
series of Cunobelin’s coins have a symmetry
between the obverse and reverse sides which
suggests the use of a hinged die. Here the
use of imported Roman technology appears
to demonstrate the increasing influence of
the Roman world on Camulodunon (Megan
Davies, pers comm).
A total of 130 bronze and silver Celtic coins
were recovered from the 1930s excavations; the
majority of these were coins of Cunobelin,
with Gaulish links indicated by coins of the
Ambiani and other unidentified Gaulish types.
Curiously, gold coins of Cunobelin are virtually
absent at Sheepen, but finds of bronze coins are
concentrated there, suggesting that such coins
were specifically for local market use (Collis
1984, 158). One coin of Cunobelin recovered
from the river Colne at Sheepen by a metal
detectorist in 1980, depicts a high-sided ship
with one tall mast, a flat keel and a steering oar,
perhaps a representation of Cunobelin’s own
trading fleet (Fig 4.5; McGrail 1990, 43–4). A
similar coin has been recovered at Canterbury
(Muckleroy et al 1978). This impression of
maritime trade is supported by the discovery
of Latin alphabet graffiti on sherds of Arretine
ware from a secure pre-Conquest horizon at
Sheepen. This suggests that literate individuals
– perhaps traders from Gaul – were present at
the site (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 284–5).
Aside from coin production, the evidence
for native industry at Sheepen is sparse and
the majority of crucibles found belong to
the post-Conquest period (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 345). There is no direct evidence of
metalworking, only the presence of native
metalwork products such as a large number of
La Tène III ‘Colchester-type’ brooches and a
firedog with an ox-head terminal (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 309, 329–31 and 341). Elsewhere at
Camulodunon, industrial slag, associated with a
concentration of domestic late Iron Age–early
Roman pottery, recorded near Gosbecks
suggests localised metalworking amongst the
dispersed farmsteads (Brooks et al 1995, 261).
Hull also suggests metalworking activity at
Gosbecks in the pre-Boudican period, based
on his observation of patches of slag near
the Roman theatre, although this may be
post-Conquest material (Hull 1958, 260). A
kilometre to the south of Camulodunon, a preConquest 1st century AD crucible for copperalloy working was found at Layer de la Haye
(note in Essex Archaeol Hist 15 (1984): 134).
Despite the quantities of native pottery
recovered at Sheepen, we have no direct
evidence of its production on site in the late
Iron Age. What Hawkes and Hull proposed as
a waster is not now available for study (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 261). It might have been vessel
which had been exposed to high temperature
47
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
after breakage. Native production techniques
were less advanced than were continental
industries and late Iron Age kilns would have
taken the form of insubstantial clamps or
bonfires that have left little or no trace (Swan
1984, 53–5; Woods 1974).
Claims that finds of briquetage (fired
clay salt production apparatus) at Sheepen
indicate salt production there are misconceived
(Hawkes and Hull 1947 48, 346–7; Niblett
1985, 23, fig 34, no 30). The briquetage, from
late Iron Age and also early Roman contexts,
all came from sites near the river. However
it is unlikely that attempts would have been
made to extract salt from a freshwater river
even if it were tidal (because of the dilution
of the brine). What we have at Sheepen is the
phenomenon of an inland find of briquetage.
There is no consensus as to how this should
be explained and the issue remains contentious
(Barford 2000, 276–8; Crummy 2007, 376–7;
Sealey 1995, 68–9).
Agriculture and the field system
Pollen analysis from middle and late Iron Age
contexts at Stanway suggests an evolution
from pasture to cereal cropping, perhaps
reflecting population growth in the vicinity. In
the middle Iron Age the area of the modern
quarry was a herb-rich grassland: perhaps
pasture with knapweed, daisies, dandelions,
mugwort, stinging nettles, heather and bracken.
Oak and hawthorn were present but it was
evident that the landscape was cleared of
trees. The late Iron Age samples showed that
oak and birch were present in small numbers
and were accompanied by bracken, poppies,
corn spurrey, buttercup and mugwort, but
the presence of cereal pollen could indicate
that the herbs were now weeds in a cornfield
(Wiltshire 1999, 15). Six samples of charred
plant remains from late Iron Age/early Roman
features excavated at Gosbecks Site B revealed
low densities of cereal grains and chaff with
Fig 4.5 A reconstruction
painting of a late Iron
Age ship based on a
design found on a coin
of Cunobelin (Frank
Gardiner).
48
Fig 4.6 The Lexden
Tumulus was arguably
subject to one of the first
scientific excavations in
Colchester and certainly
demonstrated the
significance of the area for
the study of late Iron Age
Britain (Philip J Wise).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
charred seeds of weeds, grassland and wetland
plants, and hazelnut shell. The material
appeared to derive from nearby domestic
activity (Fryer and Murphy 1996). The evidence
implies a well-populated countryside cleared
of trees and dominated by arable and pasture,
similar to that recorded at other comparable
settlements, such as Verulamium (Dimbleby
1978, 112–15).
At Camulodunon the geology of the
settlement is predominantly that of a gravel
terrace with London clay in the river valleys on
either side and to the south around Abberton
and Langenhoe. The fertile, but heavy, clay
soils south of the Roman River have not
preserved distinct cropmarks, whereas the
lighter coarse loamy soils of the gravel terrace
have revealed numerous field systems. From a
synthesis of aerial photographic evidence it is
possible to identify an extensive network of
sub-rectangular fields arranged around more
sinuous and curvilinear trackways, droveways
and dykes. The system is centred on the late
Iron Age farmstead enclosure at Gosbecks and
extends eastwards towards Colchester Cemetery
(Fig 4.8). Two comprehensive syntheses of
cropmarks have been produced (CAR 11,
fig 6.1; RCHME, NMP TL 92SE). The basic
pattern comprises small sub-rectangular
agricultural fields and stock enclosures located
close to the known occupation areas, with
boundary ditches delimiting this zone from
perhaps open pasture-lands around the
periphery. The system extends for about 3km
westwards and covers approximately 650ha on
the northern edge of the Roman River valley.
South-west of the Gosbecks farmstead
there is a co-axial system orientated NNW–
SSE, which comprises fields and enclosures
of various sizes. The network is reasonably
coherent, although modified over time.
Interestingly, a number of boundaries appear
to run under Heath Farm Dyke South,
suggesting that the complex is essentially
late Iron Age or earlier in origin. East of the
farmstead and the later Roman theatre site
there are two field-boundary orientations: one
orientated north-east–south-west and based
around the later Colchester–Gosbecks Roman
road; and another, more radial in pattern,
emanating from the direction of Oliver’s
Orchard, which must pre-date the Roman road.
The sinuous trackways that lie to the west of
the main enclosure at Gosbecks appear to cut
and therefore post-date the boundaries that run
under Heath Farm Dyke South; in addition,
part of the track system appears to respect the
Roman fort to the north. To the east of the
main complex at Gosbecks, undated funnelended trackways are designed to move stock
onto the plateau at Kingsland Farm and along
a curving trackway that arcs north-eastwards
from above Birch Grove towards Barnhall,
where burials suggest late Iron Age occupation
nearby.
Field ditches containing late Iron Age–early
Roman pottery have been excavated at several
sites within and just outside the oppidum.
Generally, finds are insufficient to provide
more than a broad late Iron Age–early Roman
date range, as at, for example, an area in the
north-west of Gosbecks Archaeological Park
(Benfield 1998b), the Northern Approach
Road (encompassing an area west of Turner
Road, Turner Village and Colchester General
Hospital) (CAT Report 1997/6) and Kirkee
McMunn Barracks (Shimmin 1998b). However,
the curvilinear shape of a series of late Iron Age
ditches that were excavated south of Dugard
Avenue in 1973–6 suggested that they were
parts of stock enclosures (Figs 3.2, 4.8). Two
of the ditches formed a triangular enclosure
against Kidman’s Dyke, the enclosure ditch
measuring up to 5.5m wide (CAR 11, 116).
A similar triangular enclosure abutting the
probably Roman Gryme’s Dyke was sectioned
at Chitts Hill and comprised an undated linear
ditch 1.25m deep and 2.7m wide (Fig 3.2;
Petchey 1979). Further west, at Church Lane,
Stanway, a pair of parallel ditches, probably a
droveway leading to a nearby enclosure, were
sectioned in 1991. The dating evidence was
poor, although possible early Iron Age pottery
49
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
Fig 4.7 The burial site
at Stanway, to the west
of Colchester, is of
international importance for
the study of the funerary
rituals of the late Iron Age
elite (insert to Fig 3.2)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
was recovered from the droveway ditch and
middle Iron Age pottery from the enclosure
ditch. Interestingly, a sherd of Roman amphora
and an Anglo-Saxon sherd were recovered
from the droveway ditch, raising the possibility
of long-term landscape continuity in this area
(Partridge 1993a, 218). South of Bellhouse
Farm, Stanway, two ditches were sectioned in
1999 in anticipation of mineral extraction: one
was shallow (0.4m deep) and broadly Roman
in date, the other larger (3.2m wide and 1.1m
deep) and dated late Iron Age to 3rd–4th
century AD (Brooks 1999a, 11).
A number of enclosures have also been
identified, including Stanway enclosures
2 and 3, which appear to have originated
as stock or settlement enclosures, perhaps
during the second half of the 1st century BC
(Fig 4.7; Crummy 1992a, 2). To the southwest, at Abbotstone, the late Iron Age and
Roman enclosures are situated around a small
enclosure of middle Iron Age date (Benfield
and Brooks 1999; P Crummy 2000, 4–5; Pooley
and Benfield 2005). A rectangular enclosure
(MON999) at Lexden Wood Golf Club has
produced both middle Iron Age and Roman
Fig 4.8 Cropmark features in the Gosbecks area (insert to Fig 3.2) (Colchester Archaeological Trust).
51
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
Fig 4.9 Sheepen, showing a selection of features from the various excavations (insert to Fig 3.2).
52
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
pottery and may yet prove to exhibit similar
continuity (Brooks and Austin 2000; Orr
2002a).
Burials and ritual structures
At least three burial traditions can be identified
at Camulodunon in the late Iron Age: firstly,
simple cremations in an urn of a type common in
Essex and the south-east; secondly, cremations
interred with prestige items; and, thirdly, far
more distinctive aristocratic burials involving
complex ritual procedures, ditched enclosures
and burial mounds. The first two traditions
are represented by four small, loose groups of
cremations perhaps relating to four or more
distinct flat cremation cemeteries located at St
Clare Road (Lexden), Lexden Grange, Abbey
Field and Colchester Cemetery. In addition,
there is a handful of isolated burials. The
more elaborate cremation burials generally
consist of pedestal urns accompanied by grave
goods placed in shallow pits, in the fashion
of the tradition imported from Gaul and the
Rhineland (Stead and Rigby 1989, 86). The
earliest graves are dated by the appearance of
Knotenfibel brooches known to have arrived
from the continent c 50 BC at the earliest
(Hattatt, 1987, 26). None of the Colchester
burials are associated with enclosures, but
the evidence is fragmentary in nature and the
existence of perimeter ditches cannot thus
be ruled out. All of the flat cremations cited
have been recovered as stray finds and many
have not been precisely dated: some could
conceivably be early Roman in origin. Such is
the extent of the later Roman burial zones that
only a handful of burials fall outside them.
A definite group of late Iron Age burials
(MON780) was recovered from St Clare Road
during house building in the early 20th century.
Twenty-seven vessels, derived from at least 10
graves, came from an area no more than 75m
across (CAR 11, 164). The absence of Roman
tableware forms, which arrive in Britain after 25
BC, and the presence of Knotenfibel brooches,
indicate a date range of c 70–25 BC for the
group. Just 100m south-east of this group an
outlying burial may be represented by a deep
pit containing charcoal and human cremated
bone, possibly that of a child, excavated under
the tail of Lexden Dyke. This has also been
interpreted as a foundation deposit for the
dyke (ibid, 42).
Five hundred metres to the north-east of St
Clare Road, at Lexden Grange, five pedestal urn
cremations have been recorded (MON1014)
(CMR 1903–4, 17). The most impressive
of these burials was discovered in 1904 and
contained a bronze mirror, a coral-mounted
bronze cup, a bronze pin and six pottery
vessels, including a pedestal urn (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 13). The presence in the grave of
mica-dusted tablewares from central Gaul
suggests a date after 25 BC. Just to the west,
and outside the Lexden dyke system, another
pedestal urn was recovered from behind the
old rectory in Lexden village (ibid, 13).
Two burial groups (MON1015) have been
found in the vicinity of Abbey Field, southeast of the modern town: one of the groups
included a fine redware jug datable to c AD 10–
43 (COLEM:1905.851–2; COLEM:1905.963).
Further east, at Colchester Cemetery, a row
of four native burials (MON779) was found
outside the west wall when the cemetery
was extended in 1946 (Hull nd b, 571–4). In
1951, another late Iron Age burial was found
somewhere in the cemetery: this time the grave
group contained a terra rubra bowl, a white
flagon and a pipeclay beaker with a herringbone
ornament (ibid, 615).
Three further isolated cremations require a
mention, all pedestal urns: one was found in a
sand pit in Bourne Road (COLEM:1963.505);
one near Winsley’s Almshouses on Military
Road (COLEM:1905.1001–3); and one was
recovered during building work at the Colchester
Institute (COLEM:1952.68). In addition, five
pieces of ‘Belgic’ pottery, including an urn
fragment, are listed in the accession register
of the Colchester Royal Grammar School:
the entries are dated 1923 and recorded as
being from the school grounds. This material
may have come from the excavations for the
school baths, which took place in that year.
Lastly, a mirror found at Hyderabad Barracks in
1974 may represent a further cremation burial
(Sealey 1996, 61).
At Camulodunon the articulation of elite
power through funerary ritual extended beyond
the simple inclusion of rich grave goods. A
higher tier of aristocratic burials is apparent
from the early stages of the settlement’s history.
These burials, involving complex funerary
rituals, funerary chambers, burial mounds
and enclosures, are only paralleled in Britain
at Folly Lane, St Albans (Niblett 1999). They
53
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
appear to be related to a La Tène D Gaulish
tradition evident in the second quarter of the
1st century BC at Clemency (Metzler et al 1991)
and Vieux-les-Asfeld (Lambot et al 1994, 208).
The first site of this kind to be excavated at
Colchester was the Lexden Tumulus in 1924
(Fig 4.6; MON682; Laver 1927). The barrow
stood 2m high in 1924 and was originally 30m
in diameter, and, while the initial excavation
suggested an oval ditch around the barrow,
no ditch was encountered when a section
was put across the perimeter by Colchester
Archaeological Trust in 1973 (CAR 11, 127–
30). Jennifer Foster’s subsequent re-evaluation
of the site suggested that it comprised a barrow
overlying one or possibly two rectangular
funerary chambers dating to c 15–10 BC
(Foster 1986). The chamber contained broken,
but unburnt, sherds of Roman pottery, as
well as cast copper-alloy figurines, chain mail,
furniture and a Bronze Age axe. Small heaps
of cremated bone were found at the base of
the chamber and, amongst the luxury goods,
a silver medallion of Augustus providing a
terminus post quem for the burial of 17 BC.
At Stanway, to the east of Colchester,
the identification of four rectilinear ditched
enclosures and one sub-circular enclosure in
cropmark form led to an excavation between
1987 and 1997 prior to gravel extraction (Fig
4.7). The enclosures have provided a remarkable
insight into a complex high-status burial ritual
which involved the burning of high-status
goods on a pyre and their subsequent partial
deposition in a wooden chamber. There is
some evidence that the chambers were then
covered with a turf mound. Enclosures 3, 5
and possibly 4 contained traces of turf that had
collapsed into the funerary chambers (Crummy
et al 2007, 104, 142 and 130).
The earliest sub-circular enclosure (2) was
dated to the middle Iron Age and appears to be
related to a domestic settlement located here.
By the late 1st century BC a second enclosure
(1), the largest of the complex, was added
and used for a funerary ritual that involved
the construction of a centrally placed wooden
chamber (Chamber AF 25) containing cremated
human bone along with a range of high-status
possessions (Crummy et al 2007, 101–3; CAR
11, 170). Insufficient bone was recovered to
suggest the presence of a human body and it
may be that a token amount of cremated bone
was thrown back into the chamber as part of
the ritual (R Niblett, pers comm), although no
trace of a pyre site survived in the enclosure.
The chamber contained no imported Roman
pottery and so appears to pre-date c 25 BC.
The pottery from the satellite graves within
the enclosure was exclusively ‘Belgic’ wheelthrown, grog-tempered ware. Elsewhere in
the complex a small cremation burial was
discovered outside (the later) enclosure 5; this
contained a Knotenfibel brooch which would
suggest that it is also 1st century BC in date.
There appears to have been a hiatus of
activity lasting from 50 to 75 years before
the construction of the next enclosure (3).
This contained a slightly off-centre funerary
chamber larger than that of enclosure 1,
although set within a smaller ditched enclosure.
Enclosure 3 revealed traces of a pyre near to
the funerary chamber and, unlike enclosure 1,
had an east-facing entrance, perhaps orientated
on the rising sun. The final two enclosures in
the sequence appear to have been added after
the Conquest and are dealt with in the Roman
chapter (see page 94–6).
At Gosbecks Archaeological Park there is
a further example of a massive, rectangular,
ditched enclosure with an east-facing entrance,
situated adjacent to the trapezoidal farmstead
enclosure (Fig 4.8). Here the enclosure measures
only 40m across, contrasting with the largest
Stanway enclosure of 100m. However, the Vshaped ditch is far more monumental in scale,
being 10m wide and 3.8m deep (Hull 1958,
270). Sections excavated across the ditch have
failed to provide pre-Roman dating evidence,
but given that the site became a focal point for
a major Romano-British religious centre, it is
possible that the ditch was recut in the Roman
period. The circumstantial evidence points to
this being an important native shrine or royal
mortuary enclosure, or both, comparable with
the Folly Lane enclosure at Verlamion (Niblett
1999). Geophysical surveys of the site have
revealed interesting internal features that may
one day help to resolve this issue.
Also of interest is a rectilinear enclosure
at Homefield Road, within the Colchester
Garrison, which appears on aerial photographs.
With an east-facing entrance and internal
feature, it appears to be of identical typology
to the Stanway and Gosbecks sites, and,
curiously, sits on the same latitudinal axis. It
currently lies neatly sealed beneath a car park
and investigations in 2004/5 suggested that the
54
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
enclosure may indeed be of middle Iron Age
date (CAR 11, fig 6.1; Brooks 2005b).
Ten kilometres north-west of Colchester an
important La Tène III burial was excavated at
Mount Bures in 1852. Here a pit contained a
series of grave goods including six amphorae,
Gallo-Belgic pottery and two iron firedogs with
bronze terminals (Smith 1852; Stead 1967, 53).
The burial is similar to those found at Welwyn
Garden City, but differs from the rich burials
seen at Lexden, and possibly Stanway, in that
it appears to involve neither the deliberate
destruction of artefacts nor the construction
of burial mounds. Further afield, at Kelvedon,
some 16km south-west of Colchester, a rare
warrior burial was discovered by chance in
1982. This comprised an iron sword, a bronze
scabbard, an iron shield boss and spearhead,
a tankard, an imported bronze bowl, some
iron fittings and two Aylesford-Swarling
urns. The burial is dated to c 75–25 BC and is
comparable to those found in the Arras Culture
of Yorkshire (Sealey 2007).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
The origin of Camulodunon is far from certain
and much work remains to be done on the
subject. At present, it is not possible to place
the foundation of Camulodunon before c 50
BC. The date derives from the early phase of
the Lexden Cemetery (CAR 11, 164–9), the
first occurrence of the name Camulodunon
around 25–15 BC (ibid, 174), and a few sherds
of pottery either sealed by or under the rampart
of the Sheepen Dyke (ibid, 161–2). However,
both the Stanway (Crummy 2001, 23–8,
66–70; Crummy et al 2007, 8–13, 435–43) and
Abbotstone sites (Pooley and Benfield 2005)
are of the late Iron Age with a middle Iron Age
component, which suggests that Camulodunon
may have originated significantly earlier than
the mid-1st century BC.
It should not be assumed that the late Iron
Age settlement was called Camulodunon
from its beginning, since the name would only
apply when it had defences and the first phase
or phases of the settlement may have been
undefended. Presumably the fortifications
implied in the name are dykes, although it is
possible that the enclosure ditch around the
farmstead at Gosbecks was substantial enough
to qualify (Fig 4.8).
A critical site for dating the foundation of
Camulodunon is likely to be the farmstead
enclosure at Gosbecks, which remains
unexcavated apart from a section dug in 1949
across its enclosure ditch (CAR 11, 97–9),
which is apparently about 2.5m deep and
thus was more substantial than some of the
dykes; the temporal relationship between the
enclosure and the sequence of dykes remains
to be determined, however. The most obvious
conclusion is that the first phase of Iron Age
occupation at Gosbecks is represented by a
farmstead, the defences of which were later
improved by the addition of dykes. However,
such a sequence would need to be tested by
excavation and, moreover, as an additional
complication, it cannot be assumed that the
large enclosure ditch pre-dates the first of the
dykes, since it may be a later recut of an earlier,
shallower, non-defensive version.
The dykes are as yet poorly dated, only two
having sound termini post quem: c 50 BC for
Sheepen Dyke (Fig 4.9, CAR 11, 83, 161–2),
which is not particularly useful, and c AD 47
for Gryme’s Dyke (Fig 3.2; ibid, 115). C F C
Hawkes reassessed the start date for both the
Sheepen site and the Sheepen Dyke as being
c 5 BC (ibid, 83). Stratigraphic relationships
between Heath Farm Dyke and Lexden Dyke
are known, because they intersect and the
intersection has been excavated. Otherwise
the others have been dated approximately by
sequencing them horizontally in relation to the
dated dykes. The result is that the phasing of
the dykes is problematic and uncertain, and can
only be guessed at (ibid, 175, fig 7.7).
The full extent of the dyke system is also
not fully understood. Some dykes may extend
further than mapped at present, there might
be a few others which await discovery, and
the status of some so-called dykes, such as
Dugard Dyke, is questionable. The dykes to
the north of the river Colne and south of
the Roman River are especially problematic
in terms of their full extent and purpose.
It remains to be seen whether they were
associated with nearby occupation or intended
as outliers of the main defences. The large
earthwork at Haynes Green, to the south-west
of Colchester, is undated; although 7km from
the dykes at Gosbecks, it could be an outlier
positioned across open ground. Collectively,
these earthworks suggest that the oppidum had
no precisely defined boundaries and that it was
55
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
protected by a system of outworks which was
set in woodland.
The function of the dykes is still questioned
occasionally, but the fact that all the dykes faced
outwards suggests that they were defensive
structures rather than land boundaries,
traversing open tracts of land to act as crosscountry obstacles rather than forming defended
enclosures such as hillforts. Thus their defensive
capabilities depended on integration with rivers,
valleys, woodland and marshes.
C F C Hawkes preferred to see the development of the dykes and the Sheepen and
Gosbecks sites as expressions of dynastic
change and a struggle between the Catuvellauni
and the Trinovantes. His last review of this
subject (CAR 11, 88–94) is a masterpiece in
which, building on earlier work by himself
and others, he sets political and topographical
developments in Camulodunon against a wider
background constructed from evidence in
Classical texts and on Roman and Iron Age
coins. However, given how little we know about
kingships and the way tribes interrelated, such
constructions are inevitably very subjective
(ibid, 172–3).
The probability is that the ramparts were of
simple dump construction. However, it has not
yet been possible to investigate sufficiently long
lengths to determine their structure adequately,
and it cannot be assumed that all the dykes were
built in the same way, or indeed that each dyke
was of the same construction along its whole
length. C F C Hawkes’s excavation of the
Lexden Dyke in 1932 illustrates the problem.
Turves and a large single posthole were found
at the front of the rampart of the Lexden Dyke
(ibid, 35–7), but interpretation was difficult
because of the limited size of the area which
could be uncovered. The rampart might have
had a timber and turf revetment or, possibly,
a turf revetment and a timber structure such
as a tower.
It is not certain to what extent the entrances
through the dykes were protected by timber
gates. The remains of one may have been
found in Gryme’s Dyke (ibid, 28), and C F
C Hawkes, on the basis of slender evidence,
thought there may have been another at the
entrance in the Lexden Dyke which he dug in
1932 (ibid, 43–4). Too little is known about any
of the dykes to determine whether palisades
were used either on top of the ramparts or
beside them.
Cropmarks, especially at Gosbecks, have
enabled the probable nature of the pre-Roman
occupation over most of the oppidum to be
characterised (Figs 3.2, 4.8). It took the form of
scattered settlement associated with groups of
small enclosures (presumably mainly paddocks
and cultivated fields) interspersed with larger
areas of woodland and communal grazing,
including river meadows. An extensive system
of unmetalled ditched droveways enabled the
movement of animals and people within the
oppidum. Burials and burial areas appear to have
been highly localised and situated on the edges
of fields and other marginal land close to where
the dead had lived.
Occupation must have existed over most
of the area to varying degrees of density. The
two major centres of activity – Gosbecks and
Sheepen – have been mapped in detail and
phased to an extent, but little is known about
the general layout within the area protected
by the dykes and how the inhabitants of
Camulodunon would have moved about within
it (Figs 4.8, 4.9). Elements of the system of
trackways which linked the various parts of the
settlement can be deduced from cropmarks,
but our understanding of the overall internal
layout of the oppidum is still very patchy and
incomplete. Large areas inside the oppidum are
likely to have been woodland. At present, it is
possible to guess their likely extent from the
following indicators: 1) the locations of ends
of dykes which stop for no apparent reason
(Heath Farm Dyke, Sheepen Dyke, Oliver’s
Dyke, Barnhall Dyke and Abberton Dyke);
2) the location of the Romano-Celtic temple
dedicated to Silvanus, god of woodland (Hull
1958, 236–40); 3) areas which appear to be free
of cropmarks; 4) areas which appear to be free
of late Iron Age occupation (in other words
the area later occupied by the walled Roman
city); and 5) areas where trackways stop (for an
example, see Benfield 2008a, junction of CF16
and BF32/33).
Funerary remains have been found scattered
widely throughout the oppidum. The richest is
the Lexden Tumulus, now dated to c 15–10 BC
and thought to be a chambered grave (Fig 4.6;
Foster 1986; CAR 11, 89). Stanway proved to
be an important funerary site extending from
around the middle of the 1st century BC to
AD 60 (Fig 4.7; Crummy et al 2007). Four
rectilinear enclosures each contained a single
wooden chamber and, in three cases, a few
56
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
secondary graves. A fifth enclosure formed
the core of a middle Iron Age farmstead,
similar to the one at Gosbecks but significantly
smaller. There are also flat cemeteries: 27 pots
representing at least 10 graves were recovered
over a number of years from various building
operations around the south end of St Clare
Road, not far from the Lexden Tumulus. The
group as a whole is datable to c 50–10 BC, and
provides the clearest evidence for occupation
in Camulodunon before the Lexden Tumulus.
Another, less well-known, group constitutes
the Barnhall cemetery which, from the limited
information about it (CAR 11, 170), may prove
to be as early as the Lexden Cemetery.
The distribution of known burials provides
some clues about the distribution and density
of occupation within the oppidum. For example,
the burials around Barnhall (CAR 11, 170)
may point to an as yet unrecognised area
of settlement in the vicinity. There is as yet
no clear settlement focus for the Lexden
Tumulus and the nearby early phase of the
Lexden Cemetery (ibid, 164–9). However,
these burials were located close to the main
route out of the west side of the oppidum, and
the relationship between the tumulus and the
road is reminiscent of the Roman practice of
erecting funerary monuments alongside major
approach roads, making it possible that the
need for public visibility is the explanation
behind its location. The Lexden Mount is a
very pertinent later parallel.
Craft specialisation within areas of occupation
is widely regarded as being a characteristic
of oppida and an indicator of urbanism.
Within Camulodunon, such specialisation
is certainly evident near the river Colne at
Sheepen, where manufacturing activities seem
to have dominated in the late Iron Age and
the early Roman periods (Fig 4.9; Hawkes
and Hull 1947; Niblett 1985). These activities
included metalworking, coin-blank production,
enamelling, and pottery- and glass-making.
The industrial activities provide a contrast to
the large defended farmstead which must have
dominated pre-Roman Gosbecks. However,
the apparent functional distinction may not be
that clear-cut, because a kiln has been recorded
at Gosbecks (Hull 1958, 270), and there is also
evidence for metalworking in the surrounding
area (ibid, 260), although this may be evidence
for short-lived production related to the
construction of major structures.
Preservation
The dykes are poorly preserved; at least one
(Sheepen) was levelled in antiquity and there
may have been others that were similarly
treated, at least for part of their course. Less
than a quarter of all the dykes now survive
as earthworks, and practically all of those
have been damaged to varying degrees by
building or farming operations, erosion and
the uprooting of trees. About two-thirds of
the oppidum between the river Colne and the
Roman River has been built over. The rest
of this area is taken up in equal proportions
by park/grassland, cultivated farmland and
woodland. The cultivated farmland has been
badly damaged by deep ploughing and, as
a consequence, little horizontal stratigraphy
survives and cut features have been truncated.
Damage seems to have been at its worst in the
1940s, as many horses were being replaced by
tractors in agriculture. The effects at Gosbecks
can be seen in the archaeological record and
the exposure of various dark patches in the
freshly ploughed soil which sparked off
the explorations in the late 1940s and early
1950s by M R Hull and the Roman Essex
Society (Hull 1958, 259–71). The degree to
which cultivation continues to damage sites
is hard to gauge, although the situation is
now relatively stable, with the worst of the
damage having been done. Farmland which
was built over before World War II is possibly
better preserved because it was not deepploughed, although in many places building
works and subsequent gardening may have
been just as harmful. Because it has never
been deep-ploughed and consequently still
retains horizontal stratigraphy, the Sheepen
site is still probably one of the best-preserved
areas, despite a large part of the site being
destroyed in 1971 to create a playing field;
this level of preservation must in part explain
why the excavations of the 1930s and in 1970
were so prolific.
Importance
Camulodunon is the largest and most
complicated of the late Iron Age oppida in
Britain. Its complexity provides opportunities
for the study of the development and function
of dykes in a British oppidum and for exploring
the spatial zoning of different activities as
indicators of urbanism. The oppidum is also
important as an exceptional example of a
57
CAMULODUNON IN THE LATE IRON AGE
high-status settlement site of the late Iron Age
which was occupied by kings. It is one of just a
few places which, through inscribed coins and
Classical texts, can be related to various political
developments in late Iron Age and early Roman
Britain. Several of its burials are rich and of
high status, especially the Lexden Tumulus
and those at Stanway. They are important for
what they reveal about the funerary practice
of the richest and most powerful elements
of British society at that time. The burials are
also of considerable interest because of their
continental parallels and the bearing that these
are likely to have on our understanding of the
evolution of the tribes and the subsequent
civitates of Britain. Camulodunon is a key site
for the study of late Iron Age artefacts of
various types, especially pottery and brooches,
because of the quantity and diversity of the
objects and the high proportion of imports
among them.
Potential for future research
Our knowledge of the full extent of the dyke
system could be improved by excavation
and geophysical surveys. The outlying dykes
in particular need to be traced to clarify
the relationship between the oppidum and
the wider landscape. The developmental
sequence of the settlement could be made
clear by the excavation of dykes, especially
where they intersect. The foundation date of
Camulodunon can probably be determined by
excavating the large farmstead at Gosbecks.
The start date for Sheepen (CAR 11, 77;
Haselgrove 1987a, 163–71; Haselgrove 1987b)
is another issue that might be resolved by
further excavation. The excavation of long
lengths of well-preserved sections of rampart
offers a way of determining how some of
the dykes were built, and whether or not they
incorporated palisades. Similar investigations
of entrances in dykes should show whether
or not they included timber gates, and if so,
what they were like.
Large areas of the oppidum remain
uninvestigated and it could be that other
major centres of occupation, which approach
Gosbecks and Sheepen in scale, await discovery.
The Barnhall cemetery may point to such an
area in the vicinity of Berechurch Dyke. The
distribution of burials may be helpful in
clarifying the pattern of occupation within
the oppidum, since there are indications that
many of them lay at or near the places the
dead had lived. Areas could be identified where
there was little or no occupation (woodland,
pasture and meadow) and more information
could be recovered to help define more clearly
the extent to which activities in the oppidum
were zoned. The network of droveways
could probably be largely reconstructed,
given enough excavation. The landing area at
Sheepen remains unexplored, and there may be
other landing places further downstream which
await discovery. Unfortunately, structural
evidence for roundhouses survives very
poorly at Camulodunon and those found at
Sheepen (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 46–8) seem
to be at variance with the sorts of buildings
recorded elsewhere in the region. It is therefore
important that more houses are excavated to
determine what was typical in the late Iron Age
settlement. Much of the evidence for buildings
has been destroyed by deep ploughing, and
the best prospects of finding examples are
offered by areas which were built over before
World War II.
5 The Roman legionary fortress, AD 43–49
by Adrian Gascoyne
Introduction and historical
framework
Roman emperors had considered annexing
Britain since Caesar’s expeditions in 55/54
BC, but it was not until the shaky succession
of Claudius in AD 41 that one emerged with
enough personal motivation to concentrate
his energies on the task. The context for the
invasion was provided by the political instability
in Britain following the death of the British
leader Cunobelin and the subsequent territorial
expansion of the Catuvellauni under his two
sons Togodumnus and Caratacus. The resulting
internecine conflict left a significant part of
south-east Britain in the control of anti-Roman
forces and adversely affected the balance of
power on the empire’s north-west frontier, in
an area which it had long since viewed as being
legitimately within its sphere of influence. A
political pretext for invasion was provided by a
plea for Roman intervention from the deposed
pro-Roman king, Verica of the Atrebates, and a
political imperative was provided by Claudius’s
need for a military conquest to establish his
reign.
The invasion in AD 43 was mounted by
four legions accompanied by auxiliary units
under the general command of Aulus Plautius.
By the end of the first season of the military
campaign, initial British resistance was broken,
and the primary objective, Camulodunon, had
fallen. Claudius made political capital by leading
the final military advance into Camulodunon
and receiving the submission of a number
of British tribes here (Dio Cassius, bk LX,
60.20–1). At this point the main body of the
invasion force was probably at Camulodunon,
although parts of the army might already have
been garrisoned in the south-east, and Legio II
Augusta had probably begun its drive towards
the south-west under Vespasian (Dudley and
Webster 1965, 89–90; Salway 1993, 69). It is
likely that a large, but temporary, camp was
established at Camulodunon to accommodate
the army until the completion of a new
legionary fortress and redeployment of troops
in the following year.
As the invasion proceeded, diplomatic
arrangements would have served to reduce
the occupying army’s policing role; levels of
local cooperation were probably a major factor
in determining the specific requirement for a
military presence in each of the conquered
tribal territories. For this reason, it has been
suggested that an apparent absence of forts
within some areas of southern England
may be a genuine one (Eddy and Turner
1982, 22–5; Eddy 1995). It is also likely that
variations in the distribution and form of
military establishments, from fortlet to the
much debated vexillation fortress, relate to
differing native responses to the invasion
(Millett 1990, 46).
Despite the relative abundance of early
military activity at Colchester there are few
other military sites known from Trinovantian
Essex, although the existence of a Claudian
supply base can be inferred from finds
recovered at Fingringhoe Wick (Wickenden
1996, 77). In Kent the only confirmed site
60
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of the early invasion period is the bridgehead
enclosure and later supply base at Richborough,
while in Sussex, within the territory associated
with the client king Cogidubnus, a supply base
at Fishbourne probably supported Vespasian’s
thrust into the south-west (Cunliffe 1971,
13–14). It was there, in the territories of
the Durotriges and other tribal groups, that
the army encountered difficulties, with the
resistance recorded by Suetonius (Vespasian 4)
reflected in the archaeological record (Webster
1970, 181).
While Legio II Augusta campaigned in
the south-west, elements of the army were
rapidly penetrating the heartlands of southern
England, among other things establishing a
vexillation fortress at Alchester in late AD
44 (Oxon) (Sauer 2001, 191). Meanwhile,
Legio XX was busy constructing Britain’s first
legionary fortress at Camulodunon, which
was to be occupied for some five or six years
until the conquest of Britain received a fresh
impetus under the governorship of Ostorius
Scapula and the advancing frontier demanded
that Legio XX be relocated to Kingsholm,
Gloucester (Hurst, 1985).
Past work
The presence of a legionary fortress at
Colchester was suspected for many years
(Hassall 2000, 52) before large-scale excavations
during the 1970s and 1980s confirmed its
existence. Antiquarian suspicions were aroused
by Tacitus’s reference to the foundation of a
colonia at Colchester and the implication that
one reason for this act was to redeploy a legion
to fight against the Silures (Tacitus, Annals
12.32). The first survey of Colchester’s dyke
system by Lufkin and Smith in 1722 resulted
in the identification of Prettygate Dyke as part
of a ‘Roman camp’ (Fig 3.2; Morant 1768, bk
II, 133). However, it was not until the 19th
century that the discovery of two military
tombstones alongside the main road into the
Roman town provided an early indication of
a garrison and its likely location. In 1928, a
third military tombstone was found close to
the Royal Grammar School and, in 1932, aerial
photographs revealed four roads that appeared
to converge on this area and that were deemed
military in origin (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 16).
Separate investigations of the area in the 1930s
by local schoolmaster A F Hall and Rex Hull
led to the discovery of two substantial ditches
thought to belong to unfinished military camps
(ibid, 20). This evidence, combined with a lack
of finds from elsewhere, led Hawkes and Hull
to conclude that a military establishment had
been situated in the vicinity of the Grammar
School, rather than on the site of the later colonia
or at Sheepen. By the time of the publication
of Roman Colchester in 1958, observations within
the walled town had only revealed one possible
pre-colonia street (Hull 1958, 70, no. 169).
The extensive Sheepen excavations by
Hawkes during the 1930s identified continuing
activity on the site after the invasion (Fig 4.9;
Hawkes and Hull 1947, 52), but his early
interpretation of the Sheepen Dyke as part
of a Roman invasion camp (Hawkes 1932,
74) was proved wrong. The next three decades
witnessed numerous investigations of the dyke
system. Excavations by Hull in 1936 and 1956
revealed the double ditches of Prettygate Dyke
while in 1961 Hawkes sectioned the Triple
Dyke, leading to its tentative recognition as
an early Roman triplication of the native
Shrub End Dyke and the theory that these
two earthworks formed part of a temporary
invasion camp for the Roman army (Fig 3.2;
CAR 11, 55–61).
With the reconstitution of the Colchester
Excavation Committee in 1963, archaeological
activity became concentrated on the modern
town centre, where Rosalind Dunnett directed
a number of excavations. Her work during the
1960s was supplemented by the activities of
various amateur archaeologists and the museum
staff (Fig 5.1). In 1963, the Archaeological
Research Group located a north–south ditch
on North Hill (Crummy 1977a, 69) and in the
following year excavations by Dunnett at East
Stockwell Street revealed a turf rampart that she
thought may have been part of a north–south
defensive work (Dunnett 1971a, 39). Philip
Crummy has since postulated that these two
features belonged to an early fort pre-dating
the legionary fortress (Crummy 1977a, 69).
Dunnett discovered a second defensive ditch in
1964 at Nunn’s Road car park, which, together
with a length of east–west ditch located at 44
North Hill in 1967, may have belonged to the
legionary fortress (ibid, 101), although a postBoudican date was originally favoured (CAR
3, 3). Further excavations at the Nunn’s Road
car park site in 1965 resulted in the discovery
of several Claudian pits, which appeared to
Fig 5.1 The legionary fortress and annexe; distribution of find spots, monuments and significant elements shown in relation to the later Roman town wall.
62
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
pre-date the foundation of the colonia. Work
in 1966 on the adjacent Telephone Exchange
Site revealed features that Dunnett considered
to belong to a military building dated between
c AD 43 to 49, and excavations in 1967 at St
Mary’s Rectory recovered early pits containing
military equipment and later military-style
building structures. The combination of all
these discoveries led Dunnett to postulate
that the remains of a fort lay under the North
Hill area of the town (Dunnett 1971a, 2). Her
work in Colchester culminated in 1970 with the
excavations at Sheepen, where she confirmed
an intensification of manufacturing activity
on the site in the period immediately after the
invasion (Niblett 1985).
In 1972, excavations led by Philip Crummy
at Lion Walk resulted in a breakthrough, with
the discovery of two substantial bank and ditch
earthworks belonging to the fortress and an
annexe to the east. West of the earthworks
was an intervallum road that bordered seven
barrack-type buildings associated with finds of
military equipment (Fig 7.13; CAR 3, 31–6).
During excavations at the Cups Hotel in 1973–
4 an early north–south street was observed on a
different alignment to the site’s post-Boudican
buildings and in 1974 excavations at the Lion
Walk United Reformed Church revealed a
further section of the fortress ditch (CAR
6, 330, 379–81). The discoveries of the early
1970s led to a re-examination of the colonia’s
street layout that resulted in the first tentative
plan of the fortress (Crummy 1977a, fig 3).
This was based on the assumption that many of
the civilian streets on the west side of the town
were of military origin and took advantage of
the fact that the fortress seemed to be aligned
differently to the eastern part of the colonia.
More information on the plan of the fortress
was forthcoming from excavations at Balkerne
Lane in 1973–6, which revealed the fortress’s
western ditch (MON386) and intervallum
road where they had been predicted (CAR
3, 93–4), and at Long Wyre Street in 1978–9,
during which a further section of the ditch and
rampart of the annexe defences was uncovered
(CAR 6, 358). The plan of the fortress was
finally confirmed during exploration of the
Culver Street site between 1981/2 and 1984/5,
where the remains of six barrack blocks, the via
principalis and two or three buildings identifiable
as the centurion’s quarters of the First Cohort
were discovered (Figs 5.1, 7.10; ibid, 21–5).
Elsewhere, aerial photography in 1976 showed
that a rectangular enclosure at Gosbecks was a
small Roman fort that had been butted against
the rear of Heath Farm Dyke (Figs 3.2, 4.8;
Wilson 1977, 185–7).
Further advances in the early 1980s resulted
from a watching brief at St Mary’s Cottage in
1982, during which the discovery of a military
building allowed the conjectural reconstruction
of six barrack blocks in the south-west corner
of the fortress (CAR 3, 3). Excavations at the
Gilberd School in 1984–5 provided important
new information about the internal layout and
planning of the barracks with the first detailed
investigation of contubernia (CAR 6, 127).
Since the mid-1980s, fortress deposits have
been encountered on a number of occasions
during small- and medium-scale excavations
by archaeological contractors including the
Colchester Archaeological Trust and AOC. For
example, barrack buildings have been identified
during watching briefs at Head Street Post
Office in 1984 (CAR 6, 1028) and the Sixth
Form College in 1997 (CAT Report 7/97g), and
during an evaluation at the Mercury Theatre in
1997 (CAT Report 6/97a). Most recently, the
major town-centre excavations at the Head
Street Post Office site have provided a further
opportunity to investigate the fortress-period
deposits found during previous investigations
there (Fig 5.1).
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
In terms of material culture, this period is often
discussed in tandem with the succeeding one
(Chapter 6, the pre-Boudican colony). This is
largely due to the short time span of the two
periods, with the same glass and pottery vessels
being current in each (CAR 8, 211–13; CAR
10, 488–93), but the reuse of the buildings
of the legionary fortress by the veteran
colonists also means that some archaeological
levels cannot be established as belonging to
one period or the other with any degree of
certainty. Nevertheless, sufficient contexts can
be clearly attributed to either Colchester Period
1 or Period 2 to allow some distinctions in
both material culture and diet to be established
between, variously, the fortress and the early
colony, specific areas of the fortress, the
fortress and its canabae, the fortress/colony
and Sheepen, and the fortress/colony and
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
the Trinovantian hinterland (eg Luff 1985;
CAR 10, 488–91; CAR 12, passim; Cool 2006;
Middleton et al 2006; Pitts and Perring 2006;
Eckardt 2007; Crummy et al 2007, 279–90).
There is considerable potential for further
work along these lines, not least because the
various elements of settlement within the study
area encapsulate current themes in theoretical
archaeology concerned with identity, gender
and consumption. However, leaving aside
the problem of residuality, such studies do
not necessarily produce clear-cut results. For
example, Late Iron Age items in use by the
indigenous people of the area at the time of
the Conquest would have continued in use
for several years after that event (Crummy
et al 2007, 272, 283, 288–9, 316) and the use
of gendered finds to distinguish between the
military phase and the pre-Boudican colony
within the footprint of the fortress is limited by
the recovery of some female dress accessories
in Period 1 contexts and by retention of arms
and armour by the retired soldiers settled in
the new colony of Period 2.
Stratified military equipment has been
found on many sites within the study area, with
particularly important assemblages coming
from within the fortress, from the extramural
canabae and from the industrial site at Sheepen
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 335–40; CAR 2,
129–40; Niblett 1985; CAR 6, 187–91; Benfield
in prep. b). A few pieces of military equipment
found at Gosbecks may relate to the fortress
or the nearby fort (Benfield 2008a). As well
as the military equipment that defines the
essential character of the fortress, this period
also demonstrates the early importation of
items that represent new trade networks, new
construction techniques, new styles of living
and new ways of expressing identity, such as
glass and ceramic vessels, tiles and building
stone, oil lamps, querns of German lava, dress
accessories and many other small artefacts
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 308–49; CAR 2; CAR
6, 141–250).
Together the fortress, canabae and Sheepen
have produced the largest tightly dated
collection of early Roman pottery in Britain,
with stratified groups providing evidence for
a variety of forms and fabrics not imported
before the Conquest. There is also evidence
for local production of imitation fine wares
and for new coarse wares, the latter perhaps
made by potters following Legio XX to
Britain from Novaesium (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 275–84; Niblett 1985, 50–1; CAR 10,
488–93). There is a fine assemblage of glass
from both the fortress and the early colony.
Also, a pioneer comparative study involving
the environmental evidence and the glass and
ceramic vessel assemblages from the fortress,
early town and Sheepen, stresses the value
of the Colchester data (Harden 1947, 289;
Niblett 1985, 136; CAR 8, 211–13; Cool 2006).
Environmental sampling and examination of
the faunal remains have provided evidence for
the military diet, with material recovered from
latrine pits demonstrating the importation of
luxury items such as opium poppy, grape and
fig, as well as the more mundane presence
of cereals and meat-bearing bones (CAR 6,
273–87). Luxury is also evident in the recovery
of a substantial quantity of eggshell-ware
drinking cups and other fine-ware cups from
a latrine pit in a tribune’s house (CAR 10,
227, 242; Cool 2006), and vessels of this kind
associated with high-status dining can form the
basis of comparison with pottery recovered
from legionary quarters.
The coin assemblage from the fortress, canabae
and Sheepen is also of major importance, with
Colchester being a point of entry and dispersal
for large quantities of Roman currency. Studies
of die-linked Claudian aes were at one time
thought to suggest that a minting centre for
the new province might have existed within
the fortress and early colonia, but more recent
work on the continent has shown that the
British coin supplies came from officinae set
up in Gaul and Spain (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
143–67; Niblett 1985, microfiche 3:B4-5; CAR
4, esp. 24–41; CAR 6, esp. 295–307; Besombes
and Barrandon 2000). Research potential here
includes not only the numismatic aspects
of coinage but also the economic aspects
of how the fortress and colony, with their
(principally) monetary economy, operated
within the (principally) barter economy of the
rural hinterland.
New building materials and new construction
techniques were introduced at the Conquest,
with considerable stratified evidence for the use
of several forms of tiles and bricks, the early
importation of high-quality stone and Roman
exploitation of British stone quarries, as well
as the early use of wall paint (CAR 6, 170–6,
225–9, 251–72; Middleton et al 2006). All these
aspects of construction and decoration can
63
64
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
be seen as the first elements in sequences of
practice and supply that continued up to the
late Roman period.
The industries and crafts required to
support the legionary fortress would have been
essentially the same as those required to support
an urban population, with a major distinction
being that in the case of the Colchester
fortress, many more necessities would have
been imported rather than locally sourced, as
it was the first established during the conquest
of the new province (Breeze 1984; Fulford
2004). That evidence for industry in this period
might be limited is therefore to be expected,
but pottery production has already been
mentioned above, copper-alloy objects were
produced at Sheepen during this period, and
tanning and other aspects of leather-working
also appear to have taken place there (Niblett
1985, 24–5, 146). Recent research has shown
that there was a complex relationship between
the Roman military, tanning technology and
leather supply, providing a wider context for
the probable tanning pit and dumps of cattle
bones from post-Conquest Sheepen (Niblett
1985, 9, 24, 146; Driel-Murray 2001, 64–5).
Brass-making crucibles were found at Culver
Street, as well as fragments of other crucibles
of Late Iron Age form used for silver-melting;
traces of copper-alloy working came from
Lion Walk; and the Gilberd School site (now
the Sixth Form College) produced evidence
for the manufacture and repair of military
equipment (CAR 3, 36; CAR 6, 131, 194–7,
241–3). Limited evidence for iron-working
was found in the fortress annexe and in the
canabae at Balkerne Lane (CAR 3, 31, 94,
101–2). Although this evidence is quite limited
and suggests that iron-smithing was quite a
short-lived activity, the value attached to the
tools, bar iron and any scrap collected for
recycling is such that evidence from London
and other sites in the south-east later on during
the Roman period, shows that the location
of a smithy can often only be inferred by the
hearths and a little iron-working waste dumped
nearby (for example, Drummond-Murray et al
2002, 61–2, 67, 83, 98; Woodfield and Johnson
1989, 231, 234).
Salt-production seems to have continued at
Sheepen (Niblett 1985, 23), although, as in the
pre-Conquest period, interpretation of saltrefining equipment is somewhat ambiguous.
Many other crafts and industries, most of
them cold technologies, can be inferred even
in the absence of any direct evidence, such as
animal husbandry and butchery, bone-working,
joinery, carpentry and tile production.
The funerary evidence for this period is
not well-defined, principally because of the
difficulty of separating vessels belonging to
Colchester Period 1 from those of Colchester
Period 2, but some cremation burials from the
immediate vicinity of the fortress may be of
serving soldiers. Finds from early burials are
discussed more fully in the next chapter. Some
human remains, showing signs of violence,
were found in the legionary ditch at Balkerne
Lane and, although possibly post-dating the
departure of the legion, the skulls found in
this group may have been exposed on the
nearby fortress gate (CAR 3, 94–6). They
raise the point that a formal burial rite was not
necessarily an essential part of the disposal of
human remains.
The archaeological evidence
by Adrian Gascoyne
Military structures outside the legionary
fortress
Two of Colchester’s dykes have been tentatively
identified as Roman modifications of native
earthworks which, along with Lexden Dyke to
the east and the river Colne to the north, were
utilised to form the defences of a temporary
camp for the Roman invasion army (Fig 3.2).
The Triple Dyke (EHCR 11636) consists of
three parallel V-shaped ditches, each with an
eastward rampart. The innermost rampart
can be traced further south near Dugard
Avenue and may have originated as the late
Iron Age Shrub End Dyke, although no firm
dating evidence has been recovered for either
construction. The linear dyke appears to have
run for 1.5km from the river Colne to the north
towards Prettygate Dyke to the south. Such
multiple defences are not known elsewhere in
late Iron Age Britain. Its morphology, along
with the excavation of hobnails from the
ditch fill in 1961, suggests a Roman date and
led Hawkes to believe that it was part of a
temporary camp for the invasion army (CAR
11, 59, 174). The Prettygate Dyke (EHCR
11639) runs roughly east–west between
Shrub End Dyke (EHCR 11640) and Lexden
Dyke (EHCR 11628) and has been shown by
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
65
Fig 5.2 An aerial
photograph of the Roman
fort at Gosbecks taken in
1979 (Ida McMaster).
excavation to consist of a bank with ditches on
either side. The dyke’s southern ditch may have
been a Roman addition to a native earthwork.
When excavated, this was shown to have been
reversed at some point in its history, with the
defensive aspect moved from the north to the
south side. Hawkes saw this as more evidence
that the land between Lexden Dyke Middle,
Triple Dyke and Prettygate Dyke had housed
Claudian forces (CAR 11, 61–2; Crummy
2001, 35–6). Despite extensive building
development in recent decades, few finds of
Roman material have been made in the area of
this hypothetical camp. However, the absence
of artefacts is not conclusive, given that the
objects used by a mobile army are much
less likely to have entered the archaeological
record than those of a settled garrison, and
that known encampment sites are commonly
poor for artefact retrieval (Millet 1990, 45). An
unidentified rectangular earthwork crossing the
line of Shrub End Dyke has been recorded
as a cropmark and confirmed by two sections
in 1997. The ditch of this ‘camp’ was at least
2.3m deep, although unfortunately no dating
evidence was recovered (CAR 11, fig 6.1 folio
map; CAT Report 5/97a).
Other ditches thought to belong to temporary
military camps have been excavated in the area
of the Colchester Royal Grammar School. The
rounded ‘camp-ditch’ some 18ft (5.5m) wide
(ELM986) found by A F Hall close to Gurney
Benham House was initially viewed as an
unfinished work that may have been intended
for a ‘semi-permanent legionary camp’ (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 20). Hull later argued against
this interpretation (Hull 1958, 274), preferring
the idea that it was an extraction trench for
the construction of a road (MON794), but
Hawkes remained in favour (CAR 11, 65).
It was suggested by Hull (Hull 1958, 271–3)
that a V-shaped ditch with ‘cleaning slot’ some
32ft (9.75m) wide, discovered at Altnacealgach
House in 1939 (ELM994), might represent
a second ‘unfinished fort’. Philip Crummy
has since suggested an agricultural function
(Crummy 1977a, 90), and a watching brief in
1996 disproved the ditch’s continuation along
the north side of the suggested enclosure (CAT
Report 2/96b).
Gosbecks fort
The Roman fort at Gosbecks (EHER 11645)
is known from a series of exceptional aerial
photographs taken in the 1970s that revealed
its position less than 300m to the north-west
66
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of the pre-Roman farmstead (Figs 4.8, 5.2).
The fort is butted up against the rear of the
settlement’s innermost dyke (Heath Farm
Dyke), which it appears to have utilised as its
western defences (Wilson 1977, 185–7). On the
north, south and east sides, the fort’s defences
consisted of a single ditch and rampart with the
latter supporting a double timber revetment.
Only the fort’s northern entrance can be seen
clearly, although the southern entrance is also
partially visible and it is likely that there was
no porta decumana. Evidence for a gate in the
northern entrance takes the form of four large
post pits at the ends of the rampart’s double
revetment. In front of the gateway a causeway
9m wide interrupts the fort ditch.
The construction trenches of some of
the fort’s internal buildings are also visible
and show that the structures were aligned
east–west. The principia can be seen clearly, as
can two long buildings in the north-west corner
of the fort. The via principalis and via praetoria
are the only streets that can be distinguished
with any clarity, although a large number of pits
lie in east–west lines and appear to have been
dug along the minor streets. Pits are particularly
clear along the outer edge of the intervallum
road on the fort’s north and south sides.
Short of excavation, only the plan of the
fort can offer any help with close dating.
Its plan (particularly the lack of a porta
decumana) is shared by three other forts of
the period which all date to the fifth decade
AD. However it seems unlikely that it would
have been occupied at the same time as the
legionary fortress, built 4km to the north.
A date prior to the fortress’s construction
or soon after its abandonment is thus most
probable (CAR 11, 101). Internally, the fort
measures approximately 1.6ha and could
have accommodated either a cavalry ala or an
infantry cohort. Finds of military equipment,
including pieces of horse harness, may support
the view that the garrison was a cavalry unit
(Crummy 1999c, 20–1). Whatever the nature
of the garrison, its function appears to have
been the control of the native settlement at
Gosbecks, although Creighton has suggested
a pre-Roman date for the fort, implying the
accelerated Romanisation of the pre-Conquest
tribal leaders (Creighton 2001, 7–9).
Fingringhoe supply base
A military supply base is known at Fingringhoe
Wick (EHCR 2113), where a large assemblage
of imitation Claudian coins, military equipment
and Claudian pottery, including an impressive
range of fine wares, was collected ahead of
gravel quarrying between 1920 and 1950
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 19–20; Willis 1990,
30–4). The finds came mainly from small
rubbish pits arranged in parallel rows, as if
associated with barrack buildings (Dunnett
1975, 39). The settlement was sited on a
headland at the mouth of the Colne estuary
in a strategically commanding position, 8.8km
downriver from the legionary fortress at
Colchester (see Fig in Introduction). Its coastal
location suggests that it was a supply base or
depot which served the fortress.
The road network
It is a generally held view that much of the
Roman road network in southern Britain
was created within the first few years of the
invasion, and that it was established primarily
for military purposes linked to the army’s
communication and supply needs and to
the control of the conquered territories. In
the area around Colchester, several roads
which are likely to be military in origin can be
identified, but only two minor examples have
been securely dated to this period (see Fig
in Introduction, Fig 3.2, Fig 7.22). Probably
one of the earliest major roads was Stane
Street (EHCR 8646), which may have been
a pre-Roman routeway (Margary 1955, 222;
Hull 1958, 2) linking Camulodunum’s trading
settlement at Sheepen with tribal territories
in Hertfordshire. In its Roman form the road
approaches Colchester from the west and
appears to pass through Lexden Dyke at some
point close to the modern Lexden Road. To
the east of the dyke its course is less certain,
although excavations in the vicinity of the
Royal Grammar School have revealed several
stretches of road metalling, including a late 1stcentury three-carriageway road (MON794),
suggesting that the road followed a course
to the south of the legionary fortress. This
interpretation is supported by the location of
military tombstones in the vicinity together
with excavations at Balkerne Lane, which
showed that a thinly metalled spur (MON384)
led out from the fortress’s porta decumana in a
south-westerly direction, presumably to meet
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
with this main road. A second minor road
(MON448) may have linked Stane Street to
the military depot at Sheepen.
Outside the UAD study area, Stane Street
meets the London–Colchester road at Marks
Tey, where the road alignments indicate that
Stane Street was the earlier of the two (Margary
1955, 222). Eddy has argued that the line of the
London–Colchester road represents a relatively
late phase of road building, rather than a
by-product of the invasion campaign as has
previously been assumed, and excavations at
Chelmsford have dated its construction to c AD
60–5 (Eddy 1995, 126). To the south of Marks
Tey, at Easthorpe, a Roman road (EHCR 8672)
appears to head directly for the native sanctuary
at Gosbecks, running parallel to Stane Street.
However, trenches across the projected line of
the road at Dawson’s Green and Gol Grove
failed to locate any road structure (EHCR
11731; Fawn 1993, 9) and the evidence for the
road is inconclusive.
Another road that is likely to be military
in origin is the route between Colchester and
Cambridge, which may have followed the line
of march of the Ninth Legion in its advance
towards Lincolnshire. Two candidates for this
route were tentatively identified in 1932 from
aerial photographs that showed ‘tramways’
converging with the line of Stane Street at a
point just west of Gryme’s Dyke. The more
northerly of these features was confirmed
as a road by excavations in 1936 (EHCR
12646), which suggested to Hull that the
road was early in nature (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 16; Hull 1958, 12). Other main roads
have been postulated heading north (EHCR
9172) towards Nayland and east towards
Mistley (EHCR 2573), but these remain to be
investigated (Farrands 1975, 5–6).
Siting, preparation, laying-out and
construction of the fortress
The legionary fortress was carefully sited at
the end of a spur of land with falling ground
to the north, south and east, commanding
good views along the surrounding valleys.
Located immediately downstream from the
native settlement at Sheepen, it was situated
within the defences of the native oppidum,
close enough to the river to take advantage
of waterborne transport, and adjacent to the
spring line to ensure a good supply of fresh
water. Although there is minimal evidence
for Iron Age occupation of the site prior
to the construction of the fortress, Philip
Crummy has postulated that it may have been
preceded by a smaller, perhaps unfinished,
fort (Crummy 1977a, 69). The existence of
such a structure was suggested by a deep preBoudican north–south ditch on North Hill
(ELM1253) and an early turf rampart (ELM18)
situated 175m to the east at East Stockwell
Street, which Dunnett felt may have belonged
to a north–south defensive work (Dunnett
1971a, 38–9). There is no evidence linking
the two features together, however, and their
dating remains imprecise.
Evidence from a number of places within
the town points to extensive preparation of
the fortress area prior to construction work
commencing. At Lion Walk and Balkerne Lane
topsoil had been removed over practically the
whole of the excavated areas and shallow pits
may have resulted from the grubbing out of
trees and bushes (CAR 3, 31, 93). Stripping at
Culver Street included areas of the underlying
subsoil, and the site of one of the barrack
blocks at the Gilberd School had been terraced
to counter the effects of the natural slope
(CAR 6, 128). The clearance was not total,
though: a watching brief in 1983 within the
Castle Park revealed a distinctive turf-line
surviving beneath what may have been the
remains of the annexe rampart (ibid, 371).
The layout of the fortress is now sufficiently
well known from excavations for Crummy to
have determined how it was designed and set
out on the ground (CAR 3, 3–5). Covering
an area of about 20ha, it was the normal size
to be expected for a legion (Johnson 1983,
31). It had a large annexe on its east side, the
exact position and extent of which remains
unknown. The fortress was aligned to true
north, its longitudinal axis running east–west so
that the porta praetoria faced seaward (east) and
the porta decumana lay at the highest part of the
site, in the manner described by the Classical
writer Hyginus (ibid, 41). It appears to have
been neat and regular in plan although some
distortion of the north-west corner was caused
by the severity of the northern slope and the
buildings themselves were not always laid out
accurately (CAR 6, 7). The layout of the interior
appears to have been fairly standardised, with
much in common with the fortress at Caerleon
in south Wales (CAR 3, 3), although one
67
68
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
unusual feature is the large amount of open
space that there appears to have been. Open
space existed to the north of the barracks at
both the Gilberd School and Culver Street, and
at the Gilberd School there were also gaps at
the ends of the barracks (CAR 6, 10).
Evidence for early activity associated with the
building of the fortress includes construction
deposits at both the Gilberd School (MON267)
and Culver Street (MON522, MON523). There
were also a number of pits, including three
bowl-shaped ovens or furnaces, a hearth and
an oval pit (GRP11) at Culver Street (CAR
6, 37–9). The latter was similar to the early
pits (GRP85) containing pieces of military
equipment that were excavated by Dunnett on
North Hill in 1965 (Dunnett 1971a, 29) and St
Mary’s Rectory in 1967 (GRP42) (ibid, 63–4). It
is therefore possible that the Culver Street pits
could have been contemporary with the earliest
buildings on the site (Crummy 1977a, 82).
Fortress defences
The legionary fortress and its annexe
were provided with defences of identical
construction, consisting of a V-shaped ditch
and rampart with berm between. The defensive
ditch (MON386) and rampart (MON388) of
the fortress have been recorded at Lion Walk,
Balkerne Lane and Lion Walk United Reformed
Church (CAR 3, 31, 93; CAR 6, 379–81), while
the ditch (MON513) and rampart (MON514)
of the annexe have been positively identified
at Lion Walk, Long Wyre Street and, less
conclusively, in Castle Park (CAR 3, 31; CAR 6,
358, 370–1). Drury has also suggested that the
street between Insulae 22 and 14 of the Roman
town may preserve the line of the northern
annexe defences (Drury 1984, 22). Two lengths
of east–west ditch were observed by Rosalind
Dunnett in the 1960s, at 44 North Hill and
400m to the east at Nunn’s Road (Crummy
1977a, 101). These were thought to be part
of the same feature (MON729) and may have
belonged to the fortress’s northern defences,
although Crummy has offered an alternative,
post-Boudican origin (CAR 3, 3).
The eastern arm of the fortress defences was
traced at Lion Walk for 53m and at Balkerne
Lane the fortress ditch could be followed over
a distance of 138m (CAR 3, 93). The ditch was
found to be 2.5m deep at Lion Walk Church,
while its width varied between 3.6m at Lion
Walk Church, 4.5m at Balkerne Lane and 5.5m
at Lion Walk. Variations in width were partly
due to erosion, which had also affected the
ditch’s profile. For this reason the recorded
dimensions of the back-filled ditch and berm
may not accurately reflect the original sizes.
The fortress rampart was built from a
bank of sand between two revetment walls of
sun-dried blocks of sandy clay. These rested
on a foundation of closely packed timbercorduroy that lay across the full width of the
rampart and at right angles to it. Topsoil was
removed prior to construction. At Lion Walk
the rampart was 3.8m wide (CAR 3, 31) and,
at the Lion Walk Church site, 3.0m in width
(CAR 6, 380). It was separated from the ditch
by a 1.6m-wide berm which, at Lion Walk, was
covered by a layer of sandy clay loam extending
into the ditch. This may have been intended as
a lining to prevent erosion, although it could
also have been demolition debris from the
rampart. At the Balkerne Lane and Lion Walk
Church excavations, the ditch’s upper backfill
was derived from the demolished rampart.
No dating evidence for the destruction of the
defences has been recovered from any of the
sites, but stratigraphical relationships observed
at Lion Walk and the Lion Walk Church
indicate a date between AD 50 and 55 as being
the most likely (CAR 6, 381).
A causeway 9m wide separated the fortress
defences at Lion Walk from the annexe ditch
and rampart. The annexe ditch was recorded
here over a distance of 40m running in an
east–west direction at right angles to the
north–south ditch of the fortress. It was 2.5m
deep and between 5.0m and 5.7m wide. The
rampart, at 4.1m across, was slightly wider than
that of the fortress. The blocks that formed
the rampart revetments were irregular in size
except for their thickness, which was almost
uniform (100–120mm), allowing the face of
the rampart to be coursed (CAR 3, 31). There
is no conclusive evidence to suggest that timber
lacing was used in either the fortress or annexe
ramparts.
Nothing is known about the fortress gates
and angle or interval towers other than their
likely location, and excavations on the predicted
site of the porta decumana at Balkerne Gate have
so far failed to reveal evidence of the earliest
construction. The fortress ditch terminals were
recorded at Balkerne Lane, however, showing
that entry into the rear of the fortress was via
a 14m-wide earth causeway (CAR 3, fig 80).
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
Fortress streets
The streets of the fortress have been observed
at 11 different locations within the town (Fig
5.1) including: the via principalis (MON528) at
Culver Street (CAR 6, 49) and the Telephone
Exchange Site (Dunnett 1971a, 8 ); the via
quintana (MON272) at the Gilberd School and
Freda Gunton Lodge (CAR 6, 131–2); and
the via sagularis (MON387) at Lion Walk and
Balkerne Lane (CAR 3, 37 and 94). The via
sagularis was set back 9m from the inner face of
the fortress rampart but no equivalent has been
recognised within the fortress annexe. Table 1
lists up to 15 lesser streets, via vicinariae, that
have been recorded within the fortress.
Some early metalling may have belonged
to yards or similar features. At Culver Street
it was evident that the streets between some
buildings had been laid out and left unsurfaced
for some time. Other streets at Culver Street
(MON549) and the Gilberd School (MON268)
were only partially surfaced, or not at all,
suggesting that the surfacing of minor streets
was not a priority. Those that were metalled
varied considerably in the quality of their
construction, which ranged from a very thin
layer of sand and gravel metalling directly
overlying the ‘natural’ to a well-laid, flat and
well-compacted surface 0.3m thick with a neat
camber over make-up of sand and gravel. The
width of individual roads also varied from 4.4m
(the via sagularis at Lion Walk) to 7.5m (the via
principalis at Culver Street) and 7.6m (the via
sagularis at Balkerne Lane).
Barrack blocks
A total of 22 structures within the fortress have
been identified as probable legionary barracks,
as shown in Table 2. The barrack blocks
were aligned east–west and were built either
singularly or as a pair, back-to-back and sharing
a spine wall. Minor streets separated facing
pairs of barracks. Crummy has determined
that there would have been at least 60 barracks
in the fortress (Crummy 2001, 46), each one
providing the accommodation for a century of
soldiers and their centurion.
Although none of the barracks (centuriae)
has been completely excavated, the available
evidence suggests that they were at least
69m long and approximately 10m wide, with
considerable variation apparent between
different sites. Almost one-third of the
barrack block’s entire length was taken up by
the centurion’s quarters, which consisted of
a self-contained unit at one end occupying
the full width of the block and measuring
approximately 10m by 18m. Internally, the
layout of the centurion’s quarters were all
different, with rooms of varying size. The
differentiation between the men’s quarters and
those of the centurion also varied, but in at
least one instance at Lion Walk (CAT Building
5; MON466), they appear to have been
separated by a narrow passage or room. The
men’s quarters were narrower than those of
the centurion and were divided into individual
rooms (contubernia) by internal partition walls.
At the Gilberd School the barrack blocks
are thought to have housed 14 contubernia,
each of which measured roughly 3.69m by
5.78m. One of the barrack blocks at Culver
Street (MON524) may have included stalls for
stabling, although this interpretation remains
tentative (CAR 6, 24). The centurion’s quarters
in the Culver Street barrack blocks were larger
than any of the others excavated in the town
(Fig 7.10) and Crummy believes this may be
due to its seniority (Crummy 2001, 46).
There is no convincing evidence from any
of the excavated barracks that the contubernia
had been subdivided into separate areas for
sleeping and storage. Internal features included
hearths, ovens, pits, stakeholes and slots,
timber-lined drains, gullies, latrine pits and the
occasional neonatal burial. It is likely that the
external space between each contubernium and its
adjacent street incorporated a veranda, although
the evidence for these is uncertain (CAR 6,
131). Other external features associated with
the barracks included drainage gullies, timberlined drains, pits and hearths.
Other military buildings
In addition to those buildings thought to
be barrack blocks, up to five other military
buildings have been identified within the
fortress. At Culver Street, three structures lying
along the east side of the via principalis were
examined. Crummy has suggested that one (or
more) was probably a tribune’s house, the most
likely candidate being Building 83 (MON533),
which contained evidence of a varied diet and
the use of expensive tableware by its occupants
(CAR 6, 50). Each of the three buildings
appears to have been large and rectangular
or square in shape with a central courtyard
surrounded by four ranges of rooms, although
69
70
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
the plans of Building 84 (MON534) and
Building 97 (MON555) were only very partially
revealed. At least 12 rooms and the central
courtyard were identified within Building 83
(MON533). These contained a variety of
internal features including hearths, gullies,
drains and a latrine. Building 84 (MON534)
contained a large number of hearths together
with evidence of metalworking and small-scale
smithing, indicating that the building may have
been a fabrica (ibid, 54–6). Further evidence
for metalworking associated with a military
building was found at Lion Walk (MON468),
where a structure 6m wide was interpreted
from pits, gullies and substantial amounts of
dumped sand and sandy clay, together with a
single surviving stone and mortar plinth and
internal stakeholes (CAR 3, 35–6).
The military building at the Telephone
Exchange Site (MON721) was a timberframed structure located on the east side of
the via principia. Evidence for the building was
relatively slight and took the form of two
gullies, postholes, pits, slots and stakeholes.
Finds included military equipment but gave
no clue as to the structure’s purpose, although
Crummy has speculated that it may have been
one of a range of storage buildings lining the
street (CAR 3, 3).
The purpose of the fortress annexe remains
unknown, but it may have included one or
more external structures often associated
with forts, such as a parade ground or the
legionary baths. Parallels with other fortresses
suggest that the fortress garrison would have
assembled on the parade ground to participate
in religious and ceremonial occasions (Johnson
1983, 217), and one possibility, therefore, is
that the extensive Temple of Claudius complex
lies on the former legionary parade ground. A
beam slot (ELM685) and postholes (GRP30)
situated immediately to the south of the temple
precinct could be military in origin.
most utilised a stud-and-wattle technique,
consisting of a timber frame with a ground
plate bedded directly onto the natural sand or
posts set in a shallow slot. The panels between
the uprights were filled with wattle and the
complete frame was encased in daub (Fig 5.3).
In two instances barrack walls were shown
to have been rendered internally with keyed
daub (MON522; MON524) but there was no
evidence of them having been plastered. The
barrack floors were basic in construction, being
of sand or sandy clay, although the floors of
three rooms within the centurion’s quarters at
Culver Street were made using wooden planks
(MON522; MON524). Tiles from the Gilberd
School site support the idea that the roofs of
the barracks were tiled, and the strength of the
barrack walls suggests that they were designed
to carry the weight of such roofs. Fragments
of column brick were also found in the military
levels at Culver Street, indicating their use in
the legionary fortress. Only one barrack block
(MON524) has provided evidence for the use
of window glass.
The three (non-barrack) military buildings
discovered at Culver Street were all solidly
built, with walls constructed from squared or
rectangular timbers dropped into a deep and
continuous trench (a post-in-trench technique),
in the style characteristic of Roman military
sites. Internal walls were also built using this
technique, although ground plates, stakeholes
and slots indicated the positions of others
(CAR 6, 50–7). The walls of the building at
the Telephone Exchange (MON721) were
also constructed from posts set into a trench,
although the two excavated examples appeared
to be less substantial than those at Culver Street.
At least two of the buildings at Culver Street
had tiled roofs, and the floors of all buildings
were either of sand or sandy clay loam.
Construction of the fortress buildings
The barrack blocks were all well built, with each
load-bearing wall consisting of a superstructure
of coursed, sun-dried, sandy clay blocks
overlying a pair of timber ground plates which
rested on a low mortar-and-stone plinth (opus
caementicium). The plinths were either set within
a construction trench or penetrated the natural
sand by a few centimetres. Some of the internal
walls were built using the same method, but
In addition to the possible fabrica at Culver
Street (MON534), metalworking is well attested
from the fortress, as represented by areas of
low-level activity within and around the fortress
buildings. At Lion Walk, a metalworking
site (MON469) that included two ovens or
furnaces was examined together with several
heavily burnt patches of daub associated
with occupation debris containing charcoal
and copper-alloy waste. Metalworking also
Industrial activity
Fig 5.3 Construction methods for Roman walls, from Lion Walk, Culver Street and Balkerne Lane (Colchester Archaeological Trust).
72
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
took place at the rear of the annexe rampart,
where slag and pieces of furnace lining were
derived from one or more ironworking hearths.
In addition, an external metalworking site
(MON270) situated between two barrack
blocks was recorded at the Gilberd School
site. Finds from within one of the barracks
(MON267) indicated that work on military
equipment was taking place on a small scale
within the building or in its immediate vicinity
(Fig 5.1). The nature of metalworking within
the fortress, as evidenced by these finds,
appears to have been restricted to the ongoing
maintenance and repair of equipment.
Food, water supply and drainage
Evidence for the diet of the fortress’s occupants
has come from military latrines and related
features inside the fortress, together with
samples of refuse material from the civilian
settlement at Balkerne Lane, some of which
may have emanated from the fortress (CAR
3, 102). The evidence from Balkerne Lane
indicates that the domesticated ox was the most
frequently eaten animal, with large quantities
of intensively butchered, meat-bearing cattle
bone suggesting its consumption in stews or
soups (Luff 1982). Sheep/goat and pig were
also popular and the latrine pits at Culver Street
produced evidence for the consumption of
both fresh and saltwater fish. The latrine pits
also provided evidence for the consumption of
bran, figs, raspberries, grapes and elderberries,
while the presence of ovens within the fortress
show that bread would have been a staple.
Although no direct evidence of contents
has come from the amphorae recovered in
the fortress, their presence, which mirrors
finds from the Sheepen site (Sealey 1985, 57),
indicates the consumption of wine, olive oil,
fish products and defrutum syrup (Tyers 1996,
85–101). The mixed and varied diet represented
by this range of foodstuffs fits well with the
evidence from other forts in Britain (Davies
1971, tables I, II and III).
The fortress appears to have been deliberately
sited so that it was close to, yet higher than, the
spring line (CAR 3, 26–7). This would have
provided for a supply of clean water but meant
that it had to be carried, pumped or lifted from
the springs or, alternatively, brought in via an
aqueduct from a source some distance away.
The decision not to incorporate a spring within
the fortress defences seems strange, especially
as no Roman wells have been found in the
town and there is no conclusive evidence of
a piped supply during the military period. The
supply at this time may have been augmented
by a leat (MON439) on the Sheepen site, which
appears to have been built to carry water from
the Sheepen Springs towards the fortress (Fig
4.9; ibid, 26). Cisterns and collecting tanks could
have been used to collect rainwater, and the
river Colne would have acted as a convenient
freshwater source.
Within the fortress and its internal buildings
waste water was transported via gullies and
enclosed timber drains. Up to 11 drains
(ELM39–40, ELM200–1, ELM203–7 and
ELM335) have been located along the edges of
the fortress’s east–west streets and it would seem
that even the minor streets between barracks
were furnished with a drain along each of their
sides. The drains fed waste water into north–
south-running drains or ditches along the main
streets (ELM1054, ELM335–6 and possibly
MON528) before it was finally discharged into
the legionary ditch or soakaways. At least three
of the fortress buildings (MON267, MON522,
MON533) had internal drains, which took
waste water outside via breaches in their mortar
plinths into the drains lining the streets. Most
of these drains appeared to be associated with
latrine pits or what may have been washing
areas. Both internal and external drains were of
variable build and quality, ranging from shallow
gullies to timber-lined channels such as the one
constructed of nailed oak planks (MON267) at
the Gilberd School site (CAR 6, 131).
Disposal of the dead
Arguably the best-known burials from Roman
Colchester are those of Marcus Favonius Facilis
(Fig 6.3; ELM527) and Longinus Sdapeze
(Fig 6.4; ELM532), whose fine memorial
tombstones indicate the probable existence
of a military cemetery situated alongside
the main road to the west of Colchester
(MON794). Facilis was a centurion of the
Legio XX and Longinus a duplicarius of the
Ala I Thracum (First Squadron of the Thracian
Cavalry) and, together, these memorials
suggest the names of two army units stationed
at Colchester (Crummy 2001, 39; Wise 2001,
2005). However, despite the fact that both men
appear to have been serving soldiers when
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
they died, the tombstones cannot be taken
as unequivocal evidence that their units were
stationed in the fortress or that they died in
the fortress period. Either of the men could
have been based in Colchester during the early
years of the colonia (Phillips 1975, 102; Crummy
2001, 40). Furthermore an almost complete
eggshell ware pottery vessel of AD 50–60 in
the grave below Facilis’s tombstone suggests
that he died after the closure of the fortress
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 18 and 228–9; May,
1930, 264 and plate XXXI). A geological study
of both tombstones has recently been carried
out by Kevin Hayward which confirms that the
limestone used for the Facilis tombstone was
imported from a quarry in the Moselle region
of France and that of Longinus from a quarry
in Gloucestershire (Hayward 2009, 133–135).
This may indicate that the Facilis tombstone is
earlier than that of Longinus, being carved at
a time before the Romans had discovered or
started exploiting the Middle Jurassic outcrop
of south-central England (P Sealey pers
comm). Fragments of several other military
tombstones have been located from this area,
but none of them can be dated specifically to
the period of the fortress. Equally uncertain
is the date of the Claudian burials which have
been found concentrated along the main road
to the west and also to the south-west of the
fortress (see chapter 6, page 86–7).
Several burials were discovered during
the excavations at Balkerne Lane, where
the scattered remains of at least six people
(ELM68–ELM73) lay around the base and
sides of the legionary fortress ditch. A number
of the bones, including two crania, showed
signs of having suffered heavy blows, and
Crummy believed that at least one of these
injuries had been inflicted during execution.
He concluded that the remains were probably
derived from a large number of corpses left at
the porta decumana of the fortress, and found
their way into the fortress ditch at some point
before it was backfilled in c 55 AD (CAR 3,
94–7). Although it is unclear whether these
were natives or disgraced soldiers, the fact
that the porta decumana was, according to the
historian Polybius, the gate through which
soldiers passed on their way to punishment or
execution, may be significant (Johnson 1983,
41). Within the fortress, at least one neonatal
burial (ELM43) has been recovered from a
military context (CAR 6, 130).
Claudian occupation evidence and Iron
Age continuity
Evidence from the UAD study area for native
continuity and other civilian activity during the
period of the fortress comes mainly from the
excavations at Sheepen and Balkerne Lane.
Continuity of Iron Age occupation and land
use is also indicated by the endurance of the
native sanctuary at Gosbecks, together with
a scatter of sites from around the peninsula
where mixed assemblages of pre- and postConquest pottery have been recorded (see
chapter 3). At Balkerne Lane, excavations
revealed a small vicus settlement consisting
of four or more buildings (MON390–1,
MON392, MON394) that lined both sides of
the main road (MON384) leading up to the
porta decumana of the fortress (Fig 7.28). These
were of a much simpler construction than the
fortress buildings, with walls built from earthfast stakes, wattle and sandy clay daub. The
occupation debris associated with these rather
insubstantial structures was characterised by a
high proportion of charcoal containing much
slag and hammer-scale, indicating intensive
ironworking in what may have been a canabae
serving the military market (CAR 3, 93).
The extensive excavations at Sheepen
during the 1930s and in 1970 revealed an
intensification of manufacturing activity in
the early years of the military occupation, as
the area was turned into what appears to have
been a works depot (MON689) (Webster 1985,
114). This would have served the fortress and
conceivably the wider campaigning army. In the
immediate aftermath of the invasion, Sheepen
Dyke (MON400) was filled in, and many of
the native occupation sites appear to have been
destroyed or went out of use (Hawkes and Hull
1947, 51). One ‘hut’ (ELM1258), found in the
1930s on what is now the Colchester Institute
site, had been singled out for attention and
was totally destroyed by fire (Fig 4.9). The
excavators linked this treatment to the apparent
wealth of the occupants (Dunnett 1975, 24–5).
A metalled road (MON448) was laid across the
old entrance of the dyke on the line of the Late
Iron Age trackway (MON 427; Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 83). An early Roman ‘military-style’
V-shaped ditch (ELM570) with a flat-based
slot was located in 1970 on the eastern edge
of the site, and a possible aqueduct (MON439;
Fig 4.9) was found to have been cut through
73
74
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
the infilled Sheepen Dyke in an apparent
attempt to bring water to the site from springs
on its northern edge (Niblett 1985, 20–2).
Unbroken settlement in the form of several
‘occupation-sites’ – for example, F15 (ELM77),
F18 (ELM85) and F13 (ELM102) – continued
particularly in the northern part of the site and
other new ‘occupation-sites’ – for example,
L5 (ELM118) – were constructed during
the same period (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 67
and 104). These included two or possibly
three compounds (MON684, MON1053
and ELM552–4) built using either post pits
or palisade slots and associated with scoops,
hollows, small pits, latrine pits (GRP18) and
wells (ELM573; ELM120). At least one of
the compounds (MON684) was being used
for metalworking, and many of the associated
features were filled with the refuse from
metalworking activities, including fragments
of broken military equipment, suggesting
its recycling as scrap metal. The compounds
were short-lived and appear to have become
obsolete with the closure of the fortress,
when activity on the site was intensified to
meet the demands of the new colonia (Niblett
1985, 9). The production of leather hides may
have been another significant activity on the
site, as evidenced by large quantities of cattle
bone. Several of the Roman pottery kilns,
including Hull’s Kiln 34 (MON777) and Kiln
35 (MON778), are also likely to have belonged
to this early period (Fig 4.9; CAR 10, 491).
Hawkes and Hull categorised the postConquest occupants of the Sheepen site as
native conscripts or slave labour (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 38), but following the excavations of
1970, Webster regarded the industrial workers
as civilian craftsmen working under military
auspices (Webster 1985, 114). More recently,
Bishop and Coulston have suggested that army
production was more likely at Sheepen (1993,
185). Bidwell believes that the early pottery
kilns on the site were probably associated with
‘immigrant potters following the legion from
Novaesium (Neuss) to Colchester, or with
production by soldiers of the legion’ (CAR
10, 491). A Claudio-Neronian mortarium
recovered from a water main trench in Head
Street bears the graffito ‘>IUSTI SUPIIRI’
(‘Century of Lustus Superus’) and may be
evidence for military production (interim
report in J Roman Studies 34, 91; RIB 2, Fas 6,
2496.2).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
The existence of the legionary fortress has now
been established beyond reasonable doubt.
Each new exposure of the remains of the
fortress reinforces the view that the military
base was built on an unoccupied part of the
oppidum. It is also apparent that the military
occupation may have been multi-period,
despite its brevity. The series of early pits on
North Hill identified in the 1960s (Dunnett
1967, 29) seem to belong to an early phase
of the military occupation rather than the
pre-Roman settlement, and the relationships
between the fortress and the early (?)rampart
and ditch in East Stockwell Street and on North
Hill respectively (Fig 5.1; Dunnett 1971a, 38–9;
CAR 3, 5) have yet to be clarified. Identification
of the garrison of the fortress is uncertain,
but Legio XX seems the most likely option
(Crummy 2001, 40). The presence of the Ala
I Thracum cavalry unit, as suggested by the
tombstone of Longinus, is also unproven as the
single gravestone could point to a temporary
posting or a transitory visit (ibid, 40).
Almost all of the streets of the fortress have
been plotted to within a few metres and it has
been shown that the layout of the street system
was devised in terms of multiples of 100 pes
Monetales (CAR 6, 7–13). However, relatively
few of the buildings have been investigated,
and none of them have been uncovered
completely. Most of the buildings which have
been examined were barrack blocks. By chance,
most of the excavations of the barracks have
been of the centurions’ quarters. The only
other buildings which have been identified
are tribunes’ houses at Culver Street (Fig 7.10;
ibid, 21–5). All the major buildings, such as the
principia, the praetorium, the hospital, granaries
and baths are yet to be identified, although
the location of the principia is clear from the
fortress plan.
The width and spacing of the barracks
indicates that the fortress could have been
much narrower than it actually was (CAR 6,
10). No other comparable Roman fortress
appears to have had such large spaces between
the front and rear barrack blocks, and it is
hard to explain why this should have been
the case here. Perhaps the garrison included
more than a single legion and the extra troops
lived in their tents. Maybe there was an early
THE ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AD 43–49
phase of the fortress when several units were
brigaded together under canvas, or perhaps
the extra room was needed by Plautius, since
the fortress would presumably have been his
winter headquarters. None of the fortress gates
have been investigated, but sections have been
dug across the defences, including those of the
annexe (CAR 3, 31–4).
An interesting feature of the fortress is the
variety of building techniques employed in the
construction of its buildings (CAR 6, 21–5,
50–3). The use of mortared plinths appears
to be almost entirely a characteristic of the
military period, but wide walls of mud brick
on timber ground plates such as those found
at Head Street in 2000 (Brooks 2004b, 5–6)
are more problematic. It is not clear why such
widely different building methods were used
in the fortress.
The full extent and purpose of the annexe
are yet to be established. The street leading
northwards from the presumed waterworks
in Insula 15 appears to be on the military
alignment (Crummy 1999b, fig 3), suggesting
that the annexe may have been associated with
the fortress’s water supply and that it may have
incorporated a bathhouse.
Despite the scale of some of the excavations
within the area of the fortress, the number of
military contexts which have produced pottery
or other finds is modest compared with later
periods. This disparity goes some way to
explain the marked differences between the
pottery assemblages from Sheepen and the
fortress, as do stratigraphic and residuality
problems at Sheepen (CAR 10, 488–91).
Other military establishments in the vicinity
of the legionary fortress are the fort at
Gosbecks (Fig 4.8) and the presumed supply
base at Fingringhoe Wick. The broad elements
of the plan of the four-acre fort at Gosbecks
are clear from aerial photographs (Fig 5.2;
CAR 11, 99–101; Crummy 2001, 44). Buildings
appear to be of post-in-trench type, but none
of them have a complete plan discernible.
The clearest building is the principia, but it is
still imperfectly known. The relationship of
the fort defences to Heath Farm Dyke is not
clear and the existence of a via decumana or porta
decumana is uncertain. Almost no good dating
evidence is available for the fort. Three possible
contexts seem the most likely: AD 44–9, AD
50–60 and immediately post-Boudican. A
pre-Conquest date has even been postulated
(Creighton 2000, 7–9). Claudian material from
the Fingringhoe Wick site, coupled with its
riverside location, indicate the site of a supply
base, but no good structural remains have
been recorded to support this view (Hull 1963,
130–2; Crummy 1988a, 41).
British occupation within the pre-Roman
oppidum seems to have continued on much
the same scale as before the Conquest. The
Sheepen site appears to have become more
industrialised after the Conquest (Niblett
1985, 23–4), whereas Gosbecks retained its
more agricultural character (CAR 11, 95–105;
Benfield 2008a, 46–7). Straight roads appeared
in the landscape for the first time, as well
as straight-sided enclosures, with the most
important of the new roads being the one
between the Roman colonia and Gosbecks.
At least one of the dykes (Prettygate Dyke)
appears to have been adapted to form the
agger of a Roman road (CAR 11, 46–50).
Continuity after the Conquest is observable
in burial practice, especially at Stanway (Fig
4.7; Crummy 2001, 23, 26–8, 66–70). The
large, square, ditched enclosure at Gosbecks,
dated, by excavation, to c AD 50, may perhaps
have been a Stanway-style funerary site for
Cunobelin. There seems to have been a
concentration of Claudian burials to the west
and south-west of the fortress, particularly
along the sides of the main road from the west.
It is not clear to what extent these burials are
military, native or later Roman (see chapter 6,
pages 93–6).
Preservation
Possibly as much as 50 per cent of the legionary
fortress has been destroyed by later excavation
for pits, cellars and foundations. Large areas
of the town which are sited considerably
behind medieval street frontages can be well
preserved (as was the case at the Culver Street
site) because they were not subject to the
intensive pitting which went on to the rear of
medieval properties, and the fortress remains
have escaped the damaging effects of the
plough except for small areas in the Roman
period (CAR 6, 33). Elsewhere, Gosbecks
fort is less well preserved because of deep
ploughing, while the site of the presumed
military base at Fingringhoe Wick was badly
damaged by gravel extraction during the first
part of the 20th century and it is unclear how
much of it now survives. There are unlikely to
75
76
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
be any waterlogged deposits on the sites of the
fortress or the fort at Gosbecks (though these
may exist at Fingringhoe Wick), so there is
probably very limited survival of wood, textile
or leather. However, contemporary organic
remains may exist in surrounding areas where
the ground water can be high (see below). Iron
objects survive poorly because of the acidity
of the soil, although bone and other faunal
remains can be found in good condition.
Importance
The legionary fortress at Colchester is worthy
of intensive study because Roman fortresses
in general are relatively rare. Few fortresses
are known in Britain and abroad as compared
with forts, towns and villas. Moreover, being
Claudian, Colchester is an example of an
early permanent legionary fortress in the
Roman Empire. It is important in the study
of the chronological development of Roman
fortresses, because the base is well-dated and
was short-lived, and it is the earliest known
example in Britain (along with the vexillation
fortress at Alchester in Oxfordshire, which
has produced a tree-ring date of AD 44). The
Fingringhoe Wick site is of interest because
of its association with the legionary base and
because supply bases are rare, especially those
of so early a date.
Potential for future research
It may be possible, with further excavation,
to determine when between AD 43 and AD
50 the fortress was established, and if it was
ever finished. A great deal remains to be done
in exploring the buildings of the fortress and
annexe. Preservation is generally good, so
that well-sited excavations should provide
very worthwhile results. Similarly, the layout
of the fortress could be further clarified, and
the open areas around the groups of barrack
blocks may be explained. The function of the
annexe may be made clearer with further work.
The possible rampart in East Stockwell Street
could be investigated further, and its date and
purpose established. Similarly, the puzzling
ditch on North Hill could be excavated to
determine its relationships with the fortress
and colonia.
More stratified material needs to be recovered from the fortress levels to compare
with contemporary finds from Sheepen and
elsewhere (CAR 10, 488–91). At present,
it is hard to see a substantial pre-AD 50
component in the Roman pottery assemblage
as a whole, presumably because the quantity
of well-stratified finds from the military levels
is relatively small. There are two reasons for
the latter situation: firstly, many buildings were
reused in the colonia, and consequently it is
often impossible to distinguish military levels
from early colonial ones; secondly, primary
contexts such as the body of the ramparts
or construction trenches for buildings do not
generally produce many finds.
No modern archaeological excavation has
been undertaken at Fingringhoe Wick, so any
work there is bound to be of considerable
value in assessing the date and function of
the site. The most immediate benefit of
excavations at the Gosbecks fort would
be the recovery of dating evidence for its
construction and period of occupation.
Moreover, the temporal relationships between
the Fingringhoe Wick site, the Gosbecks fort
and the legionary fortress could probably
be determined by such investigations. These
would help to define a chronology for the
military occupation at Colchester, which
cannot as yet be established.
The character of early burial practice and
the relationships of these burials to occupation
areas could be clarified if the burials were widely
mapped in detail. At present, it appears that
many cremations were clustered together in
small groups on odd bits of land and that there
were concentrations of them close to street
frontages and other boundaries. A more fully
mapped distribution would show the extent to
which they were grouped in large cemeteries,
and how they related to occupation sites.
6 The early Roman colonia, AD 49–61
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
Having committed time and resources
towards establishing a legionary fortress
at Camulodunum, the Roman authorities
subsequently decided to remove their troops
and send them westwards into the borderlands
of the emerging province. In south Wales, a
local tribe, the Silures, were mounting stiff
resistance so the governor, Ostorius Scapula,
must have calculated that Camulodunum was
sufficiently pacified to allow the release of
the garrison. the covering move, made under
instructions from the emperor Claudius,
was to situate a colonia, or colony of retired
veterans, at Camulodunum. the new colonia,
founded in aD 49, would accommodate a
substitute garrison of combat-trained veterans,
and provide a model of roman society for
the locals to emulate. Colchester was the first
of four coloniae in Britain, the others being
lincoln, gloucester and york; all except
york were founded to house army veterans.
Colchester is the only one for which we have
a clear statement giving the reason for its
foundation (millett 1999, 193). tacitus records,
‘a colony was settled on conquered lands at
Camulodunum by a strong detachment of
veterans, who were to serve as a bulwark against
revolt and to habituate the friendly natives to
legal obligations’ (Annals 12.32). this strategy
allowed the roman authorities to establish an
infrastructure and settle veterans away from the
more expensive land at the heart of the empire
(mann 1983, 61–2; hopkins 1978). there is
also some evidence that veterans found it hard
to readjust to life in italy and sometimes chose
to move back to the provinces where they had
served (tacitus, Annals 14.27).
the colonia at Colchester would have been
made up of veterans from the roman legions
active in the invasion; it would be an ethnically
diverse group comprised of troops recruited
from italy, spain, Gallia Narbonensis and perhaps
the german frontier (millett 1999, 195). the
veterans would have been provided with land to
support them in retirement, with those without
senior rank or commercial skills becoming
farmers. Colchester’s status as a colonia placed
it outside the settlement system of civitates, or
tribal capitals, used by the empire to integrate
tribal networks into the roman system.
however, the continuity of native religious,
burial and domestic activity at the gosbecks,
stanway and sheepen sites in the late 1st
century aD shows that Colchester remained
a tribal focus and did not simply become a
roman enclave. undoubtedly the city would
have had an extensive agricultural hinterland
and would have itself been agricultural in
character despite its rank, with orchards,
allotments and market gardens taking up space
within the colonia. it would have served as a
regional market centre for farm produce as
well as providing a home for urban bureaucrats,
priests, smiths and traders.
in addition to becoming the province’s
senior colonia, the settlement also became the
centre of the imperial cult in the province,
with the construction of a massive Classical
78
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
temple. The construction date for the temple
and the implications of its presence for the
political status of the city have been the
subject of considerable discussion (Fishwick
1972, 1973, 1987, 1991, 1995 and 1997). The
temple was dedicated to the Emperor Claudius
and as emperors were not generally declared
gods until after their death it is likely that
the temple dates from AD 54, the year that
Claudius died. Alternatively, the temple could
represent a major break with tradition, it could
be a provincial anomaly arising from Britain’s
geographical isolation from Rome, or it could
have been initiated by Claudius himself, with
the intention of dedicating the building to
Rome and Augustus, the last emperor to be
deified.
in the absence of historical or epigraphic
evidence any assessment of the political status
of the settlement, beyond being the only colonia
before the aD 90s, rests on the presence
of the temple. other imperial cult centres
have been located in provincial capitals at,
for example, tárraco (tarragona, spain) and
lugdunum (lyons, france). if a direct parallel
is drawn then Camulodunum would be a strong
candidate not only for the provincial capital but
as the seat of the provincial council, which was
made up of representatives from the native
elite (hassall 1996, 19).
the conversion of the legionary fortress
into a colonia involved the partial demolition
and reuse of the military buildings, the slighting
of the military defences and the addition
of a realigned street grid, utilising the basic
legionary orientation. the fortress annexe was
extended to house the public buildings required
by the new city. evidence suggests that the early
colonia flourished, which is unsurprising given
that it would have become for a time a major
bureaucratic and distribution hub for the new
province. the buildings of the colonia were
not grand, but were nevertheless well-built of
wood and clay blocks with painted plaster and
tiled roofs, although, interestingly, window
glass appears to have been uncommon. the
pragmatic reuse of barrack blocks suggests
that wealth had not been showered on the
veterans by the imperial authorities. excavated
workshops, warehouses, shops and domestic
quarters show that the early colonia was a
working city.
those with access to land, markets or
position appear to have faired well; luxury
items like fine pottery and jewellery have been
recovered in quantity from the colonia and the
surrounding areas at sheepen and Balkerne
hill. for the native trinovantes the situation
was apparently much bleaker. Writing about
the tensions that led to the Boudican revolt
in aD 60/1 tacitus records, ‘the settlers
drove the trinovantes from their homes and
land, and called them prisoners and slaves.
the troops encouraged the settlers’ outrages,
since their own way of behaving was the same
and they looked forward to similar licence
for themselves’ (Annals, xiv, 32). however,
it appears that not everybody was suffering
equally; the presence of contemporary highstatus native burials at stanway contrasts starkly
with both tacitus’s account and the cramped
character of native-style huts at sheepen. the
accounts by Cassius Dio (Historia Romana,
lxii, 83) and tacitus (Annals, xiv, 31–2)
suggest that sections of the native elite were
co-opted into becoming priests of the temple
of Claudius in order to secure their status in
the new provincial hierarchy. subsequently they
were forced to pay for the construction of the
temple, either by taking out crippling loans
or through the taxation of tribal networks.
ultimately, the resentment felt by the bulk
of the trinovantian population found an
outlet in the icenian revolt against roman
mistreatment. overcoming any historic and
cultural divisions between the two tribes, the
icenian leader Boudica was able to raise a
large native army from the region and lead an
earth-shaking revolt against roman authority.
the first major target was Colchester, where
the city and its suburbs were laid waste and the
population annihilated. the native host then
turned its attention to london and st albans
before finally being defeated somewhere in
the midlands.
Past work
references to roman Colchester are made by
a number of Classical authors, including the
geographer Ptolemy, the historians Cassius
Dio, tacitus and suetonius, and Pliny the
elder, who wrote an encyclopaedia about
the ancient world. these accounts stimulated
antiquarian interest in Colchester; in particular,
the evocative account of the Boudican revolt
provided by tacitus has provided archaeologists
with a framework for investigation into the
79
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
early colonia period. From the time of William
Stukeley (1687–1765) onwards, theories had
been promulgated on the Roman origins of
Colchester Castle, and in 1850 the Revd Henry
Jenkins gave a lecture in which he suggested a
Roman origin for the building (Jenkins 1851).
However, the ensuing debate over the possible
Roman or Norman origins of the superstructure
directed attention away from what lay beneath
(Cutts 1853; Jenkins 1869; Buckler 1876).
In 1919 Mortimer Wheeler and Philip Laver
made a breakthrough by recognising that the
septaria vaults under the Norman castle were
in fact the remains of a podium for the Temple
of Claudius, as described by Tacitus (Fig 6.2).
The identification of the temple subsequently
enabled Wheeler to attempt a provisional street
plan for the roman city (Wheeler and laver
1921, 147, fig 18; Wheeler 1920; 1923, 39).
Wheeler’s first contribution to British
archaeology was to excavate the Balkerne gate
at Colchester during World War i, continuing
the work of henry laver and e n mason, who
had made a start in 1913. as a novice excavator,
Wheeler can be forgiven for not identifying the
traces of a monumental arch, possibly dating
to the foundation of the colonia, which formed
the core of the gateway (fig 7.4). this was
later identified by Philip Crummy following the
Balkerne lane excavations in 1973.
in 1927 excavations at Jacklin’s Cafe on
the site of the Cups hotel, high street by a
f hall, J t Jones and m J Pakenham revealed
a roman pottery shop that had apparently
been burnt in the rebellion, vividly confirming
the historical descriptions of the Boudican
sacking of the town in the spring of aD 61
(although subsequently the dating has been
questioned: see page 91). the results of more
recent excavations have enabled the plotting of
destruction deposits, creating a ghost image of
the pre-Boudican town plan as it was in aD 60
(Dunnett 1966; Car 6, 8).
Key to understanding the development
of the early colonia was the confirmation that
the city was built on the site of the legionary
fortress and its annexe, which was confirmed
by excavations at lion Walk in 1971–4 and
Culver street in 1981–5. even in 1980 it was
still not certain if the dwarf wall structures
recorded at lion Walk, the gilberd school on
north hill and st mary’s rectory were part of
the legionary fortress rather than the small early
colonia, but the massive excavation at Culver
street confirmed that the legionary barracks
had been converted for civilian use during the
early years of the colonia (fig 6.1; Crummy 1985,
78; Crummy 1999b, 89–100).
outside the city, excavations at sheepen
in the 1930s and in 1970 demonstrated the
continuity of settlement and manufacturing
here from the military into the civilian period
(fig 4.9; hawkes and hull 1947; niblett
1985). at Balkerne lane a large area of ribbon
development along the london road was
excavated between 1973 and 1976 in advance of
road building, revealing pre-Boudican industrial
activity, strip houses and land plots (fig 7.28).
more recently, excavations at the tarmac
quarry pits at stanway have demonstrated the
continuity of elite burial practices into the
pre-Boudican period (fig 4.7), while, further
west, excavations at abbotstone investigated a
late iron age–early roman farmstead (Brooks
1999a; Benfield and Brooks 1999).
in summary, 14 excavations from within
the uaD study area can be identified as either
revealing medium-sized to large areas of early
colonia deposits or encountering deposits of
particular significance. these are listed in table
3. there have also been numerous smaller
excavations, observations and watching briefs
that produced evidence for this period.
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
as stated in the previous chapter, because the
buildings of the fortress were reused for the
early colonia, not all contexts can be allocated
with precision to one period or the other, and
the finds from the two periods have sometimes
been discussed together. most of the general
comments regarding the material culture of the
fortress therefore also pertain here.
the early colonia provides evidence for an
expanding range of imported objects and also
for the development of new local industries
(CAR 2; CAR 6, 140–244). Both factors
suggest that, as the first capital of the new
province, Colchester was initially poised to be
a major entrepôt and manufacturing centre.
that london proved to be better sited both for
administrative purposes and for inter-provincial
and intra-provincial trade, and therefore also for
manufacturing, has undoubtedly affected the
overall character of later roman Colchester.
however, in the decade before the Boudican
80
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
revolt, some idea of how Colchester might have
developed had it remained the capital can be
guessed from its material culture. It was well
placed for imports coming from Gaul and the
Rhineland, such as Lyon ware, terra sigillata and
other fine wares, amphorae containing wine, fish
sauce or olives, mortaria, glassware, brooches,
melon beads, lava querns and mirrors (CAR
10, 488–93; CAR 8, 225; CAR 2, 17, 30, 75–6;
lloyd-morgan 1981, 10).
as the local clay was suitable for pottery
production, imitations of continental wares
and vessel types were made, such as colourcoated ware, Pompeian red ware, picture
and open lamps (CAR 10, 492; CAR 2,
77–8; eckardt 2002b). items of copper alloy
continued to be produced at sheepen and at
Culver street in this period, and some of the
sheepen products were enamelled. a complete
brass ingot and a bronze ingot fragment
from sheepen were interpreted at the time as
imports, but in the light of the Period 1 and 2
fragments of a crucible for brass-making (as
opposed to brass-melting) from Culver street,
a case can be made for local production from
imported raw materials. not all objects were
made from freshly smelted metal, as scrap
metal also appears to have been collected at
sheepen for reuse (niblett 1985, 24–5; CAR
6, 194–7). ironsmithing can be inferred from
the presence of everyday tools and fittings,
although physical evidence is rare, and the
manufacture of tiles can also be posited despite
no manufacturing site having been found. as
with the fortress, many cold technologies that
have left no archaeological trace can also be
presumed to have taken place in the town or
its suburbs, and in this respect the scarcity of
waterlogged levels has undoubtedly affected
the preservation of the material remains.
the Boudican burnt layer does not retain
many large complete items and therefore is not
as complete a picture of the material culture in
use at the time of the destruction of the town
as might have been expected, largely because
of the clearance and rebuilding work that
took place afterwards. instead a small number
of comparatively unusual items came from
comparatively undisturbed contexts, such as a
burnt bed with its furnishings found at lion
Walk, a steelyard with its scale pan found on
a burnt floor at Balkerne lane, some metal
household equipment at the gilberd school,
charred grain, malted grain for brewing, flax
seeds, a plum and some imported dates (CAR
2, fig 104, fig 147; CAR 3, 40, 42–7, 108; CAR
6, 330, 6.11-13). the most striking debris from
the destruction came from shops selling pottery
and glassware. in one of these the positions of
the scorched ceramics (mainly samian ware)
and largely melted glass vessels, showed that
they were displayed or stored on shelving (hull
1929; 1958, 153–8, 198–202; millett 1987). the
other again mainly sold samian ware, but also
stocked a range of provisions that included
some imports: charred lentils, figs, stone pine
nuts, barley, spelt, horsebeans and coriander
(hull 1958, 198–202; Davies in archive). Both
shops were situated on the main street of the
colonia, while to the north a large deposit of
lamps and some moulds point to the site of a
lamp workshop (eckardt 2002b). also to the
north a building in insula 10 seems to be have
been used as a store; it produced many flagons,
amphorae and unused mortaria, together with
a quantity of carbonised wheat (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 13).
although the imported fruit and vegetables
mentioned above hint that the early colonists
enjoyed a wide and varied diet, Cool has noted
from amphora finds that after c aD 55 there may
have been a slight decline in the consumption
of fish sauce in the colonia compared to that
of the fortress, and has suggested that this
may show a decline in the economic wealth of
the early colonists (2006, 77). an alternative
interpretation, or the reason why a decline may
have taken place, might be that the colonists’
access to fish sauce was reduced as a direct
effect of traders preferring to land their wares
at london’s port instead of continuing north
to the river Colne.
a greater range of colours was used for
plaster in the buildings of the early colonia
than had been evident in the fortress; evidence
for the use of Purbeck marble and other
decorative stones became more abundant,
and tiles used in cavity wall heating began
to appear (middleton et al 2006, 71; CAR
3, 28–9; CAR 6, 225. 256). as well as new
building techniques, a wide range of new
dress accessories, other personalia, household
equipment and votive items demonstrate the
colony’s access to new markets and also to the
different styles of living and cultural practices
of the colonists compared to those of the
indigenous population. Differences between
the pottery vessels used at sheepen and in
81
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
the colonia add to this distinction between the
two groups (CAR 10, 488–93). At the same
time, new developments in British-made and
British-used products also appeared, pointing
to a continuation of Late Iron Age material
culture in innovative forms (for example: CAR
2, passim; CAR 6, passim; Cool 2006; Crummy
2006, 59; Eckardt and Crummy 2008, 69–72).
Noteworthy items among the latter group are
Colchester B derivative brooches and carinated
strainer bowls, both probably made at Sheepen
(Hawkes and Hull 1947, 310–11; Sealey 1999,
119–24; Crummy et al 2007, 324–5).
These cultural differences are also apparent
in burials found to the west of the Roman
town (Hull’s western cemetery), which were
chiefly excavated in the 19th century (CAR
9, 258–62). although since then many of the
grave groups have become muddled, one that
can be restored with reasonable certainty is the
so-called ‘Child’s grave’ cremation found in
1866. Dated from the coin evidence to between
c aD 52–65, this burial is unique within roman
Britain for the range and quality of its grave
goods, which included many pipeclay comic
figurines, animal-shaped unguentaria, coins and
decorated bone fragments from an ornate
couch, as well as pottery, metal and glass vessels
and other items (eckardt 1999). this is clearly
a continental roman high-status burial that
can be contrasted with the élite late iron age
burials at stanway, several of which are only
slightly earlier than the ‘Child’s grave’ and
some of which may be contemporary with it
(Crummy et al 2007, 440). the excavations at
handford house (orr 2010) and the garrison
(Cat report in prep.) have yet to be fully
published, but both sites may include grave
groups that belong within this period and,
while less distinctive than those in the ‘Child’s
grave’, would represent the material culture of
the wider population of the colonia.
The archaeological evidence
by David Radford
The creation of the colonia and its
hinterland
We learn from tacitus (Annals, xiv, 31) that the
aggressive seizure of native land holdings was
a major contributing factor to the Boudican
revolt. the colonia would have been granted an
agricultural hinterland under its control, and
within this territory (or territorium) land may
have been centuriated, or divided up in a regular
fashion, for allocation to retired veterans.
however, cropmarks from around the town
suggest irregularly planned fields and trackways
evolving from the pre-Conquest landscape,
rather than a regimented reallocation of land
(fig 3.2). therefore the veteran land-grab may
have involved expropriating going concerns
from the local landowning class rather than
centuriation (esmonde Cleary 1987, 58).
that this appropriation was piecemeal is
suggested by the continuity of burial activities,
and therefore land plots, at stanway, and
the survival of gosbecks as a romanoBritish religious centre into the roman period
(Crummy 1988a, 44). Both sites may have
survived because roman regulations for land
confiscation encouraged respect for existing
sacred places (Campbell 1996, 98). What we
can say for certain is that land was seized for
the laying-out of the colonia, for the burial plots
and for external infrastructure, including roads,
military structures, quarries and manufacturing
zones. agricultural land was also taken for the
veterans, but there is no evidence as yet of
centuriation at Colchester.
evidence for centuriation is also absent
from the other 1st-century coloniae at gloucester
(hurst 1999, 127) and lincoln (Jones 1999,
109). in fact, the north-western provinces
as a whole look anomalous, as it has proved
difficult to identify 1st-century centuriation in
northern france, Belgium, the netherlands, the
rhineland and Britain. interestingly, where it
has been identified at Augusta Tricastinorum in
gaul, the roman plots are intermingled with
holdings of the local tribe (Peterson 1997).
the size of the territorium surrounding
Colchester is unknown. estimates for land
holdings have been made on the basis of
legion size and standard plot allocation – for
example, 37,750ha (or 377.5km²) by sealey
(2004, 16) – or alternatively by political parallel
– for example, 400km² by Wacher (1998a, 61).
rodwell has attempted to use the antonine
itinerary to define a ‘town zone’ around
Colchester (rodwell 1975, 79–83). it has also
been proposed that the colonia could have been
the focus for a major realignment of field
boundaries in east essex (Jones 1978, 23–5;
Jones and mattingly 1990, fig 5), but again
this has yet to be proven (going 1996, 100).
there is no evidence for a large formal urban
boundary like that suggested at gloucester
82
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
(Hurst 1999, 120, fig 120), although a perimeter
ditch has been proposed west of the town
(Car 3, 13, fig 8).
Fortress into colonia: the revised layout
much of the street grid of the fortress was
retained and used as the core of the new grid
of the colonia (fig 6.1). some streets were
abandoned, others retained and widened,
the whole process perhaps lasting several
years. the essence of the new street layout
was the retention of the via principalis and the
north–south streets of the western half of the
fortress, along with the western section of the
via sagularis. the eastern side of the fortress
grid was altered, with streets laid out running
into the expanded military annexe, on a slightly
different alignment to that of the fortress
(Crummy 1982a, 125–34). the exceptions are
the street north of Insulae 11, 12 and 13, which
maintains the fortress alignment along with
the later theatre in Insula 13, and the east–west
street north of Insula 34, which follows the
annexe alignment. the theatre’s alignment is
interesting as it clearly sits over the line of
the backfilled fortress ditch, yet maintains
the legionary axis. the laying-out of a large
precinct for the temple of Claudius appears
to have strongly influenced the street layout
of the eastern part of the colonia, implying that
the temple was constructed first and that the
streets followed.
Within the fortress the praetorium and
principia may have been demolished to make
way for a new street laid between the ends
of the via decumana and the via praetoria to
form an unbroken decumanus maximus for the
town (Car 3, 8). this interpretation rests on
observation of street metalling on the site of
the probable praetorium (Dunnett 1971a, fig 3).
some military buildings were demolished in
the western part of the fortress to make way
for new east–west streets that kept the fortress
alignment (mon271; Car 6, 133–5). the new
streets were not necessarily of high quality: for
example, a stretch at Culver street was initially
unmetalled and found to be overlaid with silt
and occupation debris. here pits were dug
into one of the footways as well as the street
surface itself, suggesting a rather low level of
civic maintenance during the initial stages of
the colonia. the street was eventually metalled
at some point before the revolt (Car 3, 8–9;
Car 6, 27).
the size of the area laid out to the east and
north of the fortress remains unclear. the
apparent absence of Boudican destruction
deposits north, east and south-east of Insulae
22 and 30 has been used to provide a rough
boundary (fig 6.1). however, burnt deposits
were noted below the ‘Wheeler houses’ in
Castle Park (Insula 6) and beneath the street
separating Insulae 6 and 14, where a burnt layer
of wood approximately 3in (7.5cm) thick was
recorded (Wheeler 1921, 17). furthermore, at
21–31 long Wyre street, Boudican debris was
recorded at several places at the southern end
of Insula 37 (fig 7.1; Brooks 1997b). at present
it is not clear whether these structures were
part of the early colonia or part of a suburban
settlement serving it.
Defences
tacitus records that the town was left
undefended because priority had been given
to civil amenities. archaeological evidence
confirms this, demonstrating that the fortress
ditch was infilled at some point during the
construction of the colonia. the fortress ditch
(fig 5.1; mon386) was revealed during the
excavation of the lion Walk united reformed
Church in 1984. here the stratigraphical
relationships suggested that the ditch was
infilled between aD 50 and 55 (Car 6, 381).
evidence from excavations at Balkerne lane
suggests that there was a delay between the
departure of the garrison and the slighting
of the ditch to allow for the construction of
the new street grid. here the legionary ditch
became a dumping place for metalworking
debris and was encroached upon by pits and a
building, something that a military commander
would surely not have allowed. in addition,
buildings at Balkerne lane (fig 6.1; mon405–
7) and lion Walk (fig 7.13; mon471) that
were burnt in the revolt, appear to have sat
over the backfilled fortress ditch. the legionary
defences appear to have been slighted on all
sides, even though the street grid was expanded
only north and eastwards.
Buildings of the colonia
many military buildings were converted for
civilian use and the legionary annexe was
expanded and used to house the public buildings
required by the province’s senior city (fig 6.1).
the new colonia was predominantly a city of
83
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
wood, wattle and daub. The lack of local
building stone must have inflated the price of
this resource, although even at a provincial level
stone was generally restricted to major public
buildings during the 1st and early 2nd centuries
(fulford 1989, 182–3). the current evidence
suggests that the earliest public buildings
in Colchester were constructed in wood
and daub, with the notable exception of the
temple of Claudius, perhaps the monumental
arch at Balkerne gate and perhaps an as yet
unlocated bathhouse. the temple was clearly
an exceptional building and its monumental
scale must have drained resources from the
local community, perhaps helping to explain the
apparent absence of other early public buildings
in stone. By the time of the revolt the town was
well developed, with domestic, commercial and
industrial buildings filling the insulae of the west
and central street grid. these were generally
simple but well constructed, using a variety of
foundation and structural techniques. however,
the notable dearth of window glass from
Boudican layers confirms a modest assessment
of building quality (Car 6, 117–18). over time
the infrastructure was steadily improved; the
streets were metalled and a piped water system
was installed and renewed. the city was clearly
flourishing when disaster struck.
Reuse of barracks
each legionary barrack block was subdivided
into a long, narrow blockhouse for the
soldiers and an apartment for the centurion.
the centurion’s quarters often fronted major
streets and were divided internally into small
rooms, making them more attractive for reuse.
the legionaries’ rooms (contubernia) were less
desirable, being a series of small independent
compartments, and so were either demolished
or heavily renovated. at lion Walk four
reused barrack blocks were excavated (Car
3, 37–40). the burnt centurion’s quarters of
one barracks (mon464) displayed no new
structural phases, suggesting its reuse without
alteration. By contrast, another centurion’s
quarters (mon465) was substantially altered
for civilian use; new floors were made from the
debris of demolished barrack walls and new
partition walls were laid out on timber ground
plates. investigation of another barrack block
(mon466) demonstrated that the contubernia
had been demolished before the revolt,
although at least part of the contubernia of a
further block (mon467) survived until it was
destroyed in the fire (fig 7.13; ibid, 37–40).
at Culver street (1981/2–1984/5), six
reused barracks were excavated and, although
some new floors and walls of stud and
wattle or daub block were added, the internal
layouts were little changed from those of the
military period. in one case (mon522), part
of the contubernia wall survived to a height of
35cm and consisted of vertical studs with an
infilling of solid daub. the building contained
an unusual raised hearth and a latrine pit
that had continued in use from the fortress
period. three rooms in the centurion’s quarters
revealed traces of a wooden floor and one
contained rather rough and unpainted wall
plaster. in another barrack block (mon523)
the centurion’s quarters had been refloored
three times before the revolt. at least one new
stud and wattle internal partition wall had been
added, which survived to a height of 50cm and
retained well-preserved impressions of wattles
interwoven with horizontal wooden studs.
another barrack block (mon524) revealed a
detailed floor plan showing that the military
rooms had been amalgamated and refloored.
the three other barrack blocks (mon525–6,
mon529) were poorly preserved, but in
one (mon526), the eastern contubernia had
apparently been subdivided into pairs of
rooms, one of which appeared to have a
veranda facing onto the street with an external
hearth (fig 7.10).
another contubernia was excavated at the
gilberd school (fig 6.1; mon267) and
consisted of at least four rooms which had
survived until the revolt and four rooms which
had been demolished prior to the revolt to
make way for a new building (mon271; Car
6, 127–39).
four rooms of another probable barrack
block (mon733) were excavated at st mary’s
rectory in 1967 (Dunnett 1971a, 65–6). here
the primary walls, of either timber or clay
blocks, rested on mortared plinths, with a less
substantial wall resting on timber sleepers.
the floors were of trampled clay that had all
been renewed at least once. the floor debris
contained pieces of red-painted wall plaster,
burnt daub and roof tile. Beyond the southern
wall was a gravelled surface, perhaps an external
yard or alley. a second building (mon734) also
appeared to be a reused barracks or military
building. it consisted of a plinth wall and clay
84
Fig 6.1 The early colonia and its eastward extension showing distribution of find spots, monuments and significant elements.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
85
floor, and was on a different alignment to the
previous building (fig 5.1; ibid, 66).
an interesting structure (mon816) of
possible military origin was excavated on the
site of the nCP car park at nunn’s road in
1965 (fig 5.1; Dunnett 1967, 27–33). the
building appeared to be a store or depot for
the early colonia which had been burnt in the
revolt. its plan indicated that it had some kind
of administrative or commercial function
(see below). the walls were built mostly from
unbaked clay blocks which had been plastered
and painted, with internal walls of wattle and
daub. Where the walls crossed the slope of the
hill they rested on mortared plinths, whereas
the north–south walls rested on spreads of
gravel and pebbles and, in one case, pieces of
brushwood. internal partition walls were less
substantial and built of wattle and daub. the
floors were mainly of trampled clay and all of
them had been renewed at least once.
Fig 6.2 The ‘vaults’ or
foundations of the Temple
of Claudius as these
appear today; the sand,
which originally filled the
void was dug out in the late
17th century (Colchester
Museums).
New timber structures in the early colonia
some buildings appear to be either civilian in
origin or to have reused only small parts of
military buildings. over 20 early colonia buildings
have been identified, at least five of which
incorporated mortared plinth foundations,
although these need not have all been of
military origin. timber ground plates were the
favoured foundation type of this period, and
were evidently considered sufficient support
given the load-bearing qualities of the geology.
Walls were generally of wattle and daub,
stud and wattle or daub block, and different
techniques were often incorporated into one
building (fig 5.3).
in the 1960s a number of pre-Boudican
timber buildings were recorded. at the
telephone exchange site in 1966 traces
of wattle and daub walls resting on timber
ground plates were noted (fig 6.1; mon722;
Dunnett 1971a, 12). at st mary’s rectory in
1967 investigations discovered two wooden
buildings (fig 6.1; mon733–4) that had been
burnt and were either military in origin or had
reused military mortared plinth walls. at the
sainsbury’s site in 1968 burnt daub and clay
blocks (fig 6.1; mon1017) were noted in
the area of the legionary annexe. the absence
of associated roofing tile was suggested as
evidence that the building or buildings were
unfinished at the time of the revolt, although
it is possible that the buildings had been given
timber or shingle roofs which left no trace (ibid,
98–100). traces of another wooden building
in the annexe, on the same alignment as the
temple precinct and perhaps belonging to the
colonia, were noted in 1964 (fig 6.1; elm685;
hebditch 1971, 117).
a far more impressive town house from
the early colonia was recorded in plan at the
lion Walk site in 1971–4 (fig 7.13; mon470).
here three ranges of rooms were set out
around a gravel yard bounded by a series of
oak-lined drains (Car 3, 40–9). the walls
were supported on wooden ground plates,
although one that rested on a mortared plinth
appeared to be civilian in origin. it has been
suggested that the style of the building may
have been inspired by military craftsmen and
introduced into civilian provincial usage by
colonists at Colchester (Blagg 1990, 204).
most of the walls were of stud and wattle, but
three walls were of daub blocks and perhaps
represented a separate building. the bases of
several of the walls had wall plaster preserved
in situ, which was painted with high-quality
imitation marble designs, some of which had
previously been recorded only in flavian and
trajanic contexts (Car 3, 42). other finds
included keyed daub, roof tiles and the burnt
remains of a bed or couch (ibid, 23; Wild
1984, 44–6). the construction techniques
used in this building are similar to those used
on the period i building in Insula xiv at
verulamium (frere 1972, 11).
at the Cups hotel site in 1973–4, three
rooms of a pre-Boudican building (fig 6.1;
mon638) were identified; they consisted of
timber-framed walls placed on timber ground
plates, with one wall placed on a mortar and tile
plinth. two of the rooms were semi-basements:
one contained patches of charcoal, indicating
86
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
that it had a timber plank floor, while the other
had a sandy clay floor on which burnt cereals
were found. a third room was not sunken and
had a sandy clay floor which contained traces
of burnt flax (Car 6, 330–3).
at Culver street in 1981 (site e) a series of
five small badly preserved early colonia timberframed houses were identified fronting an
east–west street (fig 6.1; mon542–6; Car
6, 57–9). all had daub floors and walls of
unknown construction set on single timber
ground plates; some had hearths and drainage
gullies. one (mon545) had at least six rooms
and many hearths which survived only as burnt
patches on the floor and included fragments
of possible brass-making crucible. elsewhere
at Culver street two other possible pre-revolt
buildings were recovered: one (mon547) had
a daub floor and an oven; the other (mon548)
was recorded only as postholes, slots and
hearths (ibid, 59).
excavations at the gilberd school in 1984–5
revealed a substantial timber-framed building
(fig 6.1; mon271) built on a terrace cut through
the central part of a barrack block (mon267),
placing it level with a new street from the early
colonia (mon278). it measured 12.5m wide and
18.75m long, and may have extended south for
a further 5.5m. the timber-framed walls were
supported on piles; other daub block walls
were supported on timber ground plates. the
building was divided into two parallel rows
of rooms of different widths which were
separated by internal walls, either set within
slots or of stake-and-wattle construction. the
floors were of sandy clay with occupation
debris, roof tiles and quantities of burnt daub
in evidence. a possible veranda or colonnade
was identified along the northern frontage.
one room contained a large north–south gully
with a timber cover; another had a large gully,
which had probably contained a timber drain,
discharging from the west side of the building
(Car 6, 133–4).
of the other early colonia buildings recorded
at the gilberd school, one (mon283) had
foundations comprising a reused military
mortared plinth wall and timber ground plates.
the sandy clay floor was sealed by an occupation
layer which produced traces of hay. another
(mon282) was a small rectangular timberframed building built on timber ground-plates
lying over an earlier barrack block. another
building (mon284) survived only as a series
of shallow slots (Car 6, 134–5).
Ribbon settlement along the London road
excavations west of the Balkerne gate have
revealed traces of roadside settlement running
alongside the london road. in 1973–6 there
were uncovered a series of slight industrial
buildings dated to aD 44–55, with the bestdefined building located to the south of the
road (mon393). an early phase consisted
of an area of decayed wattles and stakeholes,
which was later demolished and replaced by
another wattle and daub structure set in slots
in the ground with a daub floor. features
included a possible forging hearth located
in a patch of sand. the building encroached
onto the military street, and nearby pits were
cut into the fortress ditch, suggesting that
the establishment dated to the period after
the legionary garrison had left. three other
possible buildings (fig 5.1; mon390–2) were
suggested by spreads of slots, postholes and
small pits. these appeared to have a spatial and
functional relationship with building mon393
(fig 6.1; Car 3, 101–2). north of the london
road at least one building (mon394) was
noted, again consisting of decayed wattles
and stakeholes and producing finds of slag,
including hammerscale, and also ox scapulae
(ibid, 93–102).
at some point before the Boudican revolt
the industrial workshops were demolished and
ironworking ceased in this area. new buildings
were laid out along the london road, orientated
north–south, and others, orientated east–west,
fronted the via sagularis of the old fortress and
encroached over the infilled legionary ditch.
the new buildings were more substantial than
previous ones and were set out in distinct land
plots. two water mains served the building
along the south side of the london road, which
was resurfaced at least once before the revolt
(ibid, fig 90). four buildings to the south of
the london road were of similar construction,
with floors of daub and walls of stud and wattle
or daub blocks set upon wooden ground plates
(fig 6.1; mon398, mon401–3). they were
narrow structures up to 40m long without
side alleys, described by the excavator as strip
houses (ibid, 103–5). one building (mon398)
incorporated an internal passage down the
east side and a small room about 3m square.
87
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
Another (MON402) contained a quantity of
charred cereals (ibid, 105). To the east of this
structure were an oven and a large shallow
plank-lined pit belonging to another structure
(MON404).
The same excavation partially examined
three or more narrow strip houses which
were located south of the London road, faced
east–west and fronted onto the former via
sagularis. The walls of one building (MON405)
were mostly of stake-and-wattle type, with the
exception of one post-in-trench construction.
Internal features included daub floors, two
ovens and a hearth. a gravelled area to the
north of building mon405 was probably a
yard. another building (mon406) consisted
of six or seven rooms laid out in two ranges
side by side. Part of one room (room 1) was
excavated: features included a small oven and a
daub floor. the walls were mainly of stake-andwattle, the exceptions being a collapsed daub
wall reinforced with tile fragments and a wall
constructed of posts set into a single trench.
another room (room 6) contained deposits
of burnt cereals and many fragments of burnt
timber; the excavator speculated that this
building may have served as a granary of two
storeys. a third building (mon407) revealed
walls of stake and wattle, daub floors, a hearth
and an external yard (fig 6.1).
the buildings outside the Balkerne gate
appear to be the working and living quarters
of non-citizens who made a living servicing
the needs of veteran families within the colonia.
this was a romanised community living in strip
house forms that appear to owe little to native
influence. the settlement can be contrasted
with the newgate street site at london, where
traditional iron age roundhouses are found
alongside roman rectangular forms (Perring
et al 1991, fig 7). the limits of suburban
settlement west of the town during the early
colonia period are not known, but patches of
Boudican destruction layers recorded at st
mary’s hospital in 1997 (Brooks 1997a, 18;
interim note in Britannia xxix (1998): 407) and
at manor road in 1985 (Cat report 11/85a)
suggest that settlement already stretched well
to the north and south of the main road from
the Balkerne gate.
The development of the eastern annexe
at 21–31 long Wyre street the discovery of
a clay-floored building, evidently burnt in the
revolt, indicates that buildings occupied the
southern end of the later Insula 37 at this time,
although it remains to be seen if these were
part of an expanding annexe or external to
it. a mid-1st-century hanging lamp from the
destruction layer of the building could suggest
that the occupants were relatively affluent
(Crummy 2001a, 33). elsewhere, Claudian
and flavian pottery has been recovered in
Insula 23 (Cmr 1954–56, 18–19) and Insula 39
(richardson 1961, 7–8), raising the question
of whether these areas were already developed
by the time of the revolt or were just used as
a dump.
Structures at Sheepen
During the years of the early colonia native-type
structures continued to be maintained and
replaced at sheepen. these were small and of
the same circular and sub-rectangular plan as
the pre-Conquest and fortress-period huts (see
Chapters 4 and 5). they were of rudimentary
construction, with clay (sometimes sunken)
floors. around 32 huts from this period were
identified by hawkes and hull in the 1930s:
18 entirely new, 3 rebuilt, 11 surviving from
the fortress period and one large hut surviving
from the pre-Conquest period. these appear
to have been burnt along with the rest of
the settlement during the Boudican revolt.
the only evolutions in building design noted
were – in certain instances – the addition of
postholes for more secure roof support and
the increased frequency and thickness of clay
floors and clay wall banks (hawkes and hull
1947, 53–4).
sheepen continued to be a manufacturing
and trading centre during the construction of
the colonia. the road across sheepen hill was
the focus of a number of roman structures
and metalworking sites, interspersed with
native-style huts. a distinctive roman building
(fig 4.9; mon429) was excavated close to the
trackway (site a1). it was Claudian in origin
and oblong in form, measuring 24m in length,
and was comprised of timber posts with wattle
and daub walls bedded in slots. a complex of
subdivisions existed at its west end while the
main body of the building was aisled, leading
the excavators to compare it with barrack
block-type structures (hawkes and hull 1947,
90). it evidently survived until the revolt, when
it was burnt down.
hawkes and hull believed that a native
88
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
underclass served the new occupants at
Sheepen, their social status exemplified by the
smallness of the best-preserved native-style hut
(elm116). this was situated just north of the
road, close to a roman building, and comprised
a circular clay floor only 2.4m across, with six
evenly spaced stakeholes for the superstructure
and the remnants of a clay wall on the eastern
side (hawkes and hull 1947, 91)
During the 1930s, excavation trenches
were opened at the top, middle and bottom
of sheepen hill, all of which revealed traces
of pre-revolt occupation. Direct continuity
of occupation sites from the fortress period
was recorded only at the bottom of the hill
(region 1), where there was also evidence of
gravel surfacing and metalworking. midway up
the hill, adjacent to the road, new structures
were built close to previous occupation sites;
again, metalworking debris was present. at the
top of the hill the excavators recorded traces
of occupation from this period, although
the remains, including hearths, postholes
and metalled surfaces, were disturbed and
ephemeral.
the 1970s excavations uncovered other
roman timber buildings, dated to the late
neronian period, next to the roadway. one
structure (fig 4.9; mon687) rested on beam
slots dug into levelled dump material, with
patches of burnt daub and a length of burnt
clay wall surviving to a height of 0.35m.
finds included a fragment of roller-stamped
daub, domestic items and military equipment
(niblett 1985, 19). another (fig 4.9; elm123)
was bounded by beam-gullies and postholes
and stretched for at least 18m parallel to the
road. it was a narrow, aisled, bipartite structure
which preserved remnants of a clay floor with
a pebbled surface (hawkes and hull 1947,
104). nearby, part of a timber-lined cellar (fig
4.9; mon685) had a gravel entrance ramp.
the burnt remains of supporting posts, daub
and patterned plaster were also found (ibid,
9–12). the eastern extent of the sheepen
settlement appears to have stretched as far as
the current Colchester institute site, where
stratified roman building material associated
with pottery dated to c aD 5–60 (fnD295)
has been recovered close to the site of nativestyle structures recorded in the 1930s (Crossan
2000b; hawkes and hull 1947, 103).
Public buildings
to date only the temple of Claudius and
two timber and daub structures nearby to the
south of the temple in Insulae 29 and 30 have
been identified as probable public buildings
from this period. no bathhouse, early theatre,
forum or basilica have been securely located
for the early colonia period, although each has
a suggested position in the colonia. a number
of undated buildings of monumental size have
been recorded and are dealt with in the next
chapter. Philip Crummy has suggested that the
volume of broken (and therefore presumably
reused) brick in the later town wall derives
from the remains of several substantial public
buildings that stood before the revolt (Crummy
2002a, 19–21).
Temples
tacitus records that the citizens of Colchester
made a last stand in the temple of Claudius,
holding out for two days before meeting their
end. excavations on the site have not produced
evidence of destruction debris or burnt layers,
suggesting perhaps that the site was ritually
cleansed after the revolt. the temple was
constructed on a massive podium built of
septaria and tile which rested on sand-filled
vaults to minimise the amount of building
stone required (fig 6.2). no direct dating
evidence has been found for the podium, but
it is likely to be pre-Boudican simply because
it does not appear to contain reused material
(Wheeler and laver 1921, 146). a study of the
mortar from the base of the podium indicated
that the lime/aggregate ratio was far too low,
perhaps suggesting that the workmanship was
incompetent or hurried (Carter 1969, 21–2).
the temple of Claudius is considered further
below (see page 142)
one of the temples excavated in 1959 to
the north of st helena school (mon770)
was found to overlie the remains of an earlier
burnt building (mon 771), possibly a wooden
temple destroyed in the revolt (Blake 1959b,
37; Crummy 1980a, 252–6). this comprised a
series of clay floors, wall footings and postholes
which were contemporary with nearby kilns
producing imitation gallo-Belgic ware (interim
report in J Roman Stud 51 (1961): 185; Crummy
1980a, 252–6; swan 1984, mf287). another
romano-Celtic temple (mon795) excavated
at the royal grammar school may have had
a timber precursor, but there was no dating
89
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
evidence to place it before the revolt (Hull
1958, 236–40).
Unidentified buildings, Insulae 29 and 30
In 1955–6 excavations on the site of St
Nicholas’s Church in Insula 29 revealed a
large building (Fig 6.1; MON718) of clay
block construction which had been destroyed
during the revolt. The absence of domestic
pottery and the scale and uniformity of the
building led the excavator to suggest a public
function, although a bathhouse was ruled out
because no drain or hypocausted remains
were noted. Quantities of broken plaster from
fluted columns, painted wall plaster, burnt
bronzework fittings and roof tiles, all lying
over a burnt timber floor, were recovered (hull
1960, 310). the same excavation encountered
another building (fig 6.1; mon719) in Insula
30. again, the remains took the form of
burnt clay blocks which were reinforced by
horizontal timbers. fragments of plaster from
fluted columns were recovered and the pottery
suggested a Claudian, and therefore military,
origin for the building (ibid, 310, 316). its
proximity to the temple of Claudius has led
to suggestions that it served an administrative
function for the imperial cult. in the same insula
building work on the south side of Culver
street in 1948 revealed a sequence of deposits
identified as five clay block or wattle and daub
buildings, the lowest of which was dated by
Claudian–neronian samian (ibid, 317).
Principia/forum
the colonia’s forum has yet to be securely
located, although comparisons with other
towns would suggest that this lies on the site
of the former fortress principia, perhaps in
Insula 18 (Wacher 1998a, 73). a similarity can
be noted between British forum designs and
certain military principia (Brigham 1992, 106),
and the insula is certainly big enough to house
such a structure, judging by other provincial
fora. in 1965 excavations at the nunn’s road
nCP car park uncovered part of an undated
monumental stone building (fig 7.2; mon819)
in the northern part of Insula 18 (Dunnett 1967,
36–8). furthermore, a mortared septaria wall
70cm wide was noted at the southern edge of
the insula in 1998 (elm1016; Crossan 1998a).
it is therefore possible that an early stone
forum, or alternatively a wooden structure
like examples at silchester, exeter and possibly
lincoln, may yet emerge from this insula
(Wacher 1995, 43). two other possible forum
sites have been suggested: the large undated
structure in Insula 20 (fig 7.2; mon47) and
the building noted on the st nicholas’s Church
site south of the temple of Claudius (fig 6.1;
mon719; hull 1960, 301–28).
Theatre and bathhouse
tacitus mentions a theatre in his account
of the Boudican revolt, but there is as yet
no archaeological evidence to confirm the
existence of such a structure during this period.
a wooden theatre may have stood on the site
of the later stone theatre in maidenburgh
street, although an exploratory excavation in
1981 failed to produce any evidence (Crummy
1982b, 299–303). the strongest evidence for
the location of an earlier theatre on this site
is the orientation of the later theatre, which is
aligned with the fortress street grid, rather than
the realigned grid of the colonia (fig 6.1).
the site of the city’s public baths has yet
to be identified, although a good case can be
made for Insula 38a, where in 1848 William Wire
mapped ‘three hypocaust arched fireplaces’
along the east side of long Wyre street (Wire
nd, 23.8.1848). Wire also recovered a number
of box flue tiles from the site, which have
survived in Colchester museums’ collections
and appear to be 1st century in date (Black 1992,
120–3). nearby, a stack of pila tiles was found
in a room under the east gutter of Wyre street
in 1929, and during the 1950s several pieces
of ‘roman’ lead piping, including an angle
joint, were found in long Wyre street by h C
Calver (hull 1958, 214; Cmr 1957–1962, 31).
another possible location for the baths is Insula
30, where the base of a massive suspended
opus signinum floor was recorded in 1983 during
excavations at 61–62 high street (Car 6, 995).
Just to the south of this site, excavations at 7–15
long Wyre street in 1978–9 uncovered a large
well-built wooden drain and an adjacent water
pipe running north towards Insulae 29 and 30.
the features were dated to c aD 49–70 (ibid,
355–65). a third possible location is Insula 20,
where excavations at the vineyard Press site
in 1990 revealed part of the foundations of
a public building (mon47) containing a large
drain (Benfield and garrod 1992, 25–38).
Monumental arch
excavations in 1913 and 1917 revealed a pair of
90
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
joined monumental archways at the Balkerne
Gate (Wheeler 1921). At the time these were
interpreted as part of the later western gate,
but in 1973 the site was re-examined and
the archways were identified as part of a
freestanding monumental arch similar to those
recorded at Verulamium. The arches were later
incorporated into a larger gateway forming
part of the city wall (CAR 3, 122). In 1975
the eastern end of the southern monumental
arch was examined (Crummy 1977a, 93–4).
Unfortunately no convincing dating evidence
has been recovered, but it seems likely that
the arches were constructed to commemorate
either the foundation of the colonia or its
refoundation after the revolt (Crummy 2001,
61; Esmonde Cleary 1987, 47).
Water supply and drains
The early colonia appears to have been provided
with a pressurised water and drainage system
from its inception, although the source of
the water remains unclear. Only fragments
of the early water supply and waste disposal
system have been recovered. Excavations at
7–15 Long Wyre Street in 1978–9 revealed a
timber drain (Fig 6.1; ELM483) dated to c AD
49–75 running down the hill and cutting the
demolished remains of the military annexe
rampart. It was more substantial than other
timber drains excavated previously, being of
four-sided box construction, 75cm square
with an iron collar (for other examples of this
type see CAR 3, 26). At the same site an early
water main (Fig 6.1; ELM484) ran parallel to
the drain in the direction of public buildings
to the north. A water tank and pipe on the
site, dating to the later colonia, suggests that
the location was related to water supply for a
long period (CAR 6, 356). To the south of the
precinct of the Temple of Claudius, behind
the High Street, evidence has been found of
several drains aligned east–west; the earliest
were probably timber-lined, later to be replaced
by a stone-lined drain and then one constructed
of brick set in opus signinum. This brick drain
was traced for over 7.4m in 2006 (Shimmin
2008b). Elsewhere at North Hill, the store
house (Fig 7.2; MON816), later destroyed in
the revolt, had an internal water pipe with an
iron collar (Dunnett 1967, 27–33). Evidence
for water supply outside the colonia consists of
a wooden water main (Fig 7.28; ELM109 and
ELM 110) with iron collars which runs along
the southern side of the London road and
dates to before the revolt (Crummy 1977a, fig
11; Car 3, 115).
Manufacturing and trade
The colonia
Within the city, buildings have been identified
with manufacturing, retail and storage
functions. manufacturing within the colonia
included metalworking, lamp-making and no
doubt many other activities. at Culver street,
a building (mon545) contained as many as 15
internal hearths, which were probably related
to industrial activity of some sort, including
the production of brass (Car 6, 57–8, 196
and table 5.2).
excavations at Balkerne gardens produced
three tiled ovens or furnaces and a quantity of
iron slag; no evidence for Boudican destruction
was noted but the pottery recovered was
pre-flavian (Dunnett 1971a, 52–3). at the
gilberd school a small rectangular timberframed building (fig 6.1; mon282) contained
a copper-alloy bowl, a patera handle and a
copper-alloy dish or scale pan; the small size
and plan of the building suggested that it
was not simply domestic in function (Car 6,
134–5). in 1964 a number of pre-flavian clay
lamps and lamp moulds were recovered from
a contractor’s trench in part of the telephone
manager’s site, West stockwell street (Insula 11)
(eckardt 2002a). the moulds, which are unique
finds in roman Britain, suggest that a lamp
workshop existed in the vicinity (Dunnett 1967,
27). in 1966 fragments of lamps and mould
were recovered from Boudican destruction
layers in a room just to the south of the 1964
discovery, at the telephone exchange site (fig
6.1; mon722) (Dunnett 1971a, 33–5).
evidence for weaving comes from a building
at Culver street (fig 7.10; mon522) where
several perforated fired clay objects, which
may have been loomweights, were found in
one room. evidence for brewing comes from a
reused barrack block, also at Culver street (fig
7.10; mon524) where carbonised grain and
barley had sprouted, possibly deliberately as
malt for brewing. two pottery shops have been
identified, both sited on the main east–west
street of the town. the first, or Pottery shop
i, was encountered during excavations for the
foundations of ‘Jacklin’s Cafe’ on the site of
the Cups hotel in 1927 (fig 6.1; mon709;
91
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
Hull 1958, 152–8). A small excavation for an
adjacent garage in 1929 subsequently produced
large quantities of samian ware and glass of
thin coloured type, representing thousands
of imported vessels from what must have
been a pottery and glassware shop. More
samian from residual contexts was recovered
from an excavation in 1997 (Benfield 1998a).
little is known about the superstructure of
Pottery shop i, but it appears to have been a
small wooden building with pottery stacked
up against one wall. a re-examination of the
pottery has suggested that it may have been
destroyed during an earlier fire of c aD 50–5
rather than during the Boudican revolt (millett
1987, 106). a second shop, or Pottery shop ii,
was found in 1927 at 45–46 high street; here
much burnt samian pottery was recovered, the
shop apparently having been destroyed in the
revolt (fig 6.1; mon860; hull 1958, 198–202).
the site was re-excavated in 1971, when traces
of foodstuffs were also noted by Peter murphy
(pers comm).
a building (fig 5.1; mon816) excavated on
the site of the nCP car park at nunn’s road has
already been mentioned. some of the rooms
appear to have been used for storage, as finds
included large quantities of carbonised wheat,
bronze scales, flagons, mortaria and around 20
smashed amphorae. these had been filled mostly
with olive oil and were of spanish origin, spain
being a major supplier to the Colchester market
at this period (sealey 2004, 23; fulford 1989,
178, fig 1).
Outside the colonia
During the early years of the colonia the
sheepen site continued to be a focal point
for trade and manufacturing, with industrial
compounds arranged alongside native, and
perhaps immigrant, occupation sites. in the
early neronian period, the north side of
the metalled trackway over sheepen hill
was occupied by a blacksmith’s workshop; a
nearby rubbish dump produced quantities of
iron slag, copper-alloy flecks and domestic
refuse (fig 4.9). Waste products from this
area included lead and copper-alloy scrap, iron
slag, tile and pottery wasters, crucibles and
mould fragments. remnants of the bases of
ironsmithing furnaces were also found, one
of which incorporated a tuyère – a nozzle
for forcing air into a furnace. an early ditch
running along the centre of the metalled track
could have been either a drainage ditch or a leat
bringing water for the metalworking process
(niblett 1985, 25).
one pit at sheepen produced a large
sheet of high-grade brass, suggesting the
manipulation of imported raw materials as
well as scrap (musty 1975, 409–11; niblett
1985, 113). in addition, a large number
of complete, mostly brass, brooches were
recovered from the 1970 excavation and
this, combined with traces of brass found
on crucible and mould fragments, suggests
brooch manufacture on the site (niblett
1985, 113). other manufacturing processes
that have left traces include enamelling,
possibly representing the continuity of a native
tradition, and leatherworking (hawkes and
hull 1947, 54; niblett 1985, 25). fewer cattle
bones were recovered at sheepen from the
early colonia period than from previous periods,
and there was less worked bone. however, the
roman cellar (fig 4.9; mon685) produced a
fine bronze stamp decorated with a circle of
six animals chasing each other, which has been
identified as a stamp for embossing leather
(Crummy 2001, 15–16).
the finds assemblage from sheepen
suggests that the area supported workshops
supplying the domestic and perhaps military
requirements of the developing colonia. the
volume of metalwork from rubbish dumps,
however, is not matched by direct evidence
for manufacture, and caution is required.
hawkes and hull believed that metalworking,
both of copper alloys and iron, flourished in
this period, but niblett is more circumspect
(niblett 1985, 112–13). evidence has been
recovered for the smithing of iron and
copper alloys, but not for the smelting of iron
and copper, with the exception of a lump
of metallic iron cake (niblett 1985, m3:e8,
113). Copper-alloy objects recovered include
domestic articles, brooches, chatelaines and
numerous fittings for boxes, carts or furniture,
as well as large quantities of broken military
equipment, including buckles, cuirass hinges,
shield bindings and helmet fittings. the site
has also yielded a stamped bronze ingot and a
bronze die, apparently for stamping moulds for
decorated phalerae, or harness decorations. the
large quantities of military material recovered
in the 1930s led hawkes and hull to suggest
that a hasty rearmament programme had
been undertaken prior to the revolt (hawkes
92
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
and Hull 1947, 53–6, 91–3). Hawkes later
accepted that the material was more likely to be
representative of ongoing arms manufacture
(Fitzpatrick 1986, 37–8; CAR 11, 68), although
it could simply be scrap for low-grade reuse
(Niblett 1985, 113). Nearby, at Balkerne Lane,
a series of slight industrial buildings dating to
the early colonia was found lining the London
road. The structures were linked with sand and
charcoal debris containing much slag, including
hammerscale, suggesting ironworking, and one
(Fig 6.1; MON393) included a possible forging
hearth (CAR 3, 93–102). At some point before
the Boudican revolt these industrial workshops
were demolished and ironworking ceased in
this area.
Five, or possibly six, pottery kilns of probable
early colonial date have been recovered from
outside the colonia. One (MON920) was found
on the east side of region 4 at Sheepen Area
L (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 105–7, 282–4; Hull
1963, 147–8). A second (MON847) was found
on the playing field of the nearby endsleigh
school; here several fragments of human skull
were found in the kiln, perhaps representing
victims of the revolt (ibid, 90–2; 157–61;
sealey 2004, 26). two more (mon777–8)
near the river Colne at sheepen were cut
by the temenos wall of two later temples and
apparently produced imitation gallo-Belgic
ware until the revolt (interim report in J roman
stud 51 (1961): 185, pl 16; swan 1984, mf287).
other pre-flavian wasters and a probable
kiln (mon775) were observed by workmen
at the Colne river crossing (Car 6, 366–7).
elsewhere at sheepen, a single rubbish pit
produced at least 34 examples of the distinctive
pottery Cam. 154, probably from a nearby kiln
(mon920; niblett 1985, 25, fig 30, 192).
of these kilns, four are rectangular in
shape and one circular; both designs are
well represented at the site of novaesium
(neuss) in germany, the previous base of the
legio xx. Bidwell suggests that the pottery
industry of the early colonia was the work of
immigrant potters who followed the legion
and evidently remained when the army left,
as the kilns continue in use up until the revolt
(Car 10, 491). only the production of a
local cooking pot design (Cam. 266) suggests
native influence; otherwise the kilns produced
flagons, colour-coated copies of lyon beakers,
and copies of gallo-Belgic and Pompeian red
platters. simplified native forms continued to
be used at sheepen during this period, but it
is not clear if these were produced here or
elsewhere in northern essex (ibid, 491).
tile production was also carried out at
sheepen; at least one tile manufacturing site
was identified during the 1930s dig at site
Z (hawkes and hull 1947, 115, 119). in
addition to the locally produced red tiles,
there is evidence that cream-coloured tiles
were imported from eccles (Kent). these tiles
are found across essex, although in smaller
numbers than red tiles, suggesting that the
two products were used together to create a
distinctive pattern (Car 6, 259–60).
the rubbish pits at sheepen contained
abundant quantities of high-quality goods such
as samian ware, fine glass, gallo-Belgic wares
and amphorae. Copper-alloy coins were also not
uncommon on the site, all of which points to
healthy continental trade and a high standard
of living for at least part of the sheepen
population (hawkes and hull 1947, 38; niblett
1985, 25). large quantities of italian wine, fish
sauce and olive oil were evidently consumed by
the sheepen population, so either native traders
had rapidly acquired a taste for roman cuisine
or a community of continental workers had
assembled here.
Diet
the Boudican deposits have proved to be rich
in carbonised organic remains which provide
evidence for the kind of foodstuffs available
in the city. excavations at Culver street, the
gilberd school, Balkerne lane and lion
Walk have produced evidence of wheat, oats,
barley, flax, dates, plums and figs (Car 3, 40,
105, 108, 110, 288–9; Car 6, 273–5, 284,
703–8). Carbonised food remains were found
in a number of reused barrack blocks: in one
(mon523; fig 7.10), a small pile of grain
was recovered, and in another (mon466; fig
7.13; CAR 3, 40), burnt dates and a plum. one
room of a reused barracks (mon522; fig 7.10)
contained wild plant seeds and possible crop
waste, while another had an occupation level
containing carbonised cereal grains, hazelnut
shell fragments, fish bones and avian eggshell
(Car 6, 43).
the pottery shop found on the Curry’s
site in the high street (mon860; fig 6.1)
produced charred cones of mediterranean
stone pine, figs and a large deposit of coriander
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
93
‘seeds’, dill, aniseed, celery, opium poppy,
flax/linseed, lentil, horse bean and cereals;
evidently food was also on sale here (hull 1958,
198–202; Crummy 2001, 83). elsewhere, the
1999 excavations at long Wyre street produced
small amounts of charred weed seeds, cereals
and other food plants, while an oven from
the site included a hazelnut shell and a Rubus
(blackberry/raspberry) fruit stone (murphy
2000b). in 1771 a ‘stratum of burnt wheat’
was recorded under a tessellated pavement in
Insula 11 (hull 1958, 103, no. 21 and 22); clearly,
day-to-day foodstuffs were kept in buildings
across the city and no doubt more material
will be found.
Cemeteries
the Colchester–london road was the main
focus for burials in the fortress and early colonia
periods. initially a cemetery developed close to
the road junction at the royal grammar school,
at the point where the london road reaches the
head of the sheepen valley (fig 3.2). a number
of carved tombstones and funerary sculptures
associated with wealthy roman burials have
been recovered from this area. the cemetery
appears to have been established by the roman
military, as no late iron age burials have been
recorded nearby. the cemetery expanded when
the colonia was founded, as wealthy civilian
burials and mortuary monuments were placed
alongside the road and less ostentatious graves
were placed in plots further back from the
roadway. two of the finest military tombstones
from roman Britain were recovered from
near the london road (Wise 2001; 2005).
these memorials to m favonius facilis and
longinus were both found lying face down in
remarkably unweathered condition (figs 6.3,
6.4). it is not confirmed whether these two
tombstones belong to the fortress period or
the colonia (see Chapter 5). their freshness,
along with the apparent defacement of the
head of longinus, gave rise to the idea that the
tombstones were damaged and thrown down
during the Boudican revolt. in 1996 the head
of longinus was recovered, along with other
missing fragments, and subsequently restored
to the tombstone in 2000 (fawn 1997). the
location of the missing fragments and their
condition call into question the theory that the
tombstone of longinus was defaced during the
Boudican uprising (Wise 2001, 43–4).
Fig 6.3 The tombstone of Marcus Favonius Facilis provides remarkable evidence for the weapons,
armour and clothing of a centurion of the mid-1st century AD (Colchester Museums).
94
Fig 6.4 The tombstone of
Longinus shows a mounted
Roman cavalryman
riding triumphantly over
a cowering barbarian
(Colchester Museums).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
In the 19th century a number of grave
groups were recovered; these were dated in the
1920s to the pre-revolt period (May 1930). In
the Joslin collection six groups are dated to c
AD 40–50 and ten are dated to c AD 50–60, all
probably from the Beverley Road area. In the
Taylor collection two groups from West Lodge
are dated to c AD 50–60, as are two groups
from the Jarmin collection, the provenances of
which are unknown. One of the Joslin groups
was exceptional, containing one of the largest
coin-dated assemblages of Gaulish pipeclay
figurines in the empire (fig 6.5; smith 1868,
229; may 1930, 251–3; eckardt 1999). the
group is known as the ‘Child’s grave’ because
of the toy-like qualities of the figures, but this
interpretation has now been challenged (Boekel
1986, 71; gonzenbach 1995, 419–20). may’s
date of c aD 40–50 has also been questioned,
as the coin evidence suggests a date for the
grave of c aD 52–65, and for the samian ware
a date of c aD 50–65 (eckardt 1999, 79–80).
this group also contained the burnt decorated
remains of a couch, incorporating heavily
ornamented bone inlays and metal rods (may
1930, 251–3, pl lxxv; toynbee 1962, 186, pl
172; Car 9, 259–60 and 270; niblett 1999,
174–5, eckardt 1999, 77).
in 1970 five cremations of neronian date
were excavated at sheepen, but it is uncertain
whether they date from before or after the
revolt (niblett 1985, 22). the graves were
evidently those of wealthy individuals as they
contained samian ware, glass and fine wood,
as well as a leather burial casket embellished
with brass studs in the form of a lion’s head, an
ornamental lock plate and decorative brass rings
with paste beads. there is some indication that
the burials may have lain within an enclosure
delimited by a ditch or a robbed wall.
elsewhere within Camulodunum there is
evidence for the continued use of existing
native burial zones. the continuity of the
lexden cemetery is suggested by a burial
with a probable Claudian amphora found at st
Clare Drive (fig 3.2; hull’s inventory of grave
groups 294; Colem:1931.2056–9, sealey
2009, 33), and by another early Claudian burial
found nearby in 1940 (hull 1942, 59–65). the
northern part of this cemetery also produced
a few scattered burials containing high-quality
gallo-Belgic pottery along with roman pottery
and brooches, including gaulish imports. this
cemetery may have continued in use until the
revolt, although hull suggests that the site was
abandoned at the founding of the colonia c aD
50 (hull 1958, 253). to the south-east of the city
the continuity of burial areas on the site of the
modern Colchester Cemetery site is suggested
by burial gg578 (Colem:1948.1), which
contained a Belgic bowl with two roman urns
(elm843). Continuity of iron age burial areas
is also suggested by 1st-century roman burials
95
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
Fig 6.5 The ‘Child’s
Grave’ is an outstanding
burial from Roman Britain
and demonstrates the
pre-eminence of Colchester
in the early years of
the colonia (Colchester
Museums).
recovered from Barnhall (COLEM:1947.147)
and Abbey Field (COLEM:1925.5045).
The most remarkable evidence for the
retention of late Iron Age burial customs after
the Conquest comes from a group of elite
native burials from three enclosures at Stanway,
4km south-west of Colchester (Fig 4.7; CAR
11, 169–70; Crummy 1997a; 1997b; 1998a;
Benfield and Brooks 1999; Crummy 2001,
23–7). here there is evidence for a complex
native rite involving the breaking of rich grave
goods and the cremation of the body on a
funeral pyre, followed by the deposition of the
remains in a chamber, which may then have
been covered with a mound. adjacent to three
of the burial chambers were smaller rectangular
enclosures, in which burnt areas suggest preburial pyre sites. the rite is similar to that noted
at folly lane (niblett 1999) and appears to be
related to a local tradition also seen at lexden
tumulus and enclosure 1 at stanway, both
dating from before the Conquest. recent work
on the pottery from stanway now places all the
burials from the three later stanway enclosures
to after aD 43 (P sealey, pers comm).
of the three post-Conquest chambers,
the largest was in enclosure 3 and contained
fragments of at least 24 vessels and the pedestal
base of a copper-alloy figurine or vessel. the
chamber of enclosure 4 included parts of
at least 10 vessels as well as a glass phial and
glass and paste beads, suggesting that the
occupant was female. enclosure 5 had the
latest chamber, which was dated to c aD 60.
at least four burials were placed as satellites
around the chambered tombs in enclosures
3 and 5. these burials did not have wooden
chambers or broken grave goods but featured
intact remains, ranging from a simple pot
cremation to a complex arrangement of grave
goods. in 1992 a satellite grave was recovered
in enclosure 3 with over 20 pottery vessels, a
gridiron, two copper-alloy vessels, a fine glass
bowl, two other glass vessels and brooches, the
remains of a folding wooden gaming board
and a collection of 20 glass counters. this
has become known as the ‘Warrior grave’,
as it also contained fragments of a spear
and shield. another grave in enclosure 3
contained an inkpot. the finds from both these
graves suggest that the occupants were royal
functionaries, perhaps a literate retainer and an
armour-bearer. an alternative interpretation of
the ‘Warrior grave’ is that it belongs to a native
enlisted in an auxiliary unit of the roman army.
the enlistment of local leaders in the roman
auxiliaries has been suggested for locations in
gaul (ferdière and villard 1993, 281–2).
the most spectacular satellite grave, known
as the ‘Doctor’s grave’, was excavated in 1996
and contained a variety of unusual grave goods.
the grave pit was square with a floor at two
96
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
levels. In the deepest part of the grave was
placed a long wooden box which contained a
gaming board with the pieces laid out as if a
game was in progress. Cremated remains were
placed over the board in a heap or in a bag, and
higher up in the box were medical instruments
and metal rods, two brooches and a bead. At
the other end of the pit was a dinner service
of ceramic and metal vessels. The presence
of the rods and the surgical instruments have
suggested to some that the grave’s occupant
was a druid, as druidic training included both
medicine and divination (Crummy 1997a,
6–7; Crummy 1997b, 342; Ross 1999, 65).
Alternatively, given the hostility of the Romans
towards the druids, the occupant may have been
a physician or surgeon from the Mediterranean
or Greek tradition of medicine (Wacher 1998a,
214). Links between two Greek doctors and
the early Roman occupation at Colchester have
been noted on inscriptions from Chester and
the island of Cos (Bale 1985, 27–9). However,
the fact that the medical instruments were
made of iron suggests that the occupant
was a native healer; Mediterranean doctors
commonly used bronze instruments and the
Stanway instruments are of Celtic rather than
standard Roman design (Crummy 1997a, 6–8;
Jackson 1997, 1471–3).
Resistance to Rome – evidence for the
Boudican revolt
A flavour of the period leading up to the revolt
was provided by the recovery of disarticulated
human remains from the fortress ditch during
the Balkerne lane excavation. these, which
derived from six individuals, consisted mainly
of parts of limbs, but there were also two
skulls, each of which bore the marks of a
heavy blow. it is suggested that the heads may
have been placed on stakes at the gate of the
early colonia, the victims perhaps being thieves
or rebels from the native population (Car 3,
97; Crummy 2001, 54).
evidence for Boudican destruction has
been recorded not just across the colonia but
also at the ribbon settlement at Balkerne lane
(fig 7.28; Car 3, 103) and at settlements to
the west at sheepen (fig 4.9; hawkes and
hull 1947, 56) and 147 lexden road (Brasier
1986). the destruction horizon varies in depth
from a few centimetres to up to half a metre
and its characteristics also vary from area to
area. Deposits may be deeper near collapsed
walls or more mixed in character where debris
has been cleared into a pile. in other areas
the layer is absent, reflecting the presence of
gardens or yards, or perhaps thorough cleaning.
the destruction deposit itself contains large
quantities of burnt daub, as well as painted
wall plaster and roofing tiles, but notably little
window glass or pottery.
a curious feature of the destruction deposits
excavated to date is the lack of coin hoards. the
imminent assault on the city by the Boudican
forces would surely have been a compelling
reason to hide one’s personal wealth, yet coin
finds have been modest. the largest find was
from the telephone exchange site, excavated
in 1926–7, where a small hoard of 27 coins was
placed in a pot and probably hidden prior to the
revolt (hull 1958, 104). elsewhere, at Balkerne
gardens, four coins found close together in
1965 could have been in a purse lost in the
revolt (Dunnett 1971a, 61), and at Culver street
six coins were found in what appeared to be
the remains of a wooden casket with bronze
fittings (Car 6, 165).
Distinctive burnt assemblages from
Colchester include those from the high street
pottery shops (mon709 and mon860; fig
6.1) and the supply depot at nunn’s road nCP
car park, (mon816; fig 5.1), as well as the
copper-alloy objects (Car 6, 135), the burnt
bed (Car 3, 1984b, 42–7) and the lamp moulds
(Dunnett 1971a, 33–5). other interesting finds
include a shield and a pilum (or javelin) head
broken and lodged inside an oven in a house at
Balkerne lane (Car 3, 106–7), a semicircular
iron grate or gridiron from a house excavated at
the gilberd school (Car 6, 134), and balances
and weights from the floors of several burnt
houses.
the recovery pattern for household objects
and personal belongings suggests certain
possibilities. the material possessions of
the early colonists may have been modest
and houses sparsely decorated. alternatively,
widespread looting by the rebels or the
evacuation of some of their belongings by
the colonists could account for the general
lack of objects. it is also conceivable that the
intensity of the fire may have destroyed far
more than is assumed. the real picture may be
a combination of these factors, although the
torching of fully stocked shops suggests that
evacuation could not have been widespread
97
THE EARLY ROMAN COLONIA, AD 49–61
and that the desire to loot was in places eclipsed
by more emotive preoccupations.
Away from the city the head of an equestrian
bronze statue of Claudius was recovered
from the river Alde in Suffolk and part of a
horse’s leg, perhaps from the same statue, was
recovered at Ashill, Norfolk. These finds are
thought to be loot from the city (lawson 1986;
sealey 1997, 26–9).
an odd characteristic of the destruction
horizon is the absence of human remains
amongst the debris. the charred remains of a
disarticulated human skeleton were found lying
on a clay surface at the telephone exchange
site in 1964 (Dunnett 1971a, 8). in addition, at
sheepen the discovery of skull fragments in a
kiln at the endsleigh school playing field may be
related to the revolt (mon847; hull 1963, 158).
But the general absence of human remains is
curious given the number of deaths recorded
by tacitus. it may be that the inhabitants took
refuge inside the temple of Claudius, as tacitus
records, and that the site was ritually cleaned
following the revolt. alternatively, we can
imagine a more grisly outcome involving the
removal of the citizens for execution.
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
most of the street grid of the early colonia is
accurately known. there are a few problem
streets where either the widths are uncertain
(that is, between Insulae 26 and 34 and Insulae
13 and 21) or the date of construction is either
Period 1 or 2 (that is, between Insulae 33a–b and
25a–b). the extent of the new colonia equated
more or less to the area formerly occupied by
the fortress, its annexe and canabae. however,
the relationship between the military annexe
and the east side of the colonia is problematic.
the large insulae (Insulae 22 and 30) look as if
they were formed out of the annexe, but the
street leading northwards from the waterworks
in Insula 15 is on the military alignment, thus
suggesting that the annexe extended a good
deal further to the east than the eastern sides
of Insulae 22 and 30 (fig 6.1).
the public buildings of the town are not
clearly understood. the temple of Claudius
was pre-Boudican and, although not closely
datable from the excavation evidence (Crummy
1982b), the theatre was probably of the same
date, given its proximity to the temple and its
alignment. large fragments of burnt moulded
plaster indicate the presence of a pre-Boudican
public building in Insula 29. although little is
known about the building(s) in Insula 30, its
size, its balanced relationship to Insula 22 and
the existence of later monumental foundations
in the insula (Crummy 1971) all strongly suggest
that there would have been at least one public
building there. apart from the monumental
arch at the Balkerne gate, the construction
of which is likely to date to c aD 50 (Car
3, 121–3; Car 6, 13–15), no other public
buildings can be identified.
no buildings, except for the temple of
Claudius and possibly the roman theatre
(assuming that it is pre-Boudican in origin),
have been found which survived the Boudican
fire. the destruction of the town appears to
have been almost complete. the impact of the
Boudican revolt outside the colonia is not clear.
sheepen appears to have been burnt (hawkes
and hull 1947, 53–6). excavations at gosbecks
have been too limited to determine if that was
similarly affected. gryme’s Dyke looks as if it
was an early post-Boudican defensive measure
(figs 3.2, 4.4), and the so-called palisaded
enclosure at sheepen may have had a similar
purpose (fig 4.9; Crummy 2001, 90).
Preservation
as is the case with the fortress, about 50 per
cent of the early colonia has been destroyed by
later activities (both roman and post-roman),
but large areas may survive intact away from
medieval and later building plots. Where
remains do survive, they can be extraordinarily
well preserved. the destruction of the early
colonia in aD 60/1 had the effect of preserving
structural details in timber and mud-brick walls
to a degree that does not normally happen. the
bases of walls survive in the demolition debris
of the Boudican fire to a height which depends
on the degree of clearance after the fire. in
some places, clearance was thorough, and
the new construction level corresponded to
the pre-fire ground level (for example, Culver
street, Buildings 78 and 79; Car 6, 43–8), so
that little above floor level survives in situ. in
others, the new floor levels were much higher
and 0.6m or more of the bases of the walls
of the pre-Boudican buildings were left in situ
under the new houses (for example, Culver
street, Building 77; ibid, 39–43). it is difficult
at present to see any pattern in the degree to
98
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
which the sites were reduced. The Old Post
Office site and the harpers site, both in head
street, suggest that the west end of the colonia
was not reduced in height as much as occurred
elsewhere, and that this is one part of the city
where the pre-Boudican houses are likely to be
exceptionally well preserved.
Importance
Colchester is unique in that it is a place where
we can study, apparently with an exceptional
degree of clarity, the way in which fortresses
were converted into towns. there are other
examples of fortresses being converted in this
way in Britain – namely lincoln, gloucester,
Wroxeter and exeter (Webster 1988, 145–66,
48–73, 120–44, 91–119; Crummy 1982a, 125–
30; Car 3, 10–11) – but there are difficulties
in all those places in distinguishing the civilian
reuse of a building from its military use. the
Boudican destruction of Colchester makes
it possible to do this, because the Boudican
levels are usually easily recognised and the
revolt came at a time when many of the reused
military buildings still existed.
Colchester was the earliest roman colonia
in Britain and represents a major early
introduction of roman culture into Britain.
it was the centre of the imperial cult and
the foremost settlement in the new province
of Britannia until the rise in importance of
london in the flavian period. unlike the
other coloniae in Britain, it was the only one to
be founded inside a major British settlement,
and is thus an important place for studying
the relationships between roman and Briton,
before the Conquest as well as afterwards.
Boudican Colchester and london are the
nearest British equivalents to Pompeii or
herculaneum. Boudican deposits in Britain
are very rare; the only three places where
Boudican destruction has been identified
for certain are Colchester, london and st
albans, and of these the st albans deposits
are relatively limited (niblett 2001, 67). the
Boudican deposits are exceptionally important
because of their good preservation, close
dating, the ease by which they can generally be
identified and the insight they provide into the
process by which some redundant fortresses
were converted into roman coloniae. the
charred organic remains provide unparalleled
preservation and the evidence for the structure
of timber and clay walls survives to a degree
that does not usually happen where the
deposits are unburnt.
Potential for future research
there is considerable scope for filling in details
about the extent, layout and buildings of the
pre-Boudican city. given sufficient excavation,
most of the public buildings and their functions
could be identified from their plans and the
width of their walls and foundations. in
particular, the baths may prove relatively easy
to identify. the theatre could be much better
dated with more excavation, and it could be
determined whether or not it is pre-Boudican in
origin. excavation could reveal whether or not
the principia was reused as the forum-basilica in
the new town. this would have a bearing on the
study of the evolution of the forum-basilica
in Britain, for which a military connection
was suggested some time ago (hassall 1979,
246–8). the degree to which military buildings
were reused in the new colonia could be further
explored: previous excavations, particularly
at lion Walk and Culver street, have already
demonstrated how effectively this can be done.
limited excavations inside Colchester Castle
could determine the exact dimensions of the
podium of the temple of Claudius, which
would be of considerable help in the theoretical
reconstruction of the superstructure of the
temple (fig 7.19; Crummy 1980a, 243–51).
further excavation will continue to reveal
more information about building techniques in
the early town. unrecorded variations of wall
structure still continue to be found, despite all
the excavation of the Boudican deposits that
has taken place so far. for example, in 2002
a wide mud-brick wall which had chevron
patterns on both faces and timber ground
plates without mortar plinths was found at the
harpers site in head street.
further investigation of the Boudican
remains is likely to provide more preserved
organic materials relating to food, furniture
and house fittings, and distributions of charred
animal and plant remains on the floors of the
rooms might indicate something about their
use. unusual discoveries in the past – for
example, dates and a bed or couch – suggest
that anything organic might survive well in
carbonised form given the right conditions
of combustion. they show that the Boudican
remains are unpredictable and are likely to
produce major finds.
7 The later Roman town, AD 61–410
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
by Rosalind Niblett
After the Boudican revolt Colchester was reestablished as a colonia and remained so for over
300 years. This section very briefly sets Roman
Colchester in the context of the administrative,
social and commercial system operating in
Roman Britain over this long period.
The Roman way of life required towns.
They were not only a vital part of the system
of provincial administration and taxation, but
also an essential vehicle for the dissemination
of the Roman concept of humanitas; a set of
principles to enable civilised, orderly conduct
(Woolf 1998, 55–67). The problem was that
even in south and south-eastern Britain preRoman towns did not exist; the oppida at
Verulamium, Silchester and Camulodunum
were the nearest approximation to them. The
provincial governors therefore initiated and
encouraged a policy of urbanisation.
Not all towns developed in the same way.
In areas where local rulers were generally
friendly towards Rome, towns were established
early, developing from established ‘royal’
centres at Silchester, Verulamium and perhaps
Canterbury (Mattingley 2006, 270–1; Creighton
2006, 145). Where resistance was more robust,
requiring closer military supervision, urban
development was either delayed or took the
form of a colonia of superannuated soldiers (at
Colchester, Gloucester and Lincoln). In many
cases it was not until the general organisation
of the British civitates in the later 1st century
that major urban centres were established. The
civitates were administrative divisions based
largely on indigenous tribal areas, and in each
a major town was established as the main
administrative centre.
Although differing in their origins, all major
Romano-British towns shared some basic
features – a regular street grid and monumental
public buildings including a forum, basilica,
temples and baths. These towns were organised
on Roman lines with town councils, made up
of decurions, drawn from the landowning elite,
who were encouraged to display their wealth,
status and loyalty to Rome by contributing to
the construction of monumental buildings in
the classical style and participating in the civic
and religious aspects of urban life. At the same
time, differences in their origins, and in the
attitude of inhabitants and state authorities
towards them, influenced their development
(Mattingley 2006, 267; Creighton 2006, 121,
124–49). The distinctive features at Colchester
in the post-Boudican period were the rebuilt
Temple of Claudius and the town wall; these
imply that the town’s pre-eminent status was
retained, but the origins and ethnicity of the
post-Boudican population are far from clear. It
is assumed that following the revolt the colonia’s
depleted population was augmented by a fresh
settlement of retired soldiers, although as
noted below, the density of occupation in the
later 1st-century town was lower than before
the revolt.
100
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
As the civitates were being established in the
Flavian period, the question of the Trinovantes
must have arisen. It has been suggested that
Chelmsford was designed originally to be
the Trinovantian capital (Wacher 1995, 208),
but supporting evidence is lacking, and in
the absence of any convincing alternative it
is probable that Colchester fulfilled this role.
This meant that unlike the Dobunni and
Corieltauvi, the other two tribes in whose
territories 1st-century coloniae were established,
the Trinovantes had no separate civitas capital;
presumably due to their role in the Boudican
revolt.
The Temple of Claudius, the theatre and
the suspected public buildings to the south of
them, all lie in close proximity to each other
in the area of the former legionary annexe.
Creighton has suggested that this sort of
careful grouping is typical of early towns on
earlier fortress sites. He suggests this grouping
of important buildings reflected the ordered,
communal lifestyles familiar to Roman soldiers.
He contrasts these towns with other early
centres, including several civitas capitals, where
significant buildings (temples, forum, baths
or theatre) were spaced out allowing elite
families to display their status through the
public processions that formed an important
part in civic life in the empire as a whole
(Creighton 2006, 83–5, 108–15). At Colchester
we can see these two influences on the
development of Romano-British towns in the
south-east coming together. By the early 2nd
century the importance of public processions,
particularly on ceremonial occasions, was
clearly appreciated by the local elite. The siting
of the circus, carefully aligned between two
major roads leading from the colonia, one of
which led directly to the Temple of Claudius,
is a powerful illustration of this concept, and
supports the possibility that Colchester was
indeed the location of the annual celebration
of the imperial cult (Drury 1984, 29; Wilkes
1996, 29; Fishwick 1997, 48–9; Crummy 2008d,
17, fig 2). At Lyons such celebrations were
accompanied by gladiatorial games (Woolf
1998, 216–7); at Colchester perhaps it was
chariot racing.
Colchester can usefully be compared to
Verulamium. Like Colchester, Verulamium
developed from an existing late Iron Age
centre, but the original layout of the Roman
town was focused on a high-status burial
enclosure dating to the Conquest period; this
lay outside the Roman town but was linked to
it by a processional way and was venerated until
the early 3rd century (Niblett 1999, 408–17).
Creighton has identified a number of other
towns, all civitas capitals, which may have
had similar origins, and raises the interesting
speculation that had it not been for the
presence of the colonia, a Trinovantian civitas
centre might have developed in a similar way,
focused on the Gosbecks enclosure (Creighton
2006, 124) As it was, the monumentalisation of
the existing cult centre at Gosbecks allowed the
local elite to simultaneously demonstrate their
wealth, legitimise their position by stressing
their connection with a traditional, indigenous
cult and demonstrate support for Rome by
embracing classical architectural forms. Similar
integration of traditions can be paralleled
both at Verulamium and at some of the rural
`sanctuaries’ in northern Gaul.
As centres of population, and situated
on major roads, towns naturally developed
trade and production functions. The wealth
of material culture evident from Colchester
may have resulted in part from its status and
in part from its agriculturally rich hinterland,
but in addition the town probably continued
to benefit from trading contracts established in
the Conquest period, including military supply
contracts. Although Colchester lost its prime
role as a port to London in the later 1st century,
it had clearly continued to benefit from coastal
trade as demonstrated by the distribution
of late 2nd-century Colchester mortaria in
south-east Scotland (Hull 1963; Hartley 1973;
MacIvor et al 1981, table 2).
The three and a half centuries after the
Claudian invasion saw major changes, both to
the wider empire and to Britain. Fourth-century
Britain was very different from the Britain of
the 2nd century. Following the assassination
of the emperor Severus Alexander in 235,
the Roman Empire entered a period of
unprecedented disruption resulting in a major
reorganisation under Diocletian at the end
of the 3rd century. The barbarian incursions
into Gaul in the 3rd century had disrupted
the trading axis along the Rhine and Rhone,
and it is possible that this affected Colchester
more severely than more inland areas; certainly
there was a sharp decline in the construction
of wealthy town houses in the colonia.
The nature of towns in 4th-century Britain
101
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
is the subject of much debate, and the evidence
is often equivocal. For instance, in London the
basilica was demolished in the late 3rd century,
while at Silchester the basilica was converted
to a metalworking establishment. Clearly these
buildings were no longer seen as essential to
the functioning of these towns. On the other
hand the forum/basilicas at Caerwent and
Cirencester continued to be maintained in the
4th century, and the Verulamium basilica was
extended. Clearly 4th-century towns continued
to operate, but on a reduced scale and in a
rather different and more utilitarian way. At
Silchester there was large scale replanning in the
north-west part of the town (Fulford et al 2006,
249–52, 282–3) and though some monumental
buildings in the south-west quarter of London
were being demolished in the later 3rd century,
a new ‘palace’ complex was constructed some
time after 293/4 (Fulford 2008).
Tax gathering and administrative functions
no longer concentrated in major towns, but
were shared with the small towns. Increasing
insecurity in the late Roman period may have
led to the provision of well-defended strong
points, where taxes and/or supplies could be
protected, and local administration conducted.
It has been suggested that the early 3rd-century
Saxon Shore forts (Caistor on Sea, Brancaster
and Reculver) were originally established as
collecting points for agricultural produce prior
to export. Later the system was extended in the
face of increasing threats of piracy. (Pearson
2005, 82). Great Chesterford, 52km northwest of Colchester was redefended, almost
certainly at official instigation, and arguably
used as a strong point for the storage of the
corn tax (Medlycott, forthcoming). Caistor by
Norwich was defended with a stone wall also
arguably built at official instigation to provide
a defendable strong point. The recutting of the
Colchester town ditch, the construction of the
large barn in insula 35, the possible late Roman
extension to a public building at the expense
of private houses south of insula 30 (Crummy
1971, 107) and even the late Roman alterations
to the Temple of Claudius precinct may all
be part of the same wider concern to store
tax collected in kind in a defendable location
(Drury 1984, 35–7; Faulkner 2000, 128–9).
The supply of grain to feed the army was
an overriding concern to the late Roman
administration and as the demands of the
state grew there was an intensification of
cereal production. In the late Roman period
Essex sites are dominated by large-scale arable
production (Germany 2003, 222; Havis and
Brooks 2004b, 534; Timby et al 2007, 163).
The rising sea level affected much of the East
Anglian coast line in the later Roman period,
although the effect on the economy is not
yet clear. The coastal salt workings which
had flourished in the 1st and 2nd centuries
declined, possibly because of the rise of the
Droitwich salt works, but perhaps also due to
the disruption of established trade routes.
No doubt the local landowning classes
suffered economically with these changes in
established industries and trade patterns along
with rising taxation, and these effects will
have percolated down through society. In the
countryside, there is no sign in the Trinovantian
civitas as a whole of wealth on the scale of some
late Roman villa estates further west.
In spite of the evidence for decline,
particularly in elite building, the Butt Road
cemetery shows that Colchester was still a
centre of population in the later 4th century,
while the strict layout of the burials implies a
continuing authority in some form, whether
secular, or religious, or both. The question
of the ultimate fate of Colchester in the 5th
century is the subject of the next chapter.
Past work
by David Radford
Reports on the Roman pavements and chance
finds discovered around Colchester were
published in 18th-century antiquarian texts
such as Philip Morant’s History and Antiquities
of Colchester (Morant 1768, bk I, 182–91) and
in Vetusta Monumenta for 1794 (vol iii, pl xxxix).
Systematic investigations did not follow until
the mid-19th century when the expanding
town produced a flood of finds, stimulating
local interest especially in the extensive Roman
cemeteries encountered as development
spread westwards along the Lexden Road. At
Gosbecks Farm, ploughing produced a spread
of Roman tile, which encouraged the Revd
Henry Jenkins to excavate the ‘villa’ there in
1842. Within the town itself Castle Park was
a potentially rich playground for gentlemen
archaeologists, and was still at this time
privately owned by the Round family. In 1845
the Revd J T Round uncovered Roman walls in
the park, and in 1852 the Essex Archaeological
102
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Society held an inaugural excavation which
revealed the north-east gate of the town wall,
a ‘cloaca/bathhouse’ in Hollytrees Meadow
and the tiled drain linking the two. Other late
19th-century excavations around the town
encountered pottery kilns at Warren Field,
demonstrating the importance of local Roman
pottery production; a town house on North
Hill; and, during the making of Castle Park,
part of a Roman precinct wall, later identified
as that of the Temple of Claudius, a structure
referred to by Classical writers Tacitus (Annals
XIV, xxxi) and Seneca (The Apocolocyntosis VIII,
iii). By the end of the 19th century a superb
collection of artefacts had been recovered, but
the level of understanding regarding the layout
and evolution of the Roman city remained at
a pretty basic level (Cutts 1889, 32–47, Fig
1.4).
Mortimer Wheeler excavated the Balkerne
Gate in 1917 and a series of town houses in
Castle Park in 1920, and correctly identified the
large septaria platform below the Norman castle
as part of the Temple of Claudius (Wheeler
and Laver 1921, 146–7; Wheeler 1921, 39). His
preliminary street map and summary of Roman
discoveries from the town were later used as
the basis of Rex Hull’s Roman Colchester (1958).
This landmark study summarised excavation
work in the town, including those undertaken
by the author from 1928 to 1956, and contained
a significantly improved plan of the street grid
(Hull 1958). Key discoveries from this period
included the altar in front of the Temple of
Claudius by P G Laver and E J Rudsdale
(1931–4) and ‘public buildings’ in Insulae 29
and 30 on the site of St Nicholas’s Church
(1955–6). The work undertaken by Hawkes,
Hull and others at Sheepen in the 1930s and
later also produced a considerable assemblage
of finds. Discoveries from the area included
the only excavated example of a samian kiln
in Britain, as well as series of Roman temples,
wooden structures and dumps. In addition
to the Sheepen site report, which included a
detailed pottery typology and the first rigorous
published study of a large Romano-British
glass assemblage, Hull later brought together
the information from the various kiln sites in
a separate volume (Hull 1963) and compiled
a series of notebooks detailing work on the
Roman town and the numerous grave groups
recovered from nearby cemeteries.
In the 1950s the boys of the Royal Grammar
School, under the direction of A F Hall,
revealed significant Roman remains, including
a Romano-Celtic temple and the main Roman
road junction south-west of the city. Another
important advance was the identification of
the Roman theatre in Maidenburgh Street
in the late 1950s (Hull 1960, 302). In 1964
Hebditch excavated the southern end of the
precinct around the Temple of Claudius and
recovered traces of a screen wall but no shops
or offices, thereby ending speculation that this
area had been part of the forum. Attempts
to date the town wall took a step forward
following excavations at St Mary’s Rectory in
1967, when it was realised that the wall had
been freestanding and therefore could not be
dated from the later rampart built against it
(Dunnett 1971a, 68–9).
In the 1970s and 1980s the opportunity
to undertake several large rescue excavations
transformed our understanding of the Roman
town. Excavations outside the north gate
at Middleborough revealed traces of strip
houses and high-status buildings including
a well-preserved suburban villa. West of the
town, at Balkerne Lane, the construction of a
dual carriageway led to a significant reduction
in the ground surface and here excavation
revealed ribbon development along the Roman
road from Balkerne Gate, plus water mains,
religious buildings, land boundaries and
agricultural plots. Inside the walls, excavations
for Lion Walk and Culver Street shopping
precincts examined large areas of domestic
and agricultural buildings and plots covering
nearly four insulae. Another large intramural site
was excavated at the Gilberd School prior to
terracing for the new Sixth Form College, and
produced mostly early Roman remains. South
of the town the development of a new police
station at Butt Road allowed the investigation
of a large multi-phase, 4th-century inhumation
cemetery and an adjacent apsidal building, the
whole being interpreted as a Christian cemetery
and church.
In the late 1980s and 1990s investigations
were more modest; nevertheless, significant
excavations at Angel Yard (Shimmin and Carter
1996, 35–83), Osborne Street (Shimmin 1994,
46–59), Long Wyre Street (Brooks 2004c, 30),
the Vineyard Press (Benfield and Garrod, 25–
33) and the Mercury Theatre (ELM 903, 905,
919, 1019–24) encountered Roman buildings.
In addition, sizeable parts of cremation
103
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
cemeteries were excavated for the first time
at Turner Rise and Abbey Field. In the new
millennium there has been little slowing of
the archaeological pace. A prime town-centre
site excavated at Head Street revealed traces
of town houses, streets and garden features.
Cremation cemeteries have been investigated
at Lexden Road and Abbey Field, and at the
St Mary’s Hospital site, west of the town, part
of the extramural Roman suburb and a late
inhumation cemetery have been excavated.
South of the Roman town, excavations along
Vineyard Street have revealed deep Roman
deposits sealed by colluvium and later building
along the stream valley here. Lastly, in 2004,
excavations within the northern part of the
Colchester Garrison redevelopment area
revealed a large number of burials and evidence
for Britain’s first Roman circus (Crummy
2005a, 267–77).
Beyond the UAD study area, but within
the oppidum as defined by the dyke system
study area, Roman burials, occupation sites,
dykes and roads have been investigated at
numerous locations (see page 162–9).Work on
the dyke system has been a major theme of
investigation, with key excavations being the
entrance in Gryme’s Dyke (CAR 11, 27–9, 59–
61), Triple Dyke at Straight Road (ibid, 55–9)
and a section across Gryme’s Dyke south of
Dugard Ave (ibid, 109–15). Roman roads have
been the passion of P G Laver, A F Hall and
the Colchester Archaeological Group, and the
aerial photographic work of the RAF, CUCAP,
Essex County Council and Ida McMaster
requires a mention. In 1932 aerial photography
by the RAF demonstrated that Gosbecks
contained a Roman temple complex and not
a villa, as Jenkins had thought. The number
of subsequent research excavations (1936,
1947–50, 1967, 1977 and 1995–9) is indicative
of this site’s importance and potential.
The archaeological evidence
Topographical organisation
It might be expected that there would have
been some changes in settlement pattern in
the aftermath of the Boudican revolt, arising
from the conflict or subsequent retribution by
the Roman authorities. Discontinuity certainly
seems apparent at the principal late Iron Age
foci at Sheepen and Gosbecks. At Sheepen Hill
excavations have demonstrated that the revolt
laid waste to the settlement and it appears that
destruction was total. During the immediate
aftermath a defensive ditch was cut by either
the Boudican forces or the reoccupying Roman
army (Ditch II, MON855). Shortly after the
revolt these defences were levelled and the site
cleared of debris, which was placed into pits.
Only one roundhouse structure (ELM115) at
Sheepen was dated to after the revolt; this was
built over the filling of Ditch II and produced
native coarse ware vessels and a Gallo-Belgic
ware stamp of MEDDILLVS, of a type not
found before AD 60. Two of the coarse ware
vessels were of some age and had breaks
repaired with lead rivets. The excavators
suggested that these were family heirlooms
belonging to a pro-Roman native family who
were allowed to reoccupy the site (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 44). The Sheepen area never
re-emerged as an important site. Later activity
was restricted to a few huts, quarrying and a
little metalworking, with areas set aside for
burial and pottery manufacturing.
At Gosbecks small excavations carried out
during the 1990s suggested that the RomanoBritish settlement here came to an end in the
late 1st century, when an extensive religious
complex was developed on the site. The
Gosbecks Housing Estate evaluation produced
evidence for late 1st-century activity but only
two 2nd-century or later sherds (Brooks et al
1995, 261). Similarly, discontinuity can be noted
at The Lindens on Lexden Road, where there
is considerable occupation debris from the
late Iron Age/early Roman period but only
a handful of 2nd-century sherds (Crossan
2000a, 7–8). Elsewhere at Lexden Wood Golf
Club, Westhouse Farm, the possibly middle
Iron Age enclosure, also produced finds of
early, but not later, Roman date (Brooks and
Austin 2000; Orr 2002a, 3). Discontinuity is
also suggested at the Stanway burial complex,
where no burials have been demonstrated to
post-date the revolt.
The disruption of native settlement around
Colchester does not seem to have been repeated
elsewhere in Trinovantian territory. Smaller
settlements like Ardleigh (Brown 1999) and
larger settlements like Heybridge (Atkinson and
Preston nd) appear to demonstrate settlement
continuity within the tribal area. It also seems
unlikely that there was complete discontinuity
of settlement outside the walled town of
Camulodunum. For example, an excavation
104
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
on the site of the Maternity Hospital in
Lexden Road revealed rubbish pits containing
pottery of mid-1st- to 4th-century date with a
preponderance of 2nd- to 3rd-century wares
(Shimmin 1997, 2; Crossan 2000c, 8). At
Kirkee McMunn Barracks a late Iron Age/early
Roman site was developed in the 2nd and 3rd
centuries when it was occupied by a substantial
group of buildings with a hypocaust, which
the excavator characterised as of Romanised
native type rather than a settlement for Roman
colonists (Shimmin 1998b, 269). And near
Berechurch Dyke an ‘extensive occupation site’
comprised a series of small parallel ditches and
domestic pottery of both late Iron Age and
2nd-century date (CAR 11, 26, 137).
Where there is continuity we need to
ask ourselves whether we are dealing with
Romanised natives or colonists adopting
native holdings. The strongest evidence for the
continuity of a native elite has been recovered
from the 1st-century villa at Rivenhall, 11 miles
west of Colchester. Here the villa was built in
Gallo-Roman style and was planted on the site
of an Iron Age farmstead but with respect to
the existing landscape (Rodwell and Rodwell
1986, 48–49). A Celtic bronze mirror dug up
on the site of the villa, as well as a burial of
distinctive British type contemporary with
the foundation of the villa found in the nextdoor field, point to a wealthy native occupant
(Rodwell 1978b, 15). Certainly the presence
of such an elite is inferred by the elaborate
complex that developed at Gosbecks.
It has been suggested that after the revolt
there may have been an attempt to move the
tribal capital to Chelmsford (Caesaromagus). By
the end of the 1st century a substantial mansio
had been built there (Drury 1975, 170), but
the subsequent modest development of the
settlement would suggest that if there was
such a strategy it was unsuccessful (Wickenden
1996, 91). In contrast, the development of the
Romano-British temple complex at Gosbecks,
with its associated 5,000-capacity theatre,
suggests that the political status of Colchester
was reaffirmed and that Gosbecks may have
become the administrative focus of the civitas
with the theatre specifically being the meeting
place for the tribal council in the late 1st
century (CAR 11, 105).
The refoundation of the city after the
Boudican revolt involved the resurrection
of the street grid and the reuse of some
pre-Boudican building plots (Figs 7.1, 7.2,
7.11, 7.14, 7.28). Current thinking suggests
that the town wall was built in c AD 65–80
and was designed to enclose a generous area
to the north and east of the earlier colonia in
order to allow for future expansion. The land
north of the original colonia was gridded in a
straightforward linear fashion, whereas the land
east of the theatre was allowed to develop in
a less uniform pattern; here the determining
influences appear to have been the large insula
set aside for the Temple of Claudius and
perhaps pre-existing structures based around a
water source in Hollytrees Meadow (Crummy
1999b, 93). The post-revolt town plan also saw
the movement of the via principalis one insula
to the west, taking the route of the modern
Head Street and North Hill. The Balkerne Gate
remained on the site of its military predecessor
and the corresponding east gate was located
at the end of the linked-up sections of the
fortress porta decumana and via decumana, the line
of which was not exactly straight. The south
gate appears to be centred on the entrance to
the Temple of Claudius and the north-east gate
is in a curious position, perhaps dictated by a
pre-existing road linked to the water supply in
Hollytrees Meadow (Crummy 1999b, 91–3).
The Roman street (MON789) running south
from Duncan’s Gate completely disregards the
colonia alignment and appears to be closer to the
legionary alignment. Hull traced its line as far
as the ‘Mithraeum’ in the Hollytrees Meadow
excavations in 1927–9 (Hull 1958, 74–5). It has
been suggested that the track originated in the
military period and relates to the spring under
the ‘Mithraeum’ or waterworks (P Crummy
pers comm). Drury has argued that the street
alignment continues south to the decumanus
maximus (High Street) of the colonia on the
basis of fossilised boundaries that survived
as medieval building alignments (Drury 1984,
22 and fig 11). Drury also speculates that the
northern side of the Temple of Claudius
precinct (MON713) is not symmetrical with
the southern side, suggesting that its line
was dictated by a pre-existing road between
Insulae 14 and 22. An excavation in 1950
found that this road lay over an earlier turf
line and Drury argues that, if projected, the
line of this road aligns with the waterworks,
although a tessellated pavement found along
this projected line would mean that it later
became redundant (ibid, 22 and fig 11).
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
105
Fig 7.1 Plan of the Roman town, with insulae numbered, in relation to the modern town.
106
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
The expansion of the town northwards and
eastwards can be contrasted with the apparent
contraction of the settlement to the west and
south. The western stretch of the town wall
cut across the remains of earlier buildings and,
interestingly, the remains of a ‘Roman villa’
were noted in the 19th century running under
the wall near one of the southern bastions
(Duncan 1858a, 57). At Culver Street the
southern stretch of wall was found to occupy
a similar position to the legionary rampart, but
was on a slightly different alignment (CAR 6,
30).
There does not appear to have been a
properly formed intervallum road around
the entire wall circuit. The former western
via sagularis of the fortress was replaced by a
north–south street 4.5m wide which was found
to directly overlie destruction deposits at the St
Mary’s Rectory site (Dunnett 1971a, 66, fig 23
and 24). At Culver Street the street originating
as the via sagularis was used as a workspace.
Elsewhere former thoroughfares were also
downgraded; for example, the southern end
of the former via principalis (MON528) became
a cul-de-sac after the revolt, its reduction in
status reflected in the absence of footways and
its reduction in size, which brought it into line
with other streets (CAR 6, 30–1).
An unusual feature of the civic infrastructure
was the addition of gravel walkways along the
perimeters of certain insula where high-status
private residences were present and also on
roads outside the walls at Balkerne Lane and
at Middleborough. At Lion Walk the footways
appeared to be built into the street rather than
taking up insula space and, where dated, they
appear to be later insertions rather than part of
the early planned layout (CAR 3, 28). However,
at Culver Street the footways seem to have been
planned as part of the street grid and the fact
that the footways pass through the Balkerne
Gate also suggest an early planned approach
(CAR 6, 10–14). At the Head Street Post Office
site in Insula 33 an east–west footway was added
as part of the post-revolt rebuilding (Brooks
2004b, 4). On average the walkways are 3m
wide and separated from adjacent streets by a
foundation that may have supported a veranda
or perhaps a colonnade (CAR 3, 28). If the
footways involved the annexation of street
space this would suggest that they were public
routes. However, at Lion Walk the walkway
foundation wall was divided into sections
relating to property boundaries, suggesting
private maintenance (CAR 3, 68). A similar
relationship to plot boundaries was observed
at Balkerne Lane (ibid, 127).
Boundaries, defences and roads
The Sheepen ditch
A ditch (MON855) was excavated at Sheepen
Hill in the 1930s and found to be roughly
V-shaped, 5.3m across and 1.3m deep, with
a rough and unfinished appearance (Fig 4.9).
Its line followed the outside of the slighted
Sheepen Dyke along the crest of Sheepen
Hill and cut through Boudican destruction
deposits. The excavators believed that the
short-lived ditch was dated to the year of the
revolt and was either dug by the Boudican
occupying force or by the reoccupying Roman
forces (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 55–6, 73, 120).
A palisade trench that was cut to the rear of
the ditch incorporated a four-posted gateway
at its southern end and the main ditch was also
abutted by another short ditch, apparently a
clavicula, all of which points to a Roman origin
(CAR 11, 69; Todd 1985, 192–5).
The town ditch and the Crouch Street ditch
After the revolt the town was provided with a
defensive ditch (MON409; Figs 7.2 and 7.28).
At Balkerne Lane the north-west section of
the ditch was located at various points. One
full section had a width of 5.5m and depth
of 3.3m; no trace of a rampart survived and
the ditch had been filled in by c AD 80 (CAR
3, 11). The ditch cut the backfill of the earlier
fortress ditch (MON386) and also cut across
the sites of buildings destroyed in the Boudican
fire of AD 60/1 (MON405–MON407) (CAR
3, 110). The ditch has not been confirmed
elsewhere, but a shallow ditch at least 4.5m
wide and 0.6m deep, recorded in Castle Park in
1983, is a possible contender (CAR 6, 370–1).
An east–west V-shaped ditch recorded at 44
North Hill in 1967 (Dunnett 1971a, 43–9) and
at ‘Lorgarth’, North Hill, in 1964 (Dunnett
1967, 29) may be the northern section, with
the southern line perhaps following the route
of the later town wall (CAR 3, 11–12). A large
ditch was detected by a magnetometer survey
outside Duncan’s Gate in 1999 and is likely
to be the Roman town ditch (interim note in
Britannia 31 (2000): 413).
During excavations in Crouch Street in 1973
Fig 7.2 The later Roman town showing street grid and distribution of monuments and significant elements.
107
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Fig 7.3 The Roman town
wall to the south of the
Balkerne Gate displays
characteristic alternating
courses of tile and septaria
(Tony Nichols).
a sizeable ditch running east–west (MON648),
thought to be no more than 2.1m deep and
sealed by the later sub-floor of a hypocaust,
was noted. It has been suggested that the ditch
was part of an extended defended area around
the suburb west of the town (CAR 3, fig 8)
although no further evidence has come to light
to confirm this view.
The town wall and internal rampart
The town wall at Colchester (MON570) is
of considerable interest for a number of
reasons. It may well be the earliest wall of its
kind in Britannia and it appears to have been
initially freestanding, a characteristic recorded
elsewhere at coloniae in Gaul and Germany in
the 1st and 2nd centuries but not in Britain.
Furthermore, well-preserved sections of
original Roman stonework and brick coursing
survive, especially along Balkerne Hill, on the
west side of the circuit (Fig 7.3). Excavations
and watching briefs undertaken on the wall are
too numerous to mention here but the most
important sections can be noted.
The wall was built over a foundation trench
3m wide and 1.2m deep, which was filled with
layers of mortar and septaria. The wall itself
was of ashlar construction with inner and
outer faces constructed with dressed septaria
and courses of brick, and the core filled with
mortar and septaria. When a section of the wall
was excavated prior to removal for the Lion
Walk underground access road, its lower levels
proved to be very well preserved and pointed
with pink mortar containing crushed brick.
Chips of septaria found at the Culver Street
excavation suggest that the stone was faced by
masons on site; other features included patches
of mortar lying on the remains of wooden
boards used for mixing the mortar. Another
interesting observation made at Culver Street
was that fragmentary bricks rather than fresh
pieces were used to course the wall (CAR 6,
18), which may have been deliberate in order to
form a stronger, better-bonded wall (Crummy
2003, 45). The brick may have been reused from
structures destroyed in the Boudican revolt .
When completed, the wall measured 2,800m
in length and 2.4m in thickness, and stood to an
unknown height of probably over 6m. It was
clearly built in sections and a number of joints
have been identified (Crummy 2002a, 19–20).
Work probably began from the freestanding
arch at Balkerne Gate, as this was to be
incorporated into a larger gateway here (see
page 109). Six gates were built into the wall as
well as a series of rectangular towers and tile
drains at the end of streets. At some point, a
V-shaped defensive ditch was cut around the
outer foot of the wall.
108
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.4 The surviving
pedestrian archway of the
Balkerne Gate is only a
small part of what was a
massive entranceway into
Roman Colchester from the
west (Tony Nichols).
Excavations in 1913 recovered Flavian
pottery from the earliest levels of the Balkerne
Gate, but the stratigraphy was never fully
recorded. Nevertheless, Wheeler accepted
a 1st-century date for the wall following his
excavation of the Balkerne Gate in 1917
(Wheeler and Laver 1921, 141). By the time
Wheeler wrote a contribution on the wall for
Hull’s Roman Colchester in the late 1950s, five
sections had been cut behind the interior of the
wall, the most successful being that excavated
by Miss Richardson in 1951 at the Sixth Form
College, which produced a significant amount
of stratified pottery from the interior rampart.
This pottery convincingly dated the rampart as
mid-2nd century or later. Because the interior
pointing on the wall covered by the rampart
appeared fresh, it was subsequently deduced
that the rampart and wall were likely to be
contemporary (Wheeler in Hull 1958, 62–3).
However, a subsequent section cut at St Mary’s
Rectory in 1967 revealed a street surface under
the rampart that appeared to be contemporary
with the wall and thus demonstrated that the
wall had been initially freestanding (Dunnett
1971a, 68–9). The wall was again neatly pointed
but the dressed stonework and high standard
of finish implied that the wall was designed
to be exposed.
The evidence for an early date for the wall
comes from excavations at Lion Walk and
Culver Street. At Lion Walk the latest material
in or under the wall’s construction level was a
sherd of terra sigillata of c AD 70–85 (CAR 10,
130, S494). At Culver Street the wall appeared
to sit directly over Boudican destruction debris
(CAR 6, 62–3). On the basis of the current
evidence, Crummy has argued that the wall was
built as a response to the Boudican revolt and
consequently is the earliest structure of its kind
in Britain (Crummy 2003a, 50–2) although this
interpretation has been questioned by Wacher
(1998b, 47-8). Stone town walls did not become
the norm for major towns in the province until
the mid–late 3rd century, although other earlier
examples are known: for example, the colonia
wall at Lincoln was erected in the early 2nd
century (Jones et al 2003, 63).
The interior rampart around Colchester’s
town wall appears to have been added in the
late 2nd century, and was built in part from
waste material and building debris (Crummy
2001, 91). When Duncan cleared a long section
of the north-east rampart in 1852–3 he found
that it consisted of ‘the ruins of buildings of
burned and charred wood, tile and stonework,
and of all kinds of Roman domestic utensils’
(Duncan 1858a, 54). The V-shaped ditch
around the outer base of the wall was sectioned
around 1969 near Land Lane; the excavation
109
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Fig 7.5 A view of
Duncan’s Gate taken
in 1929, following its
conservation, which clearly
shows the separate block of
fallen masonry representing
part of the tower
(Colchester Museums).
demonstrated that the ditch was recut later
in the Roman period as a wide and shallow
flat-bottomed ditch with a vertical timber
revetment along the inner face (interim report
in Britannia 1 (1970): 290; Clarke 1971, 65).
The gates
Six gates have been identified in the Roman
wall. The position of the main west gate, the
Balkerne Gate (MON412), was determined
by the location of the porta decumana and the
via decumana of the fortress. Here a double
monumental arch was constructed, probably
when the colonia was founded. When the wall
was added to the refounded colonia, the arch was
integrated into the circuit, creating a doublearched gateway with flanking walkway arches
and external guardrooms (Fig 7.4; Wheeler
1921, 179–89; CAR 3, 121–3; CAR 6, 816;
CAT Report 3/92a). Around c AD 300 the
external defensive ditch was extended so that
it crossed and thereby cut off the London road
just beyond the Balkerne Gate. As no evidence
of a bridge was found during excavations it
must be assumed that the Balkerne Gate ceased
to be used (CAR 3, 111). The monumental
arch and most of the gate were demolished
and the gap filled in (Crummy 2001, 115). An
explanation for this change of use may be the
gate’s weakness from a defensive standpoint,
due to the incorporation of the monumental
arch (Crummy 2001, 89, 115). The southern
walkway arch still stands, along with the base of
the flanking guardroom (Smith 1847, 31–3).
The south-west gate, or Head Gate
(MON765), increased in importance once the
Balkerne Gate was closed and later became the
principal gate of the medieval town. In 1893
a trench for a gas main struck the probable
remains of the Roman gateway (Hull 1958,
60) and repairs to the town drains in 1913 also
encountered Roman foundations in this area
(Jarmin 1915, 107). In 1988 a watching brief
confirmed the location of the Roman gate
(CAR 6, 396–7) and in 2006 a second watching
brief uncovered part of the central pier of
the gate close to the modern ground surface.
It was estimated that the pier measured 3.4m
north–south by 2.2m east–west, and comprised
a core of mortared septaria with south and east
faces made of courses of brick and dressed
stone set in opus signinum. The pier would have
provided support for a double archway over
the two carriageways and probably also an
overhead gallery. The excavation enabled the
width of the eastern carriageway – 3.4m – to
be ascertained (Shimmin 2006a, 4–5).
The Roman East Gate (MON835) became
one of the four principal medieval gates, which
are shown on Speed’s Map of 1610 with single-
110
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
arched or square-headed gateways, suggesting
that they had all been rebuilt in the Middle
Ages. Morant records that it fell down in 1651
(1768, bk I, 7). Part of a Roman guardhouse
is supposed to have survived on the southern
side of the gate until 1813 (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 250, note 85). In 1925 a piece of walling
likely to be part of East Gate was recorded
under the pavement on the south side of East
Hill (Hull 1958, 207, 111).
The road from Mersea Island may have
entered the south-eastern area of the city via a
gate at the bottom of Queen Street (MON924).
A medieval gate was demolished here in 1814
and William Wire recorded foundations similar
in construction to the town wall at the bottom
of Queen Street in 1848 (Wire nd, c 1848).
The North Gate (MON850) is recorded on a
watercolour of c 1770 and was demolished in
1823. In 1944 part of this gate was uncovered
and said to be excellently preserved and
standing up to the level of the then pavement
(CMR 1934–62, 23; interim note in J Roman
Stud 35 (1945): 82–3; Hull 1958, 32).
The North-East Gate (MON786) was
discovered in 1853 during excavations led by
Dr P M Duncan and observed by William Wire
(Duncan 1858b, 221–2). Subsequently named
‘Duncan’s Gate’, it was re-excavated by the
Colchester Excavation Committee in 1927–9
(Fig 7.5; Hull 1958, 36–42). The structure
consisted of a tower gateway supported over
a single passageway on rectangular piers set
behind the face of the wall. A tiled drain ran
under the roadway through the gate. The
restored gate piers can be seen in Castle Park,
along with a consolidated mass of masonry
south of the gate which is the fallen remnants
of the southern side of the tower, including
two window arches.
The towers
The wall was furnished with defensive internal
towers at strategic points around the circuit.
None survives above ground, but the bases
of several have been recorded. In 1892 Henry
Laver recorded a square masonry structure
19½ feet by 6½ feet (5.9m by 1.9m) attached
to the rear of the wall in Castle Park (Laver
1906, 124). Hull discusses another tower of
similar plan north of the East Gate, although
its precise location is uncertain (Hull 1958,
43, plate XLI). Another tower is recorded at
the north-east angle of the town wall (interim
note in J Roman Stud 32 (1942): 111; CMR 1944,
17, 21; Hull 1958, 42). The remains of towers
recorded in the western half of the wall circuit,
where the street grid is better understood, are
aligned along the centre line of insula streets.
This is true of towers at 22/22a Northgate
Street (interim note in Essex Archaeol Hist 26
(1995): 253; CAT Report 94/1a), the Gilberd
School (now the Sixth Form College), Hull
1958, 221, 164, 168) and north of St Mary’s
Steps, Balkerne Hill (ibid, 62).
The drain arches
Water and waste from the colonia was channelled
into the town ditch through arches in the
wall. These were located at the end of streets
and adjacent to the town gates. Arches have
been examined at several locations (Wire nd,
11.11.1849; CAT Report 5/88b; Hull 1957;
Hull 1958, 45, 60, 37 fig 12; CAR 6, 324–8,
817; Crummy 1988b, 9–10). In 1988 a drain
was excavated in Short Wyre Street that was
not located at the end of a Roman street, which
suggests either that the wall was laid out before
the street grid in this part of town or that the
drain system was not as uniform as previously
thought (Fig 7.6). The drain consisted of a
single tile-built arch 1.2m wide and 1.1m high,
the channel being approximately 0.6m wide and
0.6m high on a downward gradient of about
1 in 25. The drain extended 1.3m beyond the
inner wall face, where it was roughly finished.
Where the drain passed through the town wall
a relieving arch of tiles had been constructed
over it, creating a double-arched structure just
under 2.0m across (Benfield 2000b).
Third-century alterations to the wall
In the late 3rd century the town ditch was
widened and a counterscarp bank was created
from the excavated material. Excavations at
Balkerne Lane revealed that the town ditch
(MON409/MON447) was recut from a deep
V-shape into a wide U-shape and dumped
soil from the widened ditch was placed over
nearby cultivation beds (CAR 3, 140, 145
and figs 102, 105). Other late 3rd-century
modifications included the reduction of the
number of functional gates in the town wall.
Balkerne Gate and Duncan’s Gate were closed
off and the town ditch was extended across
their approaches (ibid, 18).
111
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Roads
The early road network of the province would
have focused on Colchester as the principal
settlement: for example, the so-called ‘Gartree
Road’ (Margary 57a), which runs south-east
of Leicester, is aligned on Colchester (Fig 3.2;
Rivet and Smith 1979, 117, fig 4). However,
after London became the principal settlement
in the province the influence of Colchester
was quickly obscured (Collis 1984, 169; Hassall
1996, 20).
It seems that Colchester was initially linked
to Braughing and St Albans via Stane Street,
with a road from London being added later
as this line joins Stane Street from the south
near Marks Tey. Just to the west of the
Colchester dyke system Stane Street is joined
by one or two other alignments from the
direction of Cambridge (Fig 3.2; Hull 1958,
12–13; CAR 11, fig 6.1 (TL9526)). From this
junction Stane Street/London road takes an
unconfirmed route through the dykes to a
road junction located to the south-west of
the Balkerne Gate and is generally referred to
as the ‘London road’ along this stretch. The
Roman road to London (MON794) probably
entered Gryme’s Dyke at the same point as the
modern London Road because cropmarks to
the west appear to converge at this point (CAR
9, 263). The entrance through Lexden Dyke
is less straightforward. Logic would suggest a
point of entry where the modern road passes
through it; however, Hawkes noted a possible
entrance point through the dyke 230m to the
south (CAR 11, 42–4).
Further to the east possible stretches of
this road have been exposed at a number of
locations. The clearest section was obtained
by A F Hall when he excavated the road at
the Royal Grammar School in the 1930s. He
recorded a triple-tracked construction, with
timber revetting supporting the sides of the
central roadway. The central road was 8.1m
wide and consisted of a gravel bank with a
series of lime and pebble layers with external
ditches; beyond were flanking tracks of
compacted sand c 6m wide (Hull 1958, 6–7).
A road junction was located in the grounds
of the Royal Grammar School and a number
of routes can be proposed which aligned on
this junction. The clearest alignment is that
of the road running south-east to Gosbecks
(MON990). This is detectable as a cropmark
at Gosbecks and has been sectioned twice
(Hull 1958, 9–10; Benfield 1994). A Roman
road (MON839) running NNW–SSE from
this junction through the Grammar School
grounds is a possible ‘Cambridge road’, but
is more likely to be a local road leading to the
Sheepen kilns. The course runs through the
garden of 12 Lexden Road and in the 1950s
Grammar School pupils excavated here and
recovered a great quantity of burials of the 1st
and 2nd centuries, two of which were said to
encroach onto the road (CMR 1934, 14). If the
London road is projected east of the junction
on the same alignment then it would hit the
river Colne at New Hythe. Philip Crummy has
argued that the position of graves nearest the
southern end of Butt Road is consistent with
such an alignment (CAR 9, 15, 55). Another
road led from this junction to the Balkerne
Fig 7.6 Elevation showing
the interior face of the
Roman town wall and the
Roman culvert at Short
Wyre Street (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
112
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Gate (MON384) and has been traced on
several occasions. The excavations at Balkerne
Lane recorded gravel metalling dating to the
early colonia with post-Boudican resurfacing
maintaining the same alignment. The road
continued in use until the town ditch was
extended over it at the end of the 3rd century.
At a later date, once the ditch had silted up,
a thin layer of metalling was laid over it; this
contained a coin of AD 335–7 (CAR 3, 93).
Elsewhere the road has been recorded several
times (Laver 1889a, 126; Laver ‘Diary’ nd a,
2.8.1892, 6.12.1921, 18.12.1923; Hull 1958, 3;
CAR 6, 890, 1035–6).
In addition to these principal alignments at
the Royal Grammar School a number of actual
and possible road surfaces have been observed,
suggesting a more complex pattern of roads
west of the town. Excavations at the St Mary’s
Hospital site in 2002/3 revealed evidence for a
second major road running from the Balkerne
Gate north-west towards the entrance through
Sheepen Dyke. Two minor roads, aligned
north–south, ran off the north side of the road
to Sheepen (Crummy 2003b, 13–14). More of
the Sheepen road network was seen in 2007
when a road was located at the Colchester
Institute, again with two accompanying minor
roads (Brooks 2008, 12). Earlier, the Balkerne
Lane excavations had revealed another east–
west street (MON445) of 1st- or 2nd-century
date to the south of the Balkerne Gate road
(MON384), located at the east end of Manor
Road (CAR 3, fig 8). The street had been laid
down sometime during the late 1st to early 2nd
century and was resurfaced several times; wheel
ruts were noted in the earliest metalled surface.
West of the road junction a cambered surface
(MON716) was observed running from northeast to south-west (Laver nd a, 17.4.1923; Hull
1958, 8; CAT Report 4/97c). Other metalling
observed by A F Hall west of the junction
may, according to Crummy, be part of another
non-related gravelled area (Hull 1958, 8, fig 1,
G/1; CAR 9, 263).
Christopher Hawkes argued that Prettygate
Dyke was slighted and used as a platform for
an un-metalled Roman road (MON384), as
the line runs westwards towards the entrance
in Gryme’s Dyke where a metalled surface was
recorded (CAR 11, 48). Another cambered
Roman road was observed running roughly
east–west in Fitzwalter Road (MON841)
(Laver nd a, 20.8.1923). An east–west Roman
road (MON842) was recorded north of the
Lexden Tumulus in a sewer trench cut along
Fitzwalter Road (Laver nd a, 9.12.1923) and
yet another poorly understood stretch of road
(MON853) was revealed during the building
of the north-east wing of the Essex County
Hospital. Here a section records the road as
5.45m wide, with ditches 0.9m wide on either
side (Hull 1958, 9). The line of a Roman road
close to Maldon Road is suggested by Hull
based on a cropmark running parallel to the
east of Brickwall Farm; however, observation
during the Gosbecks Estate development failed
to find any trace of this (ibid, 260, fig 113).
A long-distance road is thought to run
from the North Gate heading north in the
general direction of Norwich (MON791);
however, this route is poorly understood.
Gravel deposits recorded at a watching brief
at the Northgate Centre on North Station
Road may belong to this road (Brooks 1998),
but a different alignment is suggested by the
exposure of metalling at Turner Rise during
excavations on the Asda site (Shimmin 2008a).
A second road forks from the North Gate and
turns west at Middleborough, heading towards
the temple precinct at St Helena School, where
it links up with the late Iron Age trackway there.
A substantial part of this road (MON299) was
excavated at Middleborough (CAR 3, 183, fig
144). The trackway was metalled in the early
colonia period (MON438) and again after the
revolt (MON686) (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
98; Niblett 1985, 5). An earlier road running
through Sheepen Dyke dates to the fortress
period (MON448) (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
88).
Moving clockwise from the North Gate
around the city gates, a road (MON945) is likely
to have run north from Duncan’s Gate, despite
this gate not having been in use for much of
Roman period. The alignment is unclear and
two observations could refer to separate or
later roads. In May 1930 gravel resembling
road metalling was observed 30 yards (27.4m)
east of the Castle Park boundary and 60 yards
(54.8m) north of Duncan’s Gate. Its surface
was much broken by pits containing human
bones (CMR 1931, 7). In addition, Philip
Laver noted road metalling at the river Colne,
which he took to indicate a ford, in line with
Duncan’s Gate (Laver nd a, 22.4.1923). The
road from East Gate (MON943) has been
recorded only once, in 1928, when a trench
113
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
near Crowther’s Factory cut through a road
7.5m wide metalled with gravel, including large
stones. It was cambered and about 12in (0.3m)
thick at the middle. This lay on a bed of yellow
brick earth 10.6m wide and 0.6m thick (Laver
nd a, 19.5.1928). The road may have forked
north-east of the Colne and followed the line
of the Ipswich Road towards Norwich. In 1930
Laver excavated features near the Ipswich Road
which he took to be road ditches (Laver nd a,
11.3.1930).
South of the town a watching brief during an
extension built to the south side of Abbeygate
House, St John’s Green, revealed a layer of
tightly packed small stones which may have
been part of a north–south road (MON946)
(CAR 6, 855). This road perhaps heads towards
the south-east gate and is possibly the same as
the road (MON947) observed by Rudsdale in
1933 and 1934 when he recorded metalling on
the west side of St Botolph’s Street, opposite
the now-demolished Marlborough Head
(Hull 1958, 10). The road from Head Gate
(MON821) was recorded during an excavation
at St John’s Street in 1990 and, as it was
observed to cross the backfilled fortress ditch,
its construction can be post-dated to c AD 50.
A possible footway was noted next to the road
(Benfield and Garrod 1992, 23, 33–8). Lastly,
in 2007 a small extramural street up to about
4m wide was discovered beneath the remains
of the medieval church of the Crutched Friars,
running on a south-west–north-east alignment
between modern Southway and Crouch Street
(Benfield 2008b, 23).
road of Roman date, which separated riverine
deposits to the north from Roman make-up
to the south. No clear signs of structures were
noted, but several large fragments of stone
were recovered, including one piece which had
been worked on two faces and could have come
from a significant building (Benfield 1998c).
In 1999 an evaluation in the garden west of
21 Middleborough revealed riverside silts and
gravels dating from the later Roman period
to the 16th century. Finds were plentiful and
included Roman pottery, tile and two large
timber pieces which could be part of a timber
wharf (Brooks 1999b). East of the town, at
the Hythe, evaluation trenches at 9–11 Hythe
Quay encountered patches of dumped Roman
material, perhaps building platforms or flood
defences (interim report in Britannia 32 (2001):
362).
The presence of town houses north of the
Colne in the 3rd century implies the existence
of a bridge. In 1843 William Wire observed the
building of the new North Bridge and noted
that the northern abutment of the old bridge
(built c 1773) concealed a piece of massive
masonry and also a Roman burial beneath a
wall ‘of Roman character’ (ELM439) (Wire
nd, 31.5.1843, 28.6.1843). However, even
assuming that the masonry structure was
Roman it need not have been part of a bridge,
given the likely movement of the river channel
over time. In fact, the evidence above suggests
that the water channel would have been to the
south of its current line.
Revetments and bridges
Timber and earthwork revetments for water
management and traces of wharves and
warehouses for waterborne trade may yet
be discovered along the banks of the Colne.
Unfortunately, the evidence for such structures
to date is unimpressive. In 1957 the old river
bed was encountered during work on the site
of Last’s Garage, north of St Peter’s Street
(now St Peter’s Court), where a row of oak piles
with pointed ends was found next to a solid
masonry pier around 1.5m thick (Hull 1957).
When the site was revisited for a watching
brief in 1987 traces of an opus signinum floor
and other Roman building material were noted
(CAT Report 1/87a). An evaluation in 1998
in St Peter’s Street revealed a gravel bank or
Public and monumental buildings and
structures
Colchester would have had the full complement
of Roman public buildings required for it to
operate both as an administrative centre,
linking countryside and state, and as a cultural
centre, engendering a sense of Romanitas
within the native privileged classes. The key
structures would have been a forum (public
square and meeting place), a basilica (town
hall and law courts), public baths, temples, a
circus, a theatre and probably an amphitheatre.
Other civic structures would have included the
monumental arch, pumping house, water and
drainage systems, fountains, bridges, aqueduct,
storage facilities, utility buildings and other
administrative buildings.
114
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
The monumental arch
A double monumental arch (MON508) is
thought to have been incorporated into the
later Balkerne Gate at the western entrance to
the colonia (see page 109). Although no in situ
remains of the arch have been encountered, an
investigation in 1973 found that the northern
wall of the southern Balkerne Gate footway
appeared to preserve the shape of the eastern
face of the arch (Crummy 1977a, 93–4; CAR
3, 122).
INSULA 20
The foundations of a massive building (MON47;
Fig 7.2) in this insula were encountered during
excavations in 1964 and 1989 at East Stockwell
Street and the Vineyard Press site (Dunnett
1971a, 38–9; Benfield and Garrod 1992, 26).
One stretch of septaria wall measured in excess
of 2m wide above foundation level. Internal
features included a mortar and septaria drain
and a tessellated pavement. The building would
have covered an estimated area of 50m by 80m,
occupying the whole eastern half of Insula 20,
and is a candidate for a bathhouse or basilica.
That it extended as far as the southern half of
the insula is suggested by the large foundation
and floor surface(s) discovered during the
19th century at 125 High Street (ELM2 and
MON45, Wire nd, 25.11.1842, 5.11.1843). A
wall seen in 1926 running north–south near the
east side of East Stockwell Street could be from
the same building (Hull 1958, 159). Also related
may be large Roman foundations observed
during a watching brief at 1–6 East Stockwell
Street in 1995 (CAT 1995/03a PX).
INSULA 29
A substantial Roman building (MON717; Fig
7.2) was encountered in Insula 29 on the site
of St Nicholas’s Church during excavations
in 1955–6. The building encroached upon
an earlier Roman street (MON720) and
some of the masonry walls had been used as
foundations for the later church. The surviving
walls were part of an extensive building which
may have covered most of the insula. Several
of its walls ran south and west beyond the
limits of the church’s footprint. Its size and
construction suggest that it is likely to have
been a public building, although the excavator
questioned its level of importance. The walls
were faced with coursed septaria and tile, and
a layer of brown soil lay between these and a
Boudican destruction layer below. The building
apparently stood at the end of the Roman
period, but its construction date is unknown
(Hull 1960, 301–28). During excavations at
Lion Walk, at the southern end of the insula,
large robber trenches (ELM687–686) dated to
the Roman period suggested a public rather
than a private building, perhaps part of the
same building (Fig 7.14; CAR 3, 70).
INSULA 30
Insula 30 lies directly to the south of the
precinct of the Temple of Claudius, a position
that makes it a strong candidate for the location
of a public building or buildings, and it has
been suggested as a possible site for a forum, a
bathhouse or an administrative basilica for the
imperial cult. Excavations have demonstrated
that a timber and clay block building of some
stature stood here before the Boudican revolt
and was apparently replaced by a sizeable
stone building some time in the later Roman
period. A number of undated ‘stout’ walls
of clay and stone and a tiled floor have been
recorded running north–south across Culver
Street East, which runs through the middle of
the insula (Hull 1960, 302, fig 1 nos 160, 183,
49, 50). Also on Culver Street East, a pit dug
at Adams Garage in 1948 revealed a series of
layers that may have represented up to five
sequences of buildings constructed of clay
blocks or wattle and daub (ibid, 317). On the
site of St Nicholas’s Church an excavation in
1955–6 encountered a large wall foundation
trench some 2m wide running north–south
along the western edge of the insula (ELM686;
Fig 7.2); no superstructure survived, but the
foundation was clearly monumental in scale
and lay over a pre-revolt clay block building.
Another deeper but narrower wall trench ran
parallel to the large foundation and encroached
on the early street dividing insulae 29 and 30.
Hull observed that this could have been a
stylobate for a portico (ELM687).
In 1968–9 the digging of stanchion holes for
a new Sainsbury’s supermarket west of Queen
Street was observed, in the south-east corner
of insula 30. At least four large east–west walls
of white mortar and septaria were recovered
and a general absence of domestic refuse
was noted (Dunnett 1971a, 100). In 1970 a
watching brief in the south-west corner of the
insula recorded substantial robbed-out walls.
The surviving foundations were 7ft (2.3m)
115
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
deep and consisted of white mortar, septaria
and flint. A series of floors were observed
which were interpreted as representing an early
wooden structure destroyed by fire and a later
masonry structure with a tessellated or tiled
floor (Crummy 1971, 110, note 21).
The situation along the southern part of
the insula is confused by the irregular shape
of the late Roman street to the south. Street
metalling recorded when the original Wyre
Street Arcade was built in 1929 demonstrated
an irregular alignment that sealed the remains
of private buildings and a coin of Carausius
(AD 287–93) (CMR 1929, 21–2), and on this
evidence Crummy has argued that the public
building in Insula 30 underwent considerable
modification on its southern side in the late 3rd
or early 4th century at the expense of private
buildings to the south (Crummy 1971, 107). A
less likely possibility is that the large masonry
building noted in Insula 30 was not built until
this very late date.
A watching brief at 65 High Street in
1976 noted a north–south drain and possible
Roman foundations amidst heavy cellar
disturbance (CAR 6, 820). A vaulted drain
was also recorded at the north end of the
insula in 1967 (ELM220). In August 1983 a
limited investigation took place prior to the
redevelopment of 61–62 High Street on the
northern side of the insula, a series of stanchion
holes revealing Roman floors overlying makeup and rubbish deposits and parts of a massive
suspended opus signinum floor, evidence which
has led to suggestions of a possible bathhouse
on the site (CAR 6, 995).
To the north of the insula excavations have
revealed a layer of cobbles, perhaps from a
courtyard linking it with the temple precinct
(Drury 1984, fig 11). Drury has suggested that
the shape and position of the insula make it
likely that the buildings here were functionally
linked to the imperial cult rather than the civil
colonia. Buildings here could have been used to
meet the bureaucratic, ceremonial and religious
requirements of the annual festival organised
by the provincial council (ibid, 28–9).
INSULA 31
A substantial multi-phased masonry building
(MON745; Fig 7.2) was discovered during
excavations at 5 Queen Street in 1966. Above
ground, its walls were 0.9m thick. Its second
phase saw an extension with buttresses or
pilaster bases at intervals along two of the
walls. Two mortar floors were also laid, one
of which was cobbled. The final building
phase saw the enlargement of rooms and
insertion of a hypocaust and mosaic floor.
Stratified material was almost non-existent,
but a 2nd-century date was suggested for the
earliest phase. The building was overlain by a
later Roman structure (MON746) (Dunnett
1971a, 87–9).
INSULA 18
Insula 18 is the site favoured for the forum as it
lies at the junction of two principal streets of
the colonia, the cardo maximus and the decumanus
maximus, this being a likely spot for the principia
of the former legionary fortress. Part of a
Roman masonry building (MON819; Fig 7.2)
was uncovered along the northern edge of
Insula 18 in 1965: it stood on a thick layer of clay
make-up into which were dug the foundations
of septaria walls for rooms with mortared
floors. After an unknown period the building
was remodelled, a floor of black and red tiles in
a herringbone pattern was added to one room
and another was given a masonry drain. Floors
were later renewed with opus signinum and lying
on these were coins and pottery of the late 3rd
and early 4th centuries, along with collapsed
debris from the roof (Dunnett 1966, 40).
INSULA 35
A large aisled building (MON608) excavated at
Culver Street may have been a public building
(CAR 6, 112–16). The building encroached on
an east–west street, had aisles formed by two
rows of columns or piers and must have been
at least 45m long and about 17m wide. The
foundations, which were about 1.5m across,
were heavily robbed, leaving only part of the
north wall and some pier or column bases.
Dating evidence was limited but pointed to
construction some time after c AD 275. In the
absence of any floors or distinctive features
the function of the building is unclear, and
a wide range of uses is possible; a favoured
function is that of an agricultural barn (ibid,
115–16). An extension of this hypothesis is
the suggestion that the building was in fact a
basilican warehouse storing imperial taxes paid
in kind (Faulkner 2000, 128–9).
Theatre, Maidenburgh Street
An early theory was that the theatre mentioned
116
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
in Tacitus’ account of the Boudican attack
on Colchester may have been located in
Insula 3 based simply on the curvature in
the medieval road system (Blake et al 1961,
41). However, by 1960 Rex Hull had guessed
that walls and marble fragments recorded in
Insula 13 belonged to a theatre (Hull 1960,
301–28, fig 1), and in 1981–2 excavations in
Maidenburgh Street confirmed the location
of a substantial D-shaped stone-built theatre
(MON823; Fig 7.2) in this insula. The heavily
robbed building was constructed of septaria
and tile, and given its external diameter of
approximately 71m would have been large
enough to accommodate a seated audience of
at least 3,000 (Fig 7.8; Crummy 1982b, 299).
At some point a substantial rectilinear annexe
was added to the theatre’s southern end, which
survived as a wall 1.2m wide abutting the
eastern arc of the theatre. This was no doubt
the same wall recorded running down the
centre of Maidenburgh Street in 1895 (Hull
1958, 105, No.152).
The building is sited adjacent to the precinct
of the Temple of Claudius, mirroring the
theatre–temple relationship seen outside the
town at Gosbecks. Tacitus records that prior to
the Boudican attack on Colchester ‘the theatre
had echoed with shrieks’ (Annals XIV), and
although this is not conclusive proof of an
early date for the Maidenburgh Street theatre,
the reference supports the idea that it was
established as part of the annexe of the colonia
in the period prior to the AD 61 revolt. Weight
is given to this interpretation by the fact that
the theatre appears to follow the orientation of
the fortress grid rather than that of the later
colonia. However, the 1981–2 excavations dated
the stone theatre to the 2nd–3rd centuries and
failed to produce any evidence of an earlier
structure (Crummy 1982b, 299–302). In 1984 a
small trial trench dug at the north-west corner
of St Helen’s Chapel, which sits over the north
side of the theatre and incorporates part of the
wall of the theatre in its base, did not locate
evidence for an earlier wooden structure (CAR
6, 1037).
Gosbecks theatre
The Roman theatre at Gosbecks survives as a
mound about 1.5m high. The first excavation
on the site by the Revd Henry Jenkins in
1842 failed to establish the building’s function
(Gentleman’s Magazine, November 1842, pt 2,
526); this was later deduced by Rex Hull after
exploratory trenches were cut in 1948 (Hull
1958, 267–9). A more detailed excavation
followed in 1967, when much of the west
side of the building was excavated and two
construction phases were identified (Dunnett
1971b). The excavation demonstrated that a
wooden theatre was initially built and then
demolished in the 2nd century; this had a
semicircular cavea with a passage at ground
level leading to the centre of the orchestra. The
timber theatre was replaced by one of turf and
clay encircled by a stone revetment wall. The
wall was decorated with pilasters and appeared
to have four external staircases or, possibly,
buttresses. The theatre appears to have lasted
until the mid-3rd century and its capacity has
been estimated at around 5,000, which would
have made it the largest of its kind in Britain.
In 1977 a small excavation was undertaken
by Colchester Archaeological Trust to assess
plough damage on the site; this encountered
turf blocks from the base of the cavea measuring
0.10–0.15m in thickness (Fig 7.20; CAR 11,
103). The theatre was enclosed by its own
precinct wall, which can be traced from
cropmarks (ibid, fig 6.1). In 2001 the precinct
wall was excavated at two points: one profile
was V-shaped, while the other was shallower
and more ragged (P Crummy, pers comm).
North Station Road
A very large robbed foundation was found in
2003 during an evaluation at the Globe Hotel,
North Station Road, to the north of Colchester
town centre. Its exceptionally great width (at
least 2.2m) and depth (at least 1.2m) suggests
that it was for an exterior wall to a Roman
public building of at least two storeys. The
building’s high status is supported by evidence
of tiled roofs, heating systems and painted
walls. It was demolished, perhaps in the 3rd or
early 4th century (CAT report 248).
The circus
In 2000 robbed-out Greensand foundations
were observed in a cable trench in the northwest corner of Abbey Field (Fig 7.9). In 2002
another short stretch of similar foundation was
noted during evaluation work for the Colchester
Garrison development. Subsequently, in 2004,
two areas close to Flagstaff House on Circular
Road north, produced a pair of parallel
foundations of unequal width. In each case
117
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Fig 7.7 The Roman drain
at St Peter’s Street under
excavation (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
Fig 7.8 The Roman
theatre in Maidenburgh
Street as it might have
appeared in c AD 275
(© Peter Froste. All rights
reserved, DACS 2013).
the wider of the two foundations had square/
rectangular projections, suggesting that they had
been buttressed. In the same year excavations
near the Cavalry Barracks revealed two more
similar foundations 230m to the west, which
aligned closely with the foundations already
noted. Given the uniformity of alignment,
construction and materials, the options for
118
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.9 Excavations have now revealed evidence for the whole of the plan of the circus, including the central barrier, the running track, the stands and the starting gates (Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
119
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
interpretation are limited and the remains
have been confirmed to be a Roman circus
(MON1055). The use of greensand (Kentish
ragstone) suggests that the circus is unlikely to
have been built before the late 1st century AD
(Crummy 2005b, 3).
It is now believed that the Roman circus
at Colchester was 448.2m in length with
the starting gates to the west. The width of
the circus varies between 71.1m and 74.2m
(excluding buttresses), which is at the narrow
end of the known range and very similar
to sites in Spain and North Africa. It has
been calculated that the circus had a seating
capacity of around 12,500–15,000 (Crummy
2005a, 267–77). Excavations in 2006 and
2007 revealed that the Colchester circus had
eight and not 12 starting gates as previously
thought (Crummy 2007a, 6; 2008b, 6–7). To
date this is the only confirmed Roman circus
known in Britain.
Water supply
Colchester is situated on a spur of the Colne
river valley at the point where the glacial
sand and gravel terrace meets the underlying
London Clay. Here a series of spring lines
emerge, some within the northern half of the
walled Roman town. However, the bulk of the
town sits above the spring line and some kind
of pressurised water system would have been
required to supply the higher insulae (CAR 3,
26–8).
Pressurised timber water mains served
domestic and commercial properties, as well
as feeding public structures such as fountains
and baths. Examples of these mains have been
excavated at, for instance, North Hill (Dunnett
1967, 31), Long Wyre Street (ELM484; CAR
6, 358), St Mary’s Hospital site (Brooks 2002a,
13–14) and Lion Walk, where an iron water
main collar was recovered from a medieval
robber trench (CAR 3, 26). This system
extended beyond the town walls into suburbs
at Balkerne Lane and Middleborough (ibid,
115–17, 179). At Balkerne Lane six water mains
were identified, apparently serving properties
on the south side of the London road. Each
consisted of a series of straight wooden pipes
held together by flat iron collars hammered
into the wood to create sealed joints. The
same site also produced traces of timber-lined
water tanks set within clay pits dating to c AD
150–300 (ibid, 141–2). Timber drains dated to
the same period were also found to flank the
London Road (ibid, 138). The Balkerne Lane
areas seem to have been served with water
from the beginning of the colonia through to
the blocking of the Balkerne Gate in the 4th
century.
Within the town walls open timber-lined or
occasionally clay-lined drains ran from inside
buildings and enclosed yards into street drains
that took waste out through the walls into the
town ditch via a series of tile-lined arches such
as the one still visible in St James’s churchyard
wall on East Hill. In St Peter’s Street, just to
the north of the town wall, the continuation
of one of these intramural drains was located
during excavations in 2007 (Fig 7.7). The drain
was 11.5m long, about 0.4m deep and 0.4m
wide. The standard of preservation was very
high, enabling a dendrochronological sample to
be taken by Martin Bridge. Preliminary results
indicate that the drain had been made no earlier
than AD 61 (Crummy 2008a, 2–4).
More substantial tile-built drains served
public buildings and large town houses; these
have been identified in, for example, Insula 10
(Dunnett 1967, 27; Dunnett 1971a, 8), Insula 26
(Hull 1958, 194) and Insula 35 (CAR 6, 209–10),
as well as running north from the ‘Mithraeum’
out under Duncan’s Gate (Hull 1958, 87, fig
38). An elaborate system of masonry drains
also serviced the altar in front of the Temple
of Claudius (Alcock 2001, 40; Drury 1984, 17).
As yet, the source of the pressurised supply has
not been identified, although the ‘Mithraeum’
(MON701; Fig 7.2), sited over a spring line in
Hollytrees Meadow, has been proposed as a
possible waterworks serving part of the town
(Crummy 1980a, 272).
Possible waterworks: the ‘Mithraeum’
A substantial five-roomed masonry building
(MON701; Fig 7.2) was discovered in Hollytrees
Meadow in 1852, and re-excavated in 1927,
1929 and 1954 (Duncan 1858b, 210–28; Hull
1958, 107–13), sited over the highest known
spring line within the walled city. A vaulted
drain joined the north-east corner of the largest
room at floor level. This room was sunken and
had several slots in the ground, which may
have been for timber partition walls or to hold
machinery of some kind. The room also had
a sump, and a spring rose in the south-west
corner. Iron shackles found in the building may
be a rare piece of evidence relating to the use
120
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of slaves. Crummy suggests that the building
may have been a waterworks, containing waterlifting gear. Hull had tentatively identified the
building as a possible ‘Mithraeum’ and, despite
the theory being generally discounted, the
name has stuck. He concluded that the building
had been deliberately demolished not earlier
than the reign of Constans (AD 337–50) (Hull
1958, 112).
Possible aqueduct and extramural mains and wells
The Balkerne Lane excavation revealed traces
of a possible aqueduct (MON 408; Fig 7.28)
which survived only as two rows of postholes
running for 43m and cutting through the
remains of a building demolished c AD 80–125.
The posts were around 0.2m square and had
been placed in post pits 0.6m deep, aligned
with a 5m-wide strip of land orientated northeast–south-west. In view of the substantial
quantities of water implied by the large number
of water mains in the vicinity, and taking into
account its plan and the relationship of the
Balkerne Lane area to the contours of the
town, a plausible explanation is that it was
an aqueduct. This potential ‘aqueduct’ was a
relatively short-lived structure and no evidence
for an earlier or later version was found, which
is curious given that the construction of an
aqueduct would have constitute a significant
public investment, cutting across property
boundaries and having a dramatic impact on
the control of water to different zones of the
town (CAR 3, 111, 119–21, fig 99).
The water pipes located at Balkerne Lane
diminish to the west, suggesting a supply
from near or within the town walls to the
east. Perhaps a water tower (castellum divisiorum)
stood here in the manner of the later Victorian
tower placed on the crest of the hill (CAR 3,
28). A V-shaped, clay-lined water channel or
conduit, with a rectangular slot at the base
for a wooden pipe or wood-lined channel,
was recorded during the 2001 excavations
on the site of St Mary’s Hospital at Balkerne
Hill (Brooks 2002a, 13–14). The channel was
larger than other water pipes recorded in the
town and ran from the direction of Lexden
towards the site of the modern waterworks
at the foot of Balkerne Hill (H Brooks, pers
comm).
Outside the town at Gosbecks, a long
water main is known, on the basis of air
photographic and geophysical evidence, to run
for 250m from north of the site to a structure
just east of the portico (Figs 4.8 and 7.20; CAR
11, fig 6.1); this structure, of rectangular form,
was excavated in 1995 with inconclusive results
(Crummy 1996, 7). A 28m-stretch of the water
main was also examined; no wood survived,
but 16 iron collars were still in position, giving
an average length of 1.7m for each piece of
pipe. In 1998 another part of the main was
encountered on the site of the proposed new
visitor centre. The water main passes through
a gentle valley where there may have been a
waterworks, and an L-shaped cropmark has
been noted in this area, although a small trial pit
dug in 1998 failed to reveal anything (Benfield
1998b).
A number of medieval and later wells are
known from within the town, but as yet no well
has been dated to the Roman period. Outside
the walls, Roman wells have been identified
at Middleborough, where the most complete
example was made of oak with chamfered
boards dated to the mid-2nd or 3rd centuries
(Wire nd, 1.9.1852, 6.9.1852, 1.1.1853; Hull
1958, 107–13; CAR 3, 182, 228), and at
Sheepen (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 127). In 2007,
work at Sheepen, on the Colchester Institute
site, revealed two further timber-lined wells,
one of which had a basket-like structure in its
lower part (Brooks 2008, 11).
Domestic and commercial buildings
This section seeks to summarise some of the
principal features of the excavated buildings
from the town. The buildings are discussed
in chronological order, which seems the most
convenient approach. However, the accuracy
of the dating evidence tends to vary from
structure to structure and is always open
for review in the light of new information.
Although this section deals with domestic and
commercial buildings, in practice these labels
can be misleading because structures often had
shared or mixed functions.
The late 1st century: the Boudican aftermath
Unlike London and Verulamium, where
there is evidence for some limited survival of
buildings after the attacks on these towns by
Boudica, at Colchester the picture is one of
comprehensive destruction. Some stone-built
structures, such as the base of the Temple of
Claudius and the Balkerne Arch, may have
121
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
survived intact, and the stumps of some burnt
pre-Boudican walls have survived in places.
Typically, the fire left a layer predominately
composed of burnt daub with some wall
plaster and broken tile. Perring has suggested
that the limited quantity of tile recovered may
indicate that thatched roofs were prevalent at
this time (Perring 2002, 120).
Fig 7.10 Culver Street
AD c 44–49 (insert
to Fig 7.2) (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
122
Fig 7.11 Culver Street
AD 60/61–c 150/200
(insert to Fig 7.2)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Excavations have demonstrated that after
the revolt some parts of the town were
thoroughly cleaned of this debris and rebuilt,
while other areas were left to accumulate
midden debris and layers of cultivation soil.
Certain plots appear to have been left vacant
for over 150 years and it appears that the town
never achieved the building density that it had
prior to the revolt. The evidence from Lion
Walk and Culver Street suggests that in the
late 1st century the southernmost parts of the
colonia (southern parts of Insulae 34, 35, 36)
were dominated by cultivation or garden plots
(CAR 3, fig 35; Fig 7.11; CAR 6 fig 3.6). Many
123
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
pre-revolt plot boundaries in the colonia seem to
have been lost or deliberately altered, although
at Culver Street there is some evidence for their
reuse in the northern part of Insula 34 (CAR
6, 27–9, fig 3.5). This could indicate the return
of survivors or their families to earlier veteran
plots and even the survival of detailed city
records, although the excavator would not rule
out coincidence as a factor (ibid, 29, fig 3.5).
How rapidly did Colchester recover from
the impact of the Boudican revolt? The
best evidence for post-Boudican rebuilding
Fig 7.12 Culver Street
AD c 150/200–c 275–
325 (insert to Fig 7.2)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
124
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
comes from Culver Street, where new houses
appeared within an estimated 15 to 20 years
of the revolt, although there is to date no
conclusive stratigraphical or dating evidence.
One post-Boudican building (MON554; Fig
7.11) sat directly on Boudican destruction levels
(CAR 6, 30). Elsewhere, recent excavations at
Head Street have shown that a pre-Boudican
property was allowed to stand for some time
as a burnt-out shell before being razed and
partially covered over by a new footway (Fig
1.6; Denison 2001, 7)
To date it has not been possible to identify
a public building boom in Colchester in the
years after AD 69, although the rebuilding
of the Temple of Claudius and the complex
at Gosbecks may yet be dated to this period.
The evidence points to the re-establishment
of a working city with buildings that often
combined domestic, industrial and commercial
functions. The new houses at Culver Street
were of modest build and generally of similar
size and shape to earlier non-military veteran
structures. One of these (MON553; Fig 7.11)
provides the best example to date of the
new domestic buildings. It was square and
contained six rectangular rooms of different
sizes, in which were hearths and sandy clay
floors. Although a single structure, it could
represent more than one property. The slots for
the external walls were of similar dimensions
to the internal walls and the only surviving
wall section was of stud and daub block type.
The walls rested on wooden ground plates,
unusually set into rounded slots (CAR 6, 67).
Although Flavian-period buildings generally
appear to be modest structures there is
evidence that this period saw some advances
in terms of quality and complexity, such as
the occasional addition of reception rooms
and porticoes or improvements in the quality
of construction and decoration. An example
of this comes from a late Neronian or early
Flavian house at Balkerne Lane, where a
building set back from the main London road
had a decorated corridor leading to a larger
end room (MON417; Fig 7.28) (CAR 3, 119;
Perring 2002, 35). However, in general the
dominant style appears to be utilitarian rather
than ostentatious.
The evidence suggests that a variety of
building techniques was employed on these
relatively low-status late 1st-century buildings.
At Lion Walk one building (MON478) rested
on shallow unmortared foundations and had
daub walls that had been covered with painted
plaster; here one room, perhaps a kitchen,
contained three ovens (CAR 3, 50). Another
Lion Walk structure (MON475) revealed two
building phases (c AD 60–80 and c AD 80–100),
with foundations consisting of septaria set
in sand (ibid, 50, 37). An early 2nd-century
building excavated at 21–31 Long Wyre Street
(MON1039) had modest unmortared wall
footings, although a fragment of thin Purbeck
marble wall veneer and a small amount of white
painted plaster from the interior suggested that
the interior decoration was of high quality
(Brooks 2004c, 28). Elsewhere, post-Boudican
buildings have been noted with septaria and
mortar foundations (MON285, MON951)
(CAR 6, 136; Dunnett, 1971a, 52–4).
One building technique specific to the
late 1st century was the use of gravel-filled
foundations, presumably favoured when
the ground surface was close to natural and
before a layer of occupation debris made
such foundations impractical. At Culver Street
a series of post pits marked out a row of
structures (MON576–580) lining the northern
end of Insula 35 (c AD 75–100). These were
demolished within 25 years, to be replaced by
new buildings (MON581–6; Fig 7.11) (c AD
90–100) built on gravel-packed pits, with little
evidence for property boundary continuity.
Foundations of gravel were also noted for
two buildings (MON554, MON556) at Culver
Street (Fig 7.11). One (MON554) had floors of
gravel and mortar, the earliest examples of this
floor type recorded in the town (c AD 75–125)
(CAR 6, 69). At another Lion Walk building
(MON481) well-mixed Boudican debris was
used to form floors, and the foundations
consisted either of ground plates, post pits or
gravel-packed pits (CAR 3, 52).
Elsewhere in Insula 12, on the Telephone
Exchange Site, a new building (MON723) (c
AD 77–360) had foundation trenches filled
with compacted clay and gravel, presumably
supporting a timber-framed structure. It
maintained the same building line as a pre-revolt
building (MON722) (Dunnett 1971a, 12–13).
At Long Wyre Street a building (MON619)
with coursed septaria and mortar foundations
lying over a gravel-filled trench (c AD 75–100)
contained a hearth and had buttresses on its
western side, with internal partition walls set
on ground plates (CAR 6, 358–9).
125
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
In Insula 10 a building (MON817) excavated
at the NCP Car Park on Nunn’s Road and dated
to c AD 75–100, was built on foundations
of septaria, tufa and tile. The use of tufa is
unusual and the examples here must have come
from damaged public buildings, perhaps the
temple precinct or Balkerne Gate arch, both
of which were faced with tufa. Underneath
this building the Boudican destruction layer
was levelled off and there was no evidence
for post-revolt build-up. The building, which
was simple and rectangular, was divided
into two compartments and situated in the
angle of two streets, with gravel yards to the
Fig 7.13 Lion Walk AD
c 49–61 (insert to Fig 7.2)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
126
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.14 Lion Walk AD c
100–450 (insert to Fig 7.2)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
127
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
north and west. One room may have been a
smith’s workshop, as it contained slag and a
cake of bronze or copper. The building was
extended and renovated before its demolition
and replacement c AD 100 (Dunnett 1967,
27–33).
Second-century buildings
The 2nd century appears to have been a period
of stability and expansion for the town’s traders
and manufacturers. Some of them were able to
establish separate residences away from their
businesses, although some buildings continued
to combine both domestic rooms and street
frontage workshops. Typical early 2nd-century
buildings may have been of only five or six
rooms connected by an external portico. These
structures were initially built of timber, which
ruled out the use of hypocausts. However, they
were not necessarily plain and they commonly
incorporated glass windows, plastered walls,
frescoes and decorative floors. Over time
masonry walls were added to certain rooms, to
allow the introduction of underfloor heating.
The daub floors of the 1st century were
spartan and would have been difficult to clean;
these began to be replaced in the 2nd century
by plain mortar floors and perhaps wooden
floors. The later floors are harder to trace but
not unknown (for example, MON413). In the
middle and latter part of the century old houses
received substantial upgrades and new large
town houses were built, some with 20 rooms
or more, incorporating high-quality features
such as hypocausts and mosaics.
In the early 2nd century three buildings
(MON553, MON554, MON556) at Culver
Street were replaced by new houses (MON589,
MON590, MON591, Figs 7.11, 7.12). These
used similar plots to their predecessors, but were
more substantial, though not easily identifiable
as common house types. The first (MON589)
(c AD 100/125–c 275/325) was well preserved
and comprised a block of six rooms. It
contained a large amount of window glass and
painted wall plaster and sat on gravel-packed
post bases, greensand and septaria foundations
or timber ground plates. The largest room
faced the street and contained fragments of
crucible used for melting copper alloy (CAR 6,
76–8). The second building (MON590) (c AD
100/125–c AD 275/325) probably began as a
building of five rooms, expanding to at least
10 over its lifetime; internal features included
tessellated pavements and a hypocaust. The
building combined high-quality rooms with a
workshop nearest the street frontage, and was
built on large stone and mortar foundations
placed over a layer of gravel. It was upgraded,
probably in the late 2nd century, with the
addition of a mosaic (ibid, fig 3.42). The third
building (MON591) was similar to the second
(MON590) but lacked floor coverings of
any quality; both buildings may have been of
single-corridor type or, alternatively, separate
wings of one courtyard house (ibid, 82).
Other poorly preserved buildings from this
period have been recorded at Culver Street
(MON587–8; Fig 7.12; ibid, 75), Long Wyre
Street (MON621–2; ibid, 359; Brooks 2004c,
28), North Hill (MON818; Dunnett 1967,
36–8) and Head Street (MON1011; Brooks
2004b, 11–13).
In the mid-2nd century the scale of
residential buildings dramatically increased
with the appearance of large town houses,
often laid out around a square or rectangular
courtyard. Such houses are rare in the province
and may have been inspired by the courtyard
houses found in forts (Perring 2002, 40). The
new houses made increasing use of masonry
foundations and walls, including stone-lined
cellars, for example, MON603 in Culver Street
(Fig 7.12; CAR 6, 96–108) and MON486 at Lion
Walk, (Fig 7.14; CAR 3, 66–68), although many
internal walls continued to be constructed with
daub blocks or with wattles placed between
studwork panels. Wealth was clearly expressed
through the presence of mosaics, tessellated
pavements and hypocausts. Some of the new
buildings were built on previously open land:
for example, at Lion Walk (MON483; Fig
7.14). Only the rear range of this house was
excavated, revealing 19 rooms including a
kitchen with adjacent garden plots to the north
and east. Internal features included tessellated
pavements, hypocausts and mosaics, including
a distinctive lion design (CAR 3, fig 49).
Large late 2nd-century town houses were
also recorded in Insula 35 at Culver Street. Part
of a town house (MON602) was uncovered,
revealing a range of five rooms with flanking
corridors to the north and south, one of which
ran along the road and may have been a veranda
or covered footway. The floors were of sandy
clay with traces of a mosaic and hypocaust
and the foundations were mortar and septaria
rubble (CAR 6, 95–6). Directly abutting this
128
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
building to the west was an exceptionally large
Roman courtyard house (MON603; Fig 7.12)
which was roughly square, measuring around
36m by 40m and consisting of four ranges of
large rooms around a central yard. A total of
13 generously proportioned rooms and three
passages were uncovered. Most walls were
of mortared septaria rubble, several rooms
had clay floors and at least one floor was of
opus signinum. At least four mosaics and one
hypocaust were recorded, as well as traces of
window glass and carved stone used for dadoes,
wall veneers and cornices. Finds included
a finely carved Italian marble table leg with
the head of a panther. A probable kitchen
contained at least 11 ovens, two hearths and
steps leading down to a stone cellar; another
sunken room may have been a shrine. In the
central yard, a wooden water tank sat in a claylined pit and timber drains around the edge of
the yard discharged through a passageway into
the street (Hull 1958, 209–10; CAR 6, 96–106).
Such compact Italian-style houses are rare
in mid-2nd century Britain and may suggest
occupants of continental origin (Wacher 1995,
125).
At Lion Walk, a courtyard house (MON484;
Fig 7.14) of late 2nd-century date in Insula 36
was of two phases, the second being marked
by the introduction of mortared foundations
and the laying of tessellated pavements in many
rooms. The stumps of internal daub walls
survived in situ, often with plaster still adhering.
Four rooms along the street frontage were
examined; two of these were workshops, while
the other two were of better quality. A central
yard was inherited from earlier structures and
contained a number of possible votive deposits
consisting of small pits filled with charcoalrich soil and, elsewhere, small pots buried
upright (CAR 3, 62). Another late 2nd-century
building, perhaps another courtyard house
(MON51), fronted onto the north–south street
along the western side of Insula 20 (Shimmin
and Carter 1996, 37–8).
In Insula 10 the southern range of a building
(MON818; Fig 7.2) running parallel with the
street was expanded and incorporated at least
three mosaic panels of mid-2nd century style.
A large wall divided this range from rooms to
the north, which were situated on a terrace
1.5m lower down the hill, presumably linked
to the southern range by steps (Dunnett 1967,
36–8). The mosaics observed in Insula 10 at
Crispin Court (ELM264; Hull 1958, 97) and
behind the Chase and Pair, both on North
Hill (Wire nd, 3.5.1855) may have belonged
to this building as they are stylistically of the
2nd century. Masonry foundations found on
the Telephone Exchange Site in 1965 may also
be from this building (Dunnett 1967, 27). If
so, in its final form, it (MON818) may have
encompassed almost two-thirds of the insula
and measured upwards of 70m by 50m.
Lower down the hill a well-preserved
town house or public structure was built in
Insula 2 in the 2nd century (c AD 150). The
building incorporated mosaics, a hypocaust
and a substantial wall of tile courses and
septaria (ELM1108; Hull 1958, 79). Another
2nd-century masonry building (MON844;
Fig 7.2) in Insula 2 incorporated at least two
rooms with red tessellated pavements and a
mosaic (Blake 1964). In the adjacent Insula 1,
excavations in 2003 and 2005 at the Sixth Form
College (formerly the Gilberd School) revealed
evidence of part of a mid-2nd-century and
later courtyard building comprising a north
corridor, south corridor and south room with
evidence for tessellated floors (ELM1362–3;
Fig 7.15; Brooks 2005a, 7). Nearby was a semisunken room measuring 4m by 7m internally,
with a plain red tessellated floor and painted
plastered walls surviving to a height of 1.3m.
A bench, rendered in opus signinum ran round
the edge of the room, and set into the centre
of the floor was a shallow pool or basin fed
by a wooden water pipe. The room has been
interpreted as being part of a bathhouse,
perhaps the apodyterium (changing room), of a
mansio or inn which may also be represented by
the adjacent courtyard building (Figs 7.15, 7.16;
Holloway 2006, 14–17; Brooks et al 2009).
On the other side of town in Insula 39 a
mid–late 2nd-century building (MON753; Fig
7.2) consisted of a north–south tessellated
corridor flanked by rooms to the east and
west, some with tessellated floors and red
and green plastered walls. The east wall of
the corridor was built of faced septaria with a
rubble core and sat on a foundation of broken
flue tiles, opus signinum and mortar. A pebbled
surface set in mortar may have represented an
external yard or courtyard (Richardson 1961,
11–12). In addition, several other probable
2nd-century buildings with hypocausts have
been noted in the town (MON754, MON755,
MON752, MON787; Fig 7.2; Hull 1958,
129
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Fig 7.15 Bathhouse and town houses at The Sixth Form College (Colchester Archaeological Trust).
130
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.16 Bathhouse at the
Sixth Form College under
excavation (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
115; Richardson 1961, 9–11, 13–15; CAR 6,
369). North of the precinct of the Temple
of Claudius in Insula 6, Wheeler excavated a
series of large town houses which he dated
to the 1st century but are more likely of
Antonine date (AD 138–61) (MON567,
MON568, MON569; Fig 7.2; Wheeler 1921,
7–41). Other more modest existing structures
were upgraded at this time: for example, one
building (MON1040) excavated at Long Wyre
Street had its clay floors replaced with pebblein-mortar floors which sealed a foundation
deposit of two pots accompanied by beef and
pork scraps (Brooks 2004c, 28–9). Later in the
2nd century this building was replaced with a
heavily robbed building (MON1041) that may
have been associated with commercial cooking
(ibid, 115–16).
A large group of less elaborate buildings of
late 2nd-century date have also been recorded,
some commercial in character. A simple tworoomed structure (MON751; Fig 7.2) which
was excavated at Lewis’s Gardens in Insula 40
had a superstructure that was probably built of
timber; the internal partition wall was almost
certainly of wattle and daub. The north room
had a floor of pebbles set in mortar, the other
a floor of opus signinum. At some point in the
2nd century the building was demolished
(Richardson 1961, 9). A group of three utility
buildings of lesser status dating to the mid-late
2nd century were recorded at Culver Street
at the southern end of Insula 34 (MON555,
MON575, MON599; Fig 7.11). A small timberframed structure (MON555) was sited adjacent
to agricultural land and fronted onto the former
via principalis. Its sandy clay floor was covered
with charcoal-rich occupation debris, a hearth
and a series of at least four ovens (CAR 6, 70–
1). A second structure (MON575) encroached
onto the north side of a narrow east–west street
(MON532) and survived only as a collection of
postholes and post pits with a hearth or oven; a
central partition was denoted by five postholes.
The plan mirrored that of a later building
(MON599) and could be an earlier phase of
it (ibid, 69). Another utilitarian building was
recorded in Insula 35, where a small, buttressed,
stone structure stood on greensand and septaria
foundations. It measured 5.5m by 7m and was
built in the middle of the cultivated area during
the 2nd century. From its plan and context it
was almost certainly a tower granary (MON572;
Fig 7.12; ibid, 108).
131
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
The possibility of fires in the town during
the mid-2nd century has been discussed
(Dunnett 1971a, 3–4; 1975, 53; Drury 1984,
29–30) and linked to wider disturbances in
Essex during this period (Rodwell 1975, 93).
Subsequent excavations have failed to provide
evidence of any widespread fire from this
time (CAR 6, 18) and Crummy suggests that
a Boudican origin for such layers cannot be
ruled out (ibid, 835).
Third-century buildings
The construction of large town houses
continued into the early 3rd century: in Insula
25 a one (MON737; Fig 7.2) was built in c
AD 200. Part of its western boundary was
excavated at St Mary’s Rectory and, if other
tessellated pavements and walls observed in
the rectory garden are from the same structure,
it would have occupied much of the southern
end of the insula (CAT Report 1/96a; CAT
Report 6/97a). The solid foundations were of
mortar and septaria chips. Above them the one
remaining stretch of surviving wall was built of
identical materials to the foundations but faced
with dressed ashlar blocks of septaria. Internal
features included a ‘cobbled’ or tessellated floor
and traces of red and cream painted wall plaster
(Dunnett 1971a, 67).
At the southern end of Insula 34 a series
of short-lived utilitarian structures were in
use c AD 200–25. A two-roomed structure
(MON598; Fig 7.12) contained a circular oven
and associated food refuse – for example,
elongated wheat grains – suggesting that this
was a corn-drying oven (CAR 6, 88–9). A
nearby building (MON599; Fig 7.12) contained
an oven, traces of a wooden water storage
tank and a pit lined with opus signinum and tiles,
probably also for water storage (ibid, 89–90).
Adjacent to this was a single room structure
(MON600; Fig 7.12) with three ovens that
contained traces of oak, birch, hazel and
alder used to fuel the ovens (ibid, 90). Perhaps
around c AD 225 a large building (MON595;
Fig 7.12) was constructed on the cultivated
area in Insula 34. This was of unusual plan and
developed from a simple two-room structure
on the street frontage into an eight-room
town house with three passages built around
a yard (ibid, 83–4). It was dominated by two
long corridors without flanking rooms; the
corridors may have been more like portico
structures and may have formed part of a
larger building together with the adjacent
structure (MON594; Fig 7.12). This was built
to the rear of the town rampart and included
tessellated pavements which were unusual in
that the tesserae were a variety of colours mixed
randomly for effect (ibid, 83).
In the early part of the 3rd century, but postdating MON594, a large house (MON597;
Fig 7.12) of winged corridor type was built,
replacing the utilitarian buildings in Insula 34.
The core of the house occupied a plot traceable
back to a barrack block (MON467), but with
two wings encroaching on neighbouring plots
and the nearby street which was tolerated,
perhaps because the street was a cul-de-sac. The
house had underfloor heating, glass windows
and mosaics, and contained a very high-quality
tessellated pavement. One mosaic was allowed
to be covered up by a series of occupation
layers before the building was demolished in
the late 3rd century (ibid, 90–5).
There is less evidence from the end of
the 3rd century for the construction of new
high-status town houses. The exception may
be two structures at Lion Walk in Insula 37
(MON488, MON489; Fig 7.14) dated to c
AD 275–c AD 400, the later levels of which
were only superficially examined. Two rows
of narrow rooms and two gravel yards were
identified. Internal features included tessellated
pavements and among the finds were box flue
tiles, suggesting a hypocaust system. One room
containing patches of burnt daub and charcoal,
along with two small furnaces or ovens, was
probably a workshop facing the street; a
small quantity of tap slag was recovered from
another room (CAR 3, 69).
Other smaller structures from this period
include a simple two-room structure (MON680;
Fig 7.2) in Insula 37 excavated at Lion Walk
Reform Church and dated to c AD 200–400
(CAR 6, 381). A building (MON640; Fig 7.2)
excavated at the Cups Hotel Site had a cellar,
built c AD 225, which produced a quantity
of window glass (ibid, 333). Another small
timber-framed building (MON287; Fig 7.2),
excavated at the Gilberd School and probably
of two rooms, was constructed near the northeast corner of Insula 17a in the latter part of
the 3rd century (ibid, 137). And yet another
small timber-framed building (MON626; Fig
7.2) was built at the same time in Long Wyre
Street (ibid, 361).
Substantial buildings do not appear to have
132
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
been demolished or abandoned during the
early 3rd century; rather, this appears to have
been a time of expansion, although a number
of smaller structures went out of use around
this time (MON639, MON555, MON575,
MON754). At the end of the century a more
definite trend towards demolition can be
identified, including of some large town houses.
For example, excavations at 21–31 Long Wyre
Street in 1998 encountered the remains of a
substantial town house (MON1042; Brooks
2004c, 30) that may be the same structure
as building MON623. The deep rubble and
mortar foundations were heavily robbed, but
traces of tessellated and opus signinum floors
were noted, along with fragments of walling
consisting of septaria and opus signinum lumps
in brown mortar. Colourful wall plaster and
Purbeck marble veneer were also recovered.
The building was evidently demolished in the
late 3rd or early 4th century (Brooks 2004c,
26, 30–31).
At Lion Walk, the deliberate demolition of a
substantial courtyard house (MON484; Fig 7.14)
was dated by several 3rd-century coins in the
demolition layers, although a 4th-century coin
was also found, leaving room for doubt (CAR 3,
62–6). Another structure of several rooms and
with tessellated pavements (MON485; 7.14)
also showed signs of demolition, but dating
evidence was poor (ibid, 66). Other buildings
which may have been demolished before c AD
300 are recorded from elsewhere in the town
centre, including at Angel Yard, on the High
Street (MON51; Shimmin and Carter 1996, 37),
Lion Walk (MON482 or Building 18; CAR 3,
52), Culver Street (MON588, MON597; Fig
7.12) and the Gilberd School (MON285; Fig
7.2; CAR 6, 136).
Fourth-century buildings
There appear to be clear signs of contraction
and decline of the building stock in the 4th
century although caution is required, as later
Roman levels have been more vulnerable to
post-Roman disturbance. Nevertheless, the data
points to a significant decline in construction
work. A number of buildings were repaired
and maintained into the mid-4th century, and
some even extended, but the decline in use of a
number of public structures is accompanied by
the appearance of rubbish pits cut through the
floors of previously high-status town houses.
Furthermore, evidence for occupation in
Insulae 1–10 is almost completely lacking for the
4th century, with the exception of the insulae
adjacent to the north gate, as if the northern
part of the town ceased to be a residential
zone. Elsewhere in Insula 35, a 4th-century
aisled barn and agricultural land replaced the
prestigious town houses. At Culver Street a
period of demolition lasting perhaps 50 years
saw at least eight substantial houses removed
without replacement. One possibility is that
settlement was increasingly centred on the
principal streets (the equivalents of Head Street
and High Street), anticipating the later medieval
layout of the town (Crummy 2001, 118).
Crummy has suggested that the contraction of
building stock could mean smaller and denser
living spaces rather than population decline
per se. There is a reluctance to accept the idea
of population decline without more evidence,
given the presence of a sizeable 4th-century
cemetery at Butt Road.
To date, a handful of high-status buildings
have produced evidence of late refurbishment
dating to the 4th century. One building
(MON730; Fig 7.2) in Insula 1b was extensively
refurbished, with a distinctive new wall of pale
mortar and septaria resting on foundations
made up of loose chips of septaria. The
enlarged rooms of the house had been floored
with rough opus signinum; after considerable
wear had occurred these had been replaced
by neatly laid plain red tessellated pavements.
The make-up of one of the opus signinum floors
contained a plated denarius and late-Roman
painted pottery, dating the floor to the early
4th century or later (Dunnett 1971a, 45). At
5 Queen Street two stratified body sherds of
4th-century colour-coated ware were found in
the make-up of a final phase of a large public
building (MON745; Fig 7.2). This evidently
incorporated a mosaic and a hypocaust, and
was thought by the excavator to be a public
structure. Another possible public structure
(MON858) in Insula 30 underwent considerable
alterations on its southern side in the late 3rd
or early 4th century (Crummy 1971, 107).
Elsewhere, at Lion Walk, a courtyard house
(MON483; Fig 7.14) was extended, probably
in the 4th century, with new rooms constructed
on its northern side on a slightly different
alignment from the rest of the house (CAR 3,
52–4). A mosaic of high quality, dated to the
4th century, was laid in this building; later a
mosaic of lesser quality was added (ibid, 62).
133
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
The only new building of stature dating
from this period appears to be a non-residential
structure built in Insula 35 (Culver Street). This
large rectangular masonry building (MON608)
was erected in the late 3rd or early 4th century
and continued in use for perhaps over a
century. There was no evidence for internal
ornamentation and the building stood in an
area of wasteland or allotments, leading the
excavator to suggest that it had an agricultural
function, possibly as an aisled barn (CAR 6,
112–116).
Other probable 4th-century structures that
have been encountered have been slightly built
and poorly preserved: for example, a flimsy
clay-floored building (MON746) was noted
at 5 Queen Street (Dunnett 1971a, 89). Few
buildings have produced clear evidence for late
4th-century occupation, but there are a few
candidates. A building (MON640; Fig 7.2) on
the Cups Hotel site had a cellar or basement
which, after c AD 350, was infilled with a
build-up of sandy clay floors sealing significant
quantities of Roman pottery and coins (CAR 6,
333). A well-built town house (MON753; Fig
7.2) in Insula 39 may have been occupied into
the later 4th century (Richardson 1961, 12),
and other large town houses at Culver Street
(MON594; Fig 7.12) and Lion Walk (MON483;
Fig 7.14) may have also survived into the later
4th century, but clear dating evidence was
lacking (CAR 6, 82–3; CAR 3, 52–4). At the
Gilberd School a smaller two-roomed timberframed building (MON287; Fig 7.2) contained
late 4th-century pottery (CAR 6, 137).
In some instances 4th-century occupation
appears to have taken the form of the use
of semi-derelict buildings. For example, a
domestic rubbish pit was found dug through
the floor of a large town house (MON737; Fig
7.2) in Insula 25 (Dunnett 1971a, 68). In Insula
10 a building (MON818; Fig 7.2) had rubbish
pits dug through mosaics and tessellated
pavements; the pits contained bones, shells
and 4th-century pottery (Dunnett 1966, 38).
Large numbers of buildings appear to have
fallen out of use by the mid-4th century; some
were demolished, others allowed to decay. The
cellar of a building (MON486; Fig 7.14) at
Lion Walk was backfilled in the 4th century;
its fill contained 10 well-stratified coins, the
latest of which was minted in AD 330–5
(CAR 3, 66–8). At least three other structures
at Lion Walk appear to have been allowed to
decay (MON483, MON488, MON489; Fig
7.14). At Culver Street four houses (MON604,
MON602, MON595, MON594; Fig 7.12)
may have lasted into only the first quarter of
the 4th century and four large town houses
(MON589, MON590, MON591, MON603;
Fig 7.12) appeared to have been deliberately
demolished c AD 275–325.
The evidence from Lion Walk and Culver
Street tells us much about the growth and
decline of town houses in the backstreets,
where space does not appear to have been at
a premium, but Colchester has not seen largescale excavations located along the frontages of
the principal streets, although there have been
a number of smaller digs, for example at the
Cups Hotel and Angel Yard. At Verulamium,
Frere has noted strip houses from the late 3rd
century fronting a principal street in Insula XIV
and remaining in use until the mid-4th century
(Frere 1972, 98). No such properties have been
recorded in Colchester and the question of
a 4th-century decline remains open, even if
the current evidence weighs in on the side of
decay and contraction. There is no convincing
evidence for 5th-century structures from any
excavation to date.
Decline and collapse
Late 4th- and early 5th-century evidence
from Colchester is scarce and the pattern
and speed of the city’s decline is difficult to
estimate. Possible late burials within the walls
have already been noted, while other evidence
for late Roman activity includes sherds of
late Roman shelly ware found in a deposit
sealing the demolition debris of a building
(MON484; Fig 7.14) at Lion Walk (CAR 3,
63–6). Elsewhere, late 4th-century pottery
assemblages have been recovered from the
precinct of the Temple of Claudius (Going in
Drury 1984, 46–9) and the Cups Hotel (CAR
6, 333; CAR 10, table 8.2). A coin hoard found
in 1964 in the vicinity of Artillery Folly, near
the Roman church on Butt Road, contained
15 clipped silver coins of Constantine III
(AD 407–11). The discovery of burnt layers
during excavations at Duncan’s Gate in 1853
and 1927–9 led to the colourful suggestion that
these resulted from brushwood placed against
the gate by Saxon invaders (Hull 1958, 40).
However, as the gate was probably blocked off
by c AD 300 this seems unlikely (Crummy 2001,
130–1). There was no conclusive proof for 5th-
134
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
century occupation of any Roman structures
at Lion Walk or Culver Street, although it is
possible that later layers were truncated by
post-Roman cultivation. The possibility that
the possible corn-drying oven (MON573; Fig
7.12) at Culver Street was built by a sub-Roman
community is discussed in the next chapter
(CAR 6, 108–12; CAR 7, 25).
Manufacturing and trade
From the fortress period onwards Colchester
had been a centre for manufacturing and an
important distribution centre for goods from
abroad. There is some evidence that the impact
of the Boudican revolt may have damaged
this position: for example, before c AD 60
terra nigra potters’ stamps from across Britain
are often also found at Colchester, suggesting
that this was the main port through which
Gallo-Belgic wares were imported. This pattern
appears to break down after the revolt and
there is evidence that some Roman towns – for
example, Exeter – may have imported GalloBelgic wares directly after AD 60 (Rigby 1979,
190). However, the comparative frequency of
clay lamps in London and Colchester, rarely
used elsewhere in the province, suggests
that Colchester was still closely linked to the
main military supply routes after the revolt
(Whittaker 1989; Perring et al 1991, 50; Eckardt
2002b, 153). Furthermore, aspects of the
material culture from Colchester, such as gold
rings and intaglios, suggest the presence of an
affluent population (Henig 1978, 61-2).
The coin evidence indicates that Colchester
had a good supply of early high-value coins
associated with the military presence, although
it is not now thought that Claudian copies
were produced at the town to provide soldiers
in the province with smaller denominations
(Besombes and Barrandon 2000). The largescale excavations in the town between 1971 and
1979 produced 3,029 coins, to which can be
added those excavated from the 1980s onwards
and a museum collection in excess of 8,140
(Reece in CAR 4, 17–23).
More hearths and ovens are recorded in
Colchester, Verulamium and London in the late
1st century than for any later period. While many
would have been used for heating and cooking,
this could be indicative of an initial formative
period of industry and growth (Perring 2002,
41) or may simply reflect a shift towards the use
of raised braziers with the later introduction
of mortared and tessellated pavements (CAR
3, 25). The replacement of modest residences
associated with commercial or manufacturing
activities with finer town houses in the 2nd
century points to the economic success of the
mercantile and manufacturing classes in the
city. Tracing this class into the later centuries
is harder because of the limited sample of
excavations from the principal street frontages,
where later shops and businesses may have
been located.
It is difficult to do justice to the myriad
professions and trades that must have been
practised in the city. The evidence for specific
industries is considered below.
Pottery production
The pottery industry at Colchester clearly
played an important role in the local economy
and for a time engaged in significant provincial
trade. The pottery industry revived fairly
quickly after the Boudican revolt. Coarse
ware production is difficult to date, but it
is possible to demonstrate that coarse ware
types introduced during the pre-revolt colonia
remained in production after AD 60/1.
During the late 1st century a Colchester fine
ware industry developed a regional market in
Essex and Suffolk and by the late 1st century
Colchester colour-coated fine ware products
were reaching London in small numbers,
becoming more significant in early Antonine
contexts (mid-2nd century) and reasonably
common thereafter (Davies et al 1994, 122).
A kiln (MON298) excavated at Middleborough, dated to c AD 80–110, produced
mortaria, flagons and rouletted pedestalled
jars (CAR 10, 493; CAR 3, 182–3, fig 171;
Swan 1984, 92). During the early 2nd century
mortaria production at Colchester suffered
at the hands of Verulamium, but survived to
enter its strongest phase during the mid-2nd
century to c AD 200, when significant quantities
of Colchester mortaria, Black Burnished Ware
(BB2), colour-coated ware, fine grey ware and
flagons, as well as small amounts of samian
were produced (CAR 10, 494–6),
In the mid-2nd century a large group of kilns
was established west of the town. Eleven kilns
were excavated in 1933 and 1959 at Warren
Field (MON435, MON449–55, MON691–3)
(Hull 1963, 13–144, figs 9–76). These mainly
produced samian, mortaria and colour-coated
135
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
wares, and included, 500m to the west of the
town, the only excavated example of a samian
kiln in the British Isles (MON454; CAR 10,
494). The evidence suggests that some of
the Colchester samian potters were migrants
from east Gaul, where they are known to
have produced pottery at Sinzig (Hartley 1977,
256–7; Simpson 1982, 149–50). Their decision
to relocate may have been misjudged, as very
little locally produced samian pottery has been
recovered from the colonia and it appears that
the industry was not very successful. Analysis
of the hundreds of fragments of samian
moulds has suggested that 14 named potters
worked from the town (Tyers 1996, 114, table
32); the local samian was evidently of good
quality and the reason for its lack of success
remains a mystery (Denison 2001, 7).
The Warren Field kilns produced other
fine wares, including colour-coated wares,
mica-gilt wares and fine red and white wares.
These wares are not found in any quantity in
the colonia, and evidence for regional export
is also scarce, although a barbotine colourcoated beaker from Colchester has been found
on the Antonine wall (CAR 10, 494; Gillam
1961, fig 15, 80). Fine ware production at the
Warren Field kilns continued into the late 2nd
century.
A group of three late 2nd-century kilns
(MON644, MON645, MON646) was excavated at Oaks Drive in 1973. These produced
mortaria, colour-coated beakers and some
coarse wares (CAR 6, 338–40, figs 13.21–
13.22). The presence of forms not found on
the Antonine Wall indicates that production
at Oaks Drive continued after AD 163 and
possibly into the early 3rd century (CAR 10,
495–6). Elsewhere, the discovery of pottery
and wasters in the Butt Road cemetery points
to a kiln or kilns being located in the area,
datable by the presence of pottery form Cam.
306 to the late 2nd century, (CAR 9, 25–6;
CAR 10, 496).
In the 3rd century the pottery industry lost
much of its military market but continued
to feed local demands (CAR 10, 496). Hull
dated a number of Colchester kilns to the
3rd century, but the dating is not conclusive.
Five kilns (MON703–7) at Warren Field were
dated to c AD 300 and a sixth (MON783),
observed in 1959 at Endsleigh Court Road, was
dated to AD 250–300. Other kilns (MON848,
MON849) excavated at Endsleigh School
in 1959 were also dated to c AD 300, but
Symonds has suggested a revised date in the
early to mid-3rd century (CAR 10, 496). Local
assemblages show that colour-coated ware was
still produced in Colchester during the later
3rd century, but the decline of the industry
is demonstrated by its absence even in local
centres such as Chelmsford. Instead exports,
such as Nene Valley wares and Hadham red
wares, became popular (CAR 10, 496).
Evidence for 4th-century production is
scant; grey wares may have continued to
be produced locally, but no kilns can be
firmly dated to this century. Hull suggests a
4th-century date for kiln 25 (MON814) at
Endsleigh School; however, Symonds prefers
a late 3rd-century date. By the mid-4th century,
shell-tempered ware imports are found,
along with Eifelkeramik/Mayen ware, which
continued to be supplied to the city until the
end of the century (CAR 10, 496–7).
Traces of other kiln sites have been found
within the dyke system. In 1933, during the
extension of Queens Road, a large amount of
pottery of homogenous appearance, probably
from a nearby kiln producing grey wares of
form Cam. 268, was recovered (Hull 1963, 175).
In 1934, a large spread of pottery (FND320),
thought to be linked to kiln or kilns operated
by the potters working from kilns MON435,
MON449 and MON459, was found at 105
Crouch Street (Hull 1963, 176, Kilns 15–17)
and, in 1938, a large quantity of pottery similar
to that found at the 1933 Warren Field kilns
was found in Crouch Street (FND247; CMR
1944, 17; Hull 1958, 248). North of the town
a spread of amphora and mortaria sherds dated
to c AD 200 at the corner of Margaret Road
and Serpentine Walk, may be from a kiln
(FND135), while, to the west of the town,
the remains of sigillata pottery and fragments
of vitrified kiln-wall and clay blocks found in
Fitzwalter Road suggest a number of kilns
(MON781, MON782) (Hull 1958, 248–9).
Possible kilns have also been noted at Oaks
Drive (MON758) (CAR 6, 811–12), Lexden
Lodge (MON767) (CAT Report 9/93c), Mill
Place on Butt Road (MON985) (Wire nd,
7.11.1843), Lexden Road (MON798) (CMR
1937–44) and St Mary’s Rectory (MON811)
(Holbert 1966, 14). Further afield, kilns are
known to have been operated at Ardleigh,
where an industry producing stylistically similar
pottery forms to Colchester operated in the
136
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
1st and 2nd centuries (Going and Belton 1999,
33, 154–7). More detail on Colchester pottery
production can be found in CAR 10, including
the survey in Chapter 8.
Various household and personal items
were made in the kilns in addition to pottery
vessels. There is evidence for a number of
clay objects being manufactured in Colchester,
such as candlesticks, an artist’s palette, facemasks, lamps and lamp holders (Hull 1963,
108–10;Eckardt 2002a and b). Terracotta
plaques with moulded reliefs have been noted
at Sheepen, St Mary’s Hospital and near the
precinct of the Temple of Claudius (interim
report in J Roman Stud XXII (1932): 212;
Hawkes and Hull 1947, fig 66.2; Hull 1958,
pl XXXa). Additionally, antefix designs from
Britain often display local stylistic traits and may
have been locally produced: two examples in
red clay from Colchester, which came from the
same mould, show a Medusa design (Toynbee
1964, 430; Hull 1958, 209, pl XXX).
Tile and lime kilns
Two tile kilns (MON775, MON774) were
excavated at Moat Farm, north of Sheepen, in
1969–70 (Holbert 1971, 22–34; McWhirr 1979,
129–30). They were both of the rectangular
up-draught type with sloping-bottomed lateral
flues. Both date to the second half of the
1st century. Another tile kiln may have been
operated nearby, as a large amount of tile was
recovered during fieldwalking (FND265; Fawn
1983, 36; interim report in Britannia 28 (1997):
433). Closer to the city, at Sheepen, brick and
tile was found over a wide area during the major
1930s excavation, and a tile clamp (MON865)
and tile kiln (MON437) were excavated. Clay
was extracted from the Sheepen site and tiles
were evidently manufactured in a number
of areas, the dominant forms being roofing
tiles of tegula and imbrex type (Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 71, 107, 115). The excavators
believed that production commenced with
the foundation of the colonia rather than the
fortress, but their interpretation may have been
coloured by their belief that Colchester was
founded as a temporary legionary base rather
than a permanent fortress like Mainz (ibid,
347). Elsewhere, William Wire noted a ‘brick
kiln’ in Queen Street which he erroneously
associated with the construction of All Saints’
church (Wire nd, 20.9.1848; MON614), and
a poorly located kiln (MON703) recorded in
1877 may have been used to produce tiles (Hull
1963, 3; McWhirr 1979, 126–7). An evaluation
south of the Victoria Inn on North Station
Road produced a box tile fragment stamped
using a 2nd-century die also known from
London and Canterbury. This could suggest
that not all of Colchester’s tile needs were
locally supplied (Black 2001, 12). However,
tile kilns were also present at rural sites in the
hinterland: for example, a possible tile kiln is
recorded at Mount Bures, 12km from the town
(EHCR9214; Holbert 1972, 19–22; McWhirr
1979, 132–3).
There is little evidence for Roman lime
production in Colchester, but in a marshy area
close to the Gosbecks spring, a possible lime
kiln built of large pieces of building tile and
segmental column tile was uncovered in 1948.
Nearby, a well-preserved horizontal timber and
two vertical posts belonging to a small building
were noted (Hull 1958, 270).
Glass
Glass spoilt in the production process was
normally remelted and used again. However,
evidence for glass sometimes survives in the
form of waste fragments called moiles, formed
from the waste glass left on the blowing-iron
after a newly made vessel has been removed.
Moiles have been found at Sheepen (Harden
1970, 51; Allen 1983, 772), Culver Street Site G,
where they were dated to c AD 65–150 (CAR 6,
118; CAR 8, 2265), and in a ditch at Balkerne
Lane, loosely dated to somewhere between the
2nd and 4th centuries (CAR 6, 118; CAR 8,
209, no. 2266). Evidence that blue-green glass
was locally produced was apparently recovered
from Sheepen area 5 in 1933, but was never
published (Harden 1947, 288), although trial
trenching close to area 5 in 1969 revealed the
remains of a burnt floor with traces of glass
on its northern side and a possible stoke hole,
perhaps from a glass furnace (Harden 1969, 51;
interim report in Britannia 1 (1970): 290).
Local manufacture was being supplemented
by glass imports from the Mediterranean by
the late 1st century if not earlier. In the initial
decades of the occupation, glass wares such
as the Italian glass bowl from the Stanway
‘warrior’ grave would have been imported
from the Mediterranean (Crummy 2001, 66),
and from the late 1st century, supply would
have also been fed by industries established
in northern Britain and imports from the
137
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Rhineland, Belgium and northern France
(CAR 8, 227).
The extensive Roman glass collection from
Colchester is comparable with important
European centres such as Cologne and Trier
(Jennifer Price, pers comm). In addition to
domestic use, glass vessels such as small
green-tinged globular jugs, funnel-mouthed
cylindrical bottles, barrel jugs and cups were
commonly used as grave goods in Colchester
into the 4th century (CAR 9, 153–4). The
relative scarcity of some of these vessels in
other north-western provinces may suggest
that these were made in Britain (ibid). An
exceptional glass cup, showing a chariot
race in a circus, was recovered from a grave
group along the Lexden Road, but the origin
of manufacture is not known (Hull 1958,
254). Fragments of other decorated mouldblown cups showing gladiators fighting were
recovered from a Claudian deposit at Sheepen
(Harden 1947, 229, pl LXXXVI) and from
Balkerne Lane (Fig 7.17; Price 1977, 152).
Glass decorative jewellery and counters have
also been recovered (CAR 2, 182).
Other notable glass finds from Roman
deposits include 49 turquoise, blue and green
tesserae from Culver Street (CAR 6, 176) and
isolated fragments of millefiori glass from
Gosbecks and Insula 2 (Hull 1958, 79). Painted
glass was also popular in the 1st century, with a
peak in examples from pre-Boudican deposits,
although later examples, such as a piece buried
around AD 65, are known (Harden 1947, 297,
no. 33; see J Glass §Studies 43 (2001): 253). The
only glassware shop positively identified in
Britain is at Colchester (MON709), and may
have been destroyed in the Boudican revolt
(Wacher 1998a, 223). The small amounts
of window glass recovered from Colchester
indicates that early window glass here was cast,
but by the 4th century it was blown (Perring
2002, 118; CAR 6, 117–18).
Metalworking
The small amount of metalworking debris
from the intramural area suggests small-scale
smithing associated with maintaining domestic,
commercial and agricultural equipment.
The town house (MON489) at Lion Walk
appears to have contained a workshop facing
the street dating to the late 1st or early 2nd
century. Here a room contained burnt daub,
charcoal patches and two furnaces or ovens.
Also at Lion Walk, a late 1st-century building
(MON473), little more than a hut, contained a
forging hearth with fragments of hammerscale
(a by-product of ironsmithing), forging slag
and furnace lining (ibid, 49, fig 38). Small-scale
ironworking, dating between the 1st and 3rd
centuries, was also indicated at the Gilberd
School site by the presence of iron-rich fuel
ash slags, smithing slag and a piece of reduced
fired clay with a thick vitrified covering. At
the same site a possible crucible fragment was
recovered from a post-Roman layer (CAR 6,
243). A fragment from a pair of large smith’s
tongs was found unstratified on Culver Street
site K (ibid, 193), along with considerable
quantities of tap slag from smelting dating
to the Flavian period or later (ibid, 193, 197).
Hammerscale was recovered from Culver
Street site G, associated either with early 3rdcentury buildings (MON599, MON600) or
with deposits below them (ibid, 197).
At least one coppersmith from the colonia is
known by name; a plaque found at one of the
temples is dedicated to Silvanus by ‘Cintusmus
the Coppersmith’ (Hull 1958, 239; Breeze
2004, 228–9; RIB 1, 194). A hearth at the
rear of a building (MON589) at Culver Street
may have been used for copper-alloy working
(CAR 6, 31, 78–9) and a furnace associated
Fig 7.17 Part of a
cylindrical glass cup
decorated with an image
of a charioteer with four
horses reigned to a halt.
It was found at Balkerne
Lane, Colchester in 1976
and dates to the period
AD 60–80 (COLEM:
1986.67.9999).
138
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.18 The
Middleborough Mosaic
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
Flavian pottery, indicating that metalworking
continued on the site (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
107). An extensive, but undated, area of burnt
soil containing a piece of heavy sheet metal and
patches of heavy and light slag was noted after
ploughing in the 1940s, south of the Gosbecks
theatre (interim report in J Roman Stud 34 (1944):
81; Hull 1958, 260; CAR 11, 104).
with bronze working was noted at Lion Walk
(MON480) (CAR 3, 52). At 21–31 Long Wyre
Street, a building (MON1040) contained a
number of copper-alloy sheet fragments and
a hearth of mid-2nd-century date associated
with hammerscale (Brooks 2004c, 29–30).
Elsewhere, crucibles used to melt copper alloys
have been recovered from Lion Walk (CAR 3,
214–15), Balkerne Lane (ibid, 215) and Culver
Street (CAR 6, 194–7; fig 5.1). Further copperalloy finds and hammerscale came from a later
3rd-century deposit on the Long Wyre Street
site, although it was not clear if this was an
enclosed or open-air area. At Culver Street,
pits close to the cultivated area contained waste
products from bronze working and possibly
ironsmithing, with the earliest pits dated to
c AD 60–150. A rare group of brass-making
crucible sherds were also found at Culver
Street (CAR 6, 194–6, fig 5.2), along with
crucibles containing traces of silver; these were
of distinctly native form. In addition, a lump
of debased silver was recovered from a postRoman layer (ibid, 196–7, table 5.3). At Lion
Walk, a crucible fragment contained traces of
silver, copper and lead and was evidently used
in the manufacture of silver (CAR 3, 215).
Outside the town walls an excavation at
the Royal Grammar School in 1964 produced
evidence of metalworking slag associated with
‘burnt floors’ and late 1st-century pottery and
coins (Crittenden 1967, 3). A watching brief in
2000 re-encountered these floors and, because
of the proximity of known burials, they were reinterpreted as cremation pyres (interim report
in Britannia 32 (2001): 362). The 1930s Sheepen
excavation recorded a great deal of bronze slag,
crucibles and casting moulds associated with
Mosaics and stucco work
A large number of mosaics and tessellated
pavements have been recorded in Colchester
(Neal and Cosh 2009, 83–140). These became
common in the 2nd century when the city
grew in affluence and after mortar floors had
begun to replace earlier daub floors. In the
4th century, however, mosaics were rare in
Colchester, in contrast to their popularity in
the west of the province (Reece 1999, 82).
Details of local production are scant; however,
stylistic similarities between Verulamium and
Colchester have been noted, as distinct from
fashions in the west of the province (Neal
1981, 19, 70–4; Smith 1984, 362–4; Ling 1997,
264). A possible mosaicist’s strip used in the
on-site manufacture of mosaic tesserae has
been recovered. This consisted of a strip of
dark stone, possibly limestone, rectangular in
section (CAR 6, 176). Outstanding mosaics
from Colchester include the wrestling cupids
from Middleborough (Fig 7.18; CAR 3, 168–
74; Neal and Cosh 2009, 133–136); the lion and
radial mosaics from Lion Walk (CAR 3, 57–62;
Neal and Cosh 2009, 122–3); the geometric
designs from Insula 2 (Hull 1958, 78, pl XV
and XVI; Neal and Cosh 2009, 87–90); the
vase from Insula 34 (Hull 1958, 209, pl XXXIII;
Neal and Cosh 2009, 113–4); the Buryfield
(Berryfield) Mosaic (Hull 1958, 218, pl XXXIV;
Neal and Cosh 2009, 126–8); the four-petalled
flower from North Hill (Neal 1981, 70–1, pl
38); the dahlia flower from North Hill (ibid,
72–3, pl 40); and the cantharus from North
Hill (ibid 71–2, pl 39). Another medium of
interior decoration is moulded stucco work,
which is rare in the province, but one recorded
fragment is part of a relief, perhaps showing
a human knee, found in Colchester (Barford
1987, 273).
Bone- and horn-working
Waste products left by bone industries have
been recovered from outside the walls; at
Balkerne Lane a collection of worked bone
139
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
and offcuts came from the later levels, while
at Butt Road offcuts and waste pieces from a
craft workshop making bone ornaments for
furniture were dated to the early 4th century
(Crummy 1981; CAR 2, 152–60). Within the
walls a fragment of a cut horn core, perhaps
horn-working waste, was recovered from
Culver Street among the demolition debris
of a late 3rd-century building (MON597);
later levels at Culver Street produced more
worked antler fragments (CAR 6, 197–8).
Studies of bone-working both in Britain and
on the continent point to this being a craft
of the suburbs that was part of an efficient
chain of carcass utilisation, providing not just
meat and hides but by-products such as glue,
pins, spoons, dice and other objects (Crummy
2001b; Bertrand 2008). The quantities of
bone-working debris from Colchester are very
small compared to the large dumps found at
Winchester, and it may be that such dumps
remain to be found in unexplored parts of the
suburbs, or that the town imported most of its
bone objects from elsewhere in Britain (Rees
et al 2008, 179–94).
Baking and brewing
Dozens of small ovens have been recorded in
the town. These were typically set in keyholeshaped oval pits, sometimes with a piece of flat
tile on the oven floor, the superstructure being
formed by a dome of daub. Ovens at Balkerne
Lane with a long flue and comparatively small
chamber at the end may represent a later
form (CAR 3, 25–6). The lack of vitrified
deposits in these ovens suggests that most
were for domestic baking; a fine example of a
town-house kitchen with multiple ovens was
excavated at Lion Walk (ibid, 54).
In addition to pottery wares, evidence for
domestic food preparation and consumption
from excavated sites includes shale serving
trays, copper-alloy and pewter cooking vessels,
gridirons, quernstones and stone mortars
(CAR 2, 69–77). At Long Wyre Street a
building (MON1041) contained an oven,
cooking bowls and meat-rich bones suggestive
of commercial cooking (Brooks 2004c, 30–1).
At Culver Street charred grain which appears to
have been deliberately germinated as if to make
malt for brewing beer was recovered (CAR
6, 286); a similar deposit is recorded in Insula
XIII at Verulamium (Niblett and Thompson
2005, 135).
Imports
Colchester was well located for continental
trade, providing the possibility of a direct
supply route from the Rhine through to the
south-east of Britain. The oppidum had already
established strong trading links with the
continent, and the requirements of the early
Roman garrison would have reinforced such
links. The range of imported goods found
in the colonia follows similar patterns to those
at other major Roman urban centres. Roman
tastes were catered for by the importation
of large quantities of transport amphorae
containing wine, olive oil and fish sauce. Other
foods and spices were imported, along with
cloth, cosmetics, jewellery, fine art, furniture,
metalwork, tableware, glassware and building
materials. The last of these was imported from
Gaul and Germany as well as Mediterranean
quarries which included types of Greek and
North African marble (Hull 1955, 24–61; Hull
1958, 188–9; CAR 2, nos 2546–821; Drury
1984, 37). Lamps were imported from central
Gaul (CAR 6, 162) and furniture items include
a fine carved Parian marble panther table leg
from Culver Street, which originated from the
Aegean (ibid, 173–6). Other exotic imports
include a variety of pipeclay figurines that can
be traced to workshops in Central Gaul and at
Cologne (CAR 2, 141). There is a considerable
assemblage of glassware from Colchester, but
unfortunately the origins of this are notoriously
difficult to trace. Early supplies would have
come from the Mediterranean, with a British
industry developing from the late 1st century
or early 2nd century and being supplemented
by imports from the Rhineland, Belgium and
northern France (CAR 8, 227).
The study of imports is dominated by
pottery because of its durability and the ease
of dating. In the early Roman period fine wares
are imported, with coarse wares being locally
supplied. Over time Colchester developed
its own fine ware industry, with supplies also
coming from Verulamium. A recession in the
mid-3rd century meant the collapse of the
import market and, subsequently, provincial
industries cornered the remaining market. A
full account of the Roman pottery imports
into Colchester is not attempted here but can
be found in CAR 10.
Shops
Apart from the two pre-Boudican shops
140
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
recorded on the High Street, little is known
about the extent and character of commercial
areas in the town. It has already been noted
that a number of properties at Balkerne Lane,
Culver Street and Long Wyre Street encompass
workshop and/or shops. The presence of
butcher’s shops at Balkerne Lane, Lion Walk
and Long Wyre Street are suggested by the
numerous cattle scapulae from these sites
(CAR 12; Dobney et al 1999, 23). Recent
excavations at 21–31 Long Wyre Street have
produced an assemblage of meat-rich bones
and a structure associated with cooking which
may be commercial in character (Wade 2001).
Farming strategies and diet
The scale of the walled town and related public
monuments suggests a sizeable population, for
which no accurate estimate is possible. Philip
Crummy has proposed a population of at least
15,000 for the territorium with a core of perhaps
2,000 settlers as a working hypothesis (Crummy
2001, 64). In any case, the population would
have constituted a major regional market,
supplied by pastoral and cereal farming and
market gardening undertaken both within
the walls and for a considerable distance
beyond. Remains of foodstuffs recovered from
excavations provide some indication of tastes
and farming strategies.
Meat supply
Butchery waste recovered from the Co-op site
in Long Wyre Street provides us with a fair
indication of Roman domestic tastes. Here
cattle, pig, sheep/goat, horse and dog bones
were recorded; the only wild species were roe
deer, a small quantity of birds, fish and some
small mammals (Wade in Brooks 1997b). At
the former Gilberd School and Butt Road sites
concentrations of geese, duck and chicken
remains were also recorded. Pork, mutton
and beef were all popular fare, judging from
evidence from intramural sites, with cattle
being the dominant species and, in contrast,
butchered horse remains being extremely
rare (Hawkes and Hull 1947, 350–5; Luff
1985, 149–50; CAR 12, 55–100; Dobney et al
1999, 22). A faunal study of sites excavated
between 1971–85 by Luff has demonstrated
that sheep and cattle appear to increase in
size during the life of the colonia, suggesting
better treatment and feeding regimes under
the Roman organisation (CAR 12, 140). This
pattern seems to be common to southern
Britain (Grant 2000, 481). Another pattern
was the tendency to kill animals young, in
contrast to a number of other Romano-British
sites, suggesting that the local population was
relatively affluent and able to pay for young
kills. A similar pattern has been identified at
York (O’Connor 1984, 26–7; 1989, 121). Joint
disorders in cattle from Colchester indicate that
cattle were also important for traction (Dobney
et al 1999, 22). Given the low incidence of wild
animal remains from Colchester sites, hunting
does not seem to have been a key means of
supplying food, although a wide variety of
game birds were caught and eaten, including
black-tailed godwit, whimbrel, swan, curlew,
tufted duck, mallard, widgeon, lapwing, crane,
teal and woodcock (CAR 12, 98).
Cereals and other foodstuffs
Carbonised and mineralised seeds from
Boudican destruction layers indicate that
the dominant local cereal was spelt. A freethreshing wheat and possibly an emmer
wheat were also grown along with six-row
hulled barley, rye and oats (CAR 6, 280–2).
Interestingly, a deposit of charred wheat grain
from Culver Street had no trace of fungus
or insect infestation, which may suggest
both effective processing by winnowing and
sieving and adequate storage (Alcock 2001,
17). Carbonised and mineralised fruits and
nuts from Boudican layers have provided
additional dietary information, indicating
the consumption of elderberry, raspberry,
black mulberry, grapes, figs, cherries, walnut,
hazelnut, mulberry, sloe, olives, plum and
imported dates (CAR 12, 141). The dates are
reported to have been found uncompressed,
as if imported in a firm container (Alcock
2001, 67). Coriander seeds, commonly used to
flavour food, have been recovered, along with
dill and poppy seeds from the pottery/food
shop excavated on the High Street (ibid, 72).
A trace of Roman extramural horticulture or
market gardening was noted at Balkerne Lane,
where loosely spaced ridges were recorded
(CAR 3, 140).
Marine foods
Mussels and oysters predominated among
the shellfish found in Colchester, but whelks,
carpet shells and cockles were also eaten.
141
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Among the fish, herring, plaice and flounder
were most popular, with freshwater salmon and
eels being consumed in smaller numbers. Large
numbers of oyster shells have been recovered
from most Roman sites within the town,
and oysters were clearly a popular food. This
pattern is not necessarily found at other Essex
coastal settlements; at Heybridge, for example,
there was no similar evidence for oyster
consumption. Excavators have suggested
that either Colchester controlled the rights to
oysters along this stretch of the Essex Coast or
that oysters were exported from Heybridge as
a cash crop for urban consumption (Atkinson
and Preston 1998, 108).
Intramural horticulture and agriculture
The lack of evidence for widespread fire
damage after the Boudican revolt may indicate
that the town was not densely built up away
from principal street frontages. The intramural
area would have contained many gravelled
yards, forecourts, gardens, fields and areas of
derelict land. Probable garden plots have been
identified at Culver Street, the Cups Hotel and
Head Street. At the Head Street Post Office site
a demi-lune water basin, probably an external
garden feature, was excavated (Hull 1958, pl
XXXIIb; Brooks 2004b, 15–17). The presence
of a hypocaust in an adjoining room could
indicate that this was part of a bathhouse, but
the absence of steps down into the basin makes
the former interpretation more likely. Such
features are unusual in the province and may
indicate that the owner was of Mediterranean
extraction.
At Culver Street the southern part of Insula
34 was not redeveloped after the Boudican fire;
instead the building debris was reworked into
cultivation soil, which developed up to 0.55m
thick before the land was built over in the 2nd
century. At Culver Street cultivation plots or
allotments were divided by wooden fences and
ditches; spade marks were also recorded and a
spade sheath was found (CAR 6, 59–61, 186,
fig 5.50). The cultivation plots contained small
circular pits, some of which contained cattle
fodder and faecal remains. Burnt waste from
byres or stables recovered from Culver Street
also indicate the presence of livestock inside
the town (ibid, 284).
The land in the south-west quarter of Insula
35 appears to have been cultivated from after
the revolt through most of the Roman period.
Here the Culver Street excavation revealed
cultivated deposits that were up to 0.80m thick,
similar to those at Lion Walk and Balkerne Lane
(CAR 3, 56 and 138–41). Instead of a footway,
two shallow ditches divided the cultivated land
from the former via principalis. These ditches
appear to be aligned with an arched drain near
a large 2nd-century courtyard house to the
north, perhaps both formed part of a unified
drainage system (CAR 6, 61). Curiously, the
ditches curved eastwards at the southern end
of the insula, despite the presence of an arched
drain in the town wall just to the south (CAT
Report 5/88b). Pits with smithing debris were
recorded within the plot, as well as the iron
tip of a wooden ploughshare and traces of
seaweed manure (CAR 6, 186, fig 5.50, 277).
A number of structures recorded at Culver
Street may have had agricultural functions.
Foundations which almost certainly supported
a tower granary (MON572) were found in the
cultivated area, most probably dating to the
2nd century, and a probable corn-drying oven
(MON573) was built over the foundations
in the 4th century (ibid, 108–12), although
a possible sub-Roman origin for this oven
is discussed in the next chapter. A series of
utility buildings was located in Insula 34: a small
post-built structure (MON575), possibly a
barn or shed for animals, and a small structure
(MON555) associated with a series of ovens
of possible agricultural or horticultural use.
During the early 3rd century these buildings
were replaced with three new utilitarian
buildings (MON598–600), all with ovens, one
containing a water storage tank and another
perhaps a corn-drying oven.
Another building at Culver Street that may
have had an agricultural function was a large
rectangular building (MON608) built in the late
3rd or early 4th century. The building measured
45m by 17m and consisted of a central room
flanked by aisles. Although initially interpreted
as a possible church, the plain nature of the
structure and its location among allotment
plots may suggest an agricultural/storage
function (CAR 6, 112–16; Faulkner 2000,
129).
Changes in the urban role of the colonia
in the 3rd century may be suggested by the
decline of the pottery industry (Going 1997,
37) and the evidence for farming within the
town (Faulkner 1994, 113–14, fig 9; Perring
2002, 77). Evidence for cultivation in the
142
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
associated with the deliberate demolition of
buildings, soil dumping and the reworking of
human excrement and midden deposits by the
Romans themselves. Excavators in Colchester
have tended to distinguish between the darker
Roman cultivation soils and the (confusingly)
lighter dark earths, composed of household
debris, decayed plants and building material,
that have sometimes been cultivated in postRoman times (CAR 3, 92). The distinction can
be confusing, as soils cultivated in the Roman
period have also proved to contain large
amounts of building debris (CAR 6, 273–5).
Uncultivated dumps of dark earth have been
noted in the town ditch at Balkerne Lane (CAR
3, Sheet 6b, Sx 65) and Lion Walk (ibid, Sx 55,
Sheet 6a), suggesting that this was indeed waste
material rather than soil brought into town for
cultivation. In London it has been suggested
that the scarcity of late Roman rubbish pits can
be explained by the debris being worked into
the dark earth through cultivation (Perring and
Brigham 2000, 146).
Post-Roman topsoil or dark earth has been
recorded at several locations around the town,
its depth influenced by the natural slope. Along
the High Street, which follows a natural ridge
through the centre of the town, it is virtually
non-existent. To the south of the High Street it
has been recorded to a depth of 1.4m at Lion
Walk, while to the north, at the former Gilberd
School, medieval and post-medieval dark earth
has been observed to a depth of 1.5m (CAR
3, 92; CAR 6, 139). In the north-east corner
of the town, dark earth layers are recorded as
0.45m thick in Insula 15 and beyond the town
wall as at least 1m thick (CAR 6, 372–3).
Fig 7.19 Ground plan of
Temple of Claudius
(P Crummy 1980).
later Roman period has been recovered from
a number of intramural sites. Fourth-century
cultivation was noted at Culver Street in the
northern part of Insula 34 (CAR 6, 117), and at
the Gilberd School site in Insula 9a (ibid, 137).
An evaluation at the Hole in the Wall public
house in 1994 recorded cultivation soil that had
built up over the road to the Balkerne Gate,
which had fallen out of use when the gate was
closed in the 3rd century (EVT3583).
Dark earth
Open spaces in Roman cities as at Colchester,
from the late 2nd century onwards, have been
linked with dark earth deposits, sometimes
Religious and burial practice
The Temple of Claudius
The Temple of Claudius (MON785; Figs
7.2, 7.19), located in Insula 22, would have
acted as the centre of the imperial cult. At
approximately 32m × 23.5m in plan it is
the largest Classical temple recorded from
the province. The only temple to compare
with the Temple of Claudius in size is the
Temple of Sulis Minerva in Bath which is
approximately 25m × 19m in plan (Cunliffe
and Davenport 1985, fig 14).The temple lay
within a rectangular walled precinct and may
have been served by administrative buildings
to the south. Its massive septaria foundations
143
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
are preserved below the surviving Norman
castle (Fig 6.2). The vaults have been mostly
cleared of gravel and can be visited, revealing
the septaria and tile podium foundations set
in poor-quality mortar (Carter 1969). None
of the foundation material appears to be
reused, perhaps suggesting that the base was
built prior to the Boudican revolt, in line with
the historical account provided by Tacitus
(Annals, XIV) of the temple being used as the
last refuge for the Roman defenders during
the Boudican assault on the town. The exact
date of its construction is unresolved; it would
have been unusual, although not impossible,
for the temple to have been commissioned in
the lifetime of Claudius. However, a dedication
by his successor Nero is more likely (Fishwick
1972; Irby-Massie 1999, 22–6).
The podium base measures 32m by 23.5m
and is 4m high, providing a clear indication
of the scale of the original building. Nothing
survives of the superstructure of the temple,
but by using Vitruvian architectural principles
it is possible to suggest that the podium would
have supported a massive colonnaded building
with an octastyle entrance façade some 20m
high, including the exposed part of the podium
(Crummy 2001, 60).
Small-scale excavations on the temple were
undertaken by Laver in the 1920s and Rudsdale
in the 1930s (Hull 1958, 164–8; Drury 1984,
7). Drury reopened one of Laver’s trenches
in 1977, and further small investigations
were undertaken in 1992 for a new lift shaft,
and again in 1996 in the well house (ibid,
9–13; Partridge 1993b, 234–6). Unfortunately
these minor excavations have produced little
decorative or superstructural material. A note
on traces of White ‘Greek’ marble and Purbeck
marble from Insula 22 is provided by Mrs J E
Morley (in Hull 1958, 188) and unstratified
Caen, Purbeck marble and Purbeck stone is
described by Drury (1982, 348). Drury has
suggested that the temple was radically altered
in the 4th century, when it may have been
rebuilt as a large hall or basilica (Drury 1984,
33). He describes evidence of a wall built
across the temple steps, which could then
have been infilled; furthermore, a tile raft in
the sub-crypt was interpreted as part of a later
structure built onto the podium. However, the
castle well house excavation in 1996 failed to
find any evidence for these alterations and the
fate of the temple remains unclear. The later
reuse of the podium in the 11th century makes
it interesting to speculate on the status and
symbolism of this site through the 5th–10th
centuries: the Colchester Chronicle (a 14th-century
account of Colchester from AD 219–330 and
AD 1071–1239) states that the Norman keep
was built on foundations of the palace of King
Coel, suggesting a folk memory of activity on
the site prior to the Norman Conquest.
The precinct of the Temple of Claudius
The precinct around the temple was, like the
temple, orientated north–south, and measured
about 150m by 164m (Drury 1984, 21–37; Hull
1958, 189–91). When Castle Park was laid out
for public use in 1892, a path was cut through
the massive Norman rampart and workmen
encountered a substantial Roman wall which
Henry Laver traced for some 48m; this proved
to be the northern temenos wall of the precinct
(Laver 1906, 122–5). The foundations of the
eastern precinct wall were excavated by the
Morant Club in 1921 (Drury 1984, 26) and
the north-east corner of the precinct was
excavated again in 1950 (Hull 1958, 180–9).
The later excavation found that the precinct
wall, protected by the Norman bailey bank,
survived to a height of 3m above its footings.
The wall was of dressed septaria with a rubble
core, and a smaller internal wall was recorded
8m to the south.
In 1931–2 the area in front of the castle was
examined, revealing a vaulted drain and the
corner of a presumed altar base (Drury 1982,
302–419). Subsequently, in 1953, Hull was able
to investigate the southern part of the precinct
again when a house on the High Street burnt
down (Hull 1955, 24–61). Here he uncovered a
massive platform built to accommodate a series
of solid piers 6 feet (1.8m) wide by 8 feet (2.4m)
deep. These supported arches, forming a screen
wall for the precinct, which Hull dated to after
the Boudican revolt. Fragments of Purbeck
marble, white plaster mouldings, arch segments,
columns and a variety of building stones
were recovered. The excavator ruled out the
possibility that the southern end of the precinct
was lined with shops or offices and suggested
that it was fronted with an ornamental façade.
At some point the arches in this façade were
closed off with thin walls, creating arched
recesses or exedrae. Centrally placed in this
screen wall was a monumental arch first seen
in 1931 and subsequently in 2006 (MON713;
144
Fig 7.20 Gosbecks in the
Roman period (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Hull 1958, 169–71; Brooks 2006b; Shimmin
2006b). Excavations by Max Hebditch in 1964
also encountered the southern precinct wall,
and he noted traces of timber buildings south
of this screen (Hebditch 1971, 117–20).
In 1964 another excavation to the west of
the temple revealed a fine masonry vaulted
sewer incorporating fragments of reused
marble. A late 2nd- or early 3rd-century pit
was filled with building debris, including white
stucco from the facing of fluted columns and a
sandstone slab from a monumental inscription.
To Drury, this suggested a major refurbishment
of the precinct in the late 2nd-century (Drury
1984, 28). In 1969 an excavation at the Castle
Methodist Church, Ryegate Road, just to the
west of the temple, revealed a fine vaulted
sewer which was probably part of the late 1stcentury layout of the temple precinct (Niblett
1982, 346–7). The inner angle of the southern
temenos wall was observed again in 1980 at
Cowdray Crescent (CAR 6, 940–1).
The character of the temenos range is not
clearly understood. It was probably an open
portico with some enclosed rooms; the north
range may have been floored with Purbeck
marble slabs (Smith 1847, 29–45; Hull 1958,
189), with the internal walls plastered and
painted. The temenos itself was probably paved
with small bricks, as these and their cement
bedding were found in 1964/69 and 1977.
During resurfacing work along Museum
Street, to the south-west of the temple, in
1986 a massive north–south foundation was
uncovered which measured 2.75m wide and
consisted of tile and tile fragments set in opus
signinum mortar. The foundation was situated
directly over the line of the east–west Roman
street, which suggests either that at some
stage a wall linked the temple precinct with
145
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
the public buildings to the south, forming a
single architectural unit, or that a monumental
gateway crossed the street at this point (CAT
Report 6/86A).
The speed at which the temple complex
was rebuilt after the Boudican revolt remains
unclear, although traces of convex column
fluting recovered from the precinct could
suggest building activity in late Neronian and
Flavian periods, when such patterns were
popular (Drury 1984, 27). As for the end of
the complex, late 4th-century pottery (post c
AD 360–70) and coins of Valentinian II (AD
382–92) and Theodosius I (AD 379–95) have
been recovered from the precinct. Drury has
even suggested that the replastering of the
perimeter blocking walls indicates maintenance
into the 5th century (ibid, 28).
The Gosbecks temple complex
At some time during the late 1st-century the
character of the Gosbecks settlement changed
and the fields and settlement areas north of the
late Iron Age trapezoidal farmstead enclosure
fell out of use. In their place a large religious
complex was constructed, with its focus being
the large rectangular ditched enclosure next to
the farmstead. Excavations, aerial photographs
and geophysical surveys have revealed a rich
sequence of monuments centred on this site,
and it is anticipated that more will come to light
(Fig 4.8). During the later 1st century, after the
Boudican revolt, a Romano-Celtic temple was
constructed in the south-east corner of the
rectangular enclosure and a double portico
was built around the outside of the ditch. The
enclosure evidently contained other features,
as suggested by geophysical surveys and the
fact that the temple was placed off-centre.
The morphological similarity of this enclosure
to the burial enclosures at Stanway has been
noted (P Crummy, pers comm). The Roman
portico was itself set within a larger walled
enclosure, which abutted another large walled
area to the east. The eastern walled enclosure
was constructed with recesses or exedrae in
the northern walls, possibly for benches, and
perhaps suggesting that it enclosed a garden.
These two walled enclosures, although not fully
defined, may have been linked to yet another
walled compound to the south which enclosed
a large stone-built theatre (see page 116 and Figs
4.8 and 7.20), creating an elaborate complex
similar to those recorded in northern Gaul
(CAR 11, 105) and at Lenus-Mars at Trier
(Wightman 1970, 211–13).
The late Iron Age enclosure ditch at the
centre of the complex has been sectioned
twice and was evidently recut and kept clean
during the life of the Roman sanctuary. It
was V-shaped and measures 7m across and
3.8m deep. Hull’s section in 1936 found fine
silt at the bottom, along with a little native
pottery and a coin of Cunobelin (Hull 1958,
263–4), while a further section in 1997 by the
Colchester Archaeological Trust found similar
silts at the base, with mid-1st-century pottery
and much animal bone, including a number of
pigs’ heads in the basal fill. Above this material
lay roof tile from the collapsed portico mixed
with carbonised woodland material, suggesting
that the portico had become overgrown before
finally collapsing, and above this in turn lay
material from the temple (interim report in
Britannia 29 (1998): 407). The only indication
that the enclosure ditch had a corresponding
bank was a thin patchy spread of gravel
recorded in 1977 between the ditch and the
inner wall of the portico (CAR 11, 101). No
evidence for such a bank was recovered by the
1997 excavation.
The double portico around the enclosure
had three parallel walls with an entrance in
the middle of the eastern side. The portico
foundations were all 1.0m–1.1m wide and were
deeper in the north-west corner, presumably
because of the steepness of the slope, which
descends into a spring hollow here. Tesserae
recovered from the ditch indicate that the
portico may have had tessellated walkways.
Excavations in 1996 and 1997 sectioned the
corners of the portico to determine its plan,
and established that the building’s form was
not quite square and that it measured roughly
98m across (interim report in Britannia 29
(1998): 407).
The temple was of typical Romano-Celtic
type with a cella and an ambulatory measuring
15m across. From Hull’s plans it seems that he
must have sectioned it in 1936 without realising
it. In 1995 a trench was put across the centre
of the well-robbed structure; this produced
traces of Purbeck marble dressing, black and
white tesserae and parts of clay Doric column
fragments that had fallen into the nearby
enclosure ditch. If these large fragments are
from the temple and not the collapsed portico
then the temple may have been taller and of
146
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
more Classical appearance than was previously
assumed (Crummy 2001, 106–7). These column
fragments were unusually large, suggesting
shafts 0.67m in diameter at the base, and had
been plastered and painted to give a marbled
effect. Vitruvian principles suggest that the
columns would have supported a ceiling 5.7m
high. An important find from the topsoil above
the temple was a finger ring depicting Mars
(ibid, 106, inset). The fine bronze statuette of
Mercury, found in plough soil at Gosbecks in
1947, was previously considered to be the best
evidence for the dedication of the temple, but
the ring could indicate that it was in fact Mars
who was worshipped here. This would fit in
neatly with the idea that Camulos, a native
god of war, was originally worshipped at the
site, hence the naming of the settlement as
Camulodunum. The Roman religious complex
may therefore have evolved from a pre-existing
sacred place.
The walled temenos around the temple and
portico was sectioned by Jenkins in 1842 and
by the Essex Archaeological Society in 1949.
Jenkins records the wall as approximately
3ft (0.9m) thick and noted deep pits close to
the wall containing oyster shells, boars’ tusks
and pottery (Gentleman’s Magazine, November
1842, pt 2, 526). A note in the Gentleman’s
Magazine records that three sides of the
portico were examined, with the exterior wall
of the portico measuring 285ft (86.8m) long
(Gentleman’s Magazine, November 1842, 526).
The 1949 excavation trenched along the wall
line looking for sections that had not been
robbed; traces of septaria buttresses and
mortared rubble foundations were noted. The
septaria foundations of the eastern enclosure
were also traced and the remnants of a gravel
floor were noted inside the compound (Hull
1958, 264–7). In 1999 CAT attempted to revisit
the 1949 trenches, but apart from the relocation
of the junction between the two compounds
and the ghost of the north–south dividing wall,
little new information was produced.
A Roman water main is clearly visible as
a cropmark running from near Gosbecks
roundabout towards a dark cropmark close to
the entrance of the portico. This was examined
in 1994, 1995 and 1998, and one section was
dated to the 2nd century or later (Benfield
2008a, 6–7; Brooks et al 1995; interim report
in Britannia 30 (1999): 354). The direction of
flow was not ascertained, but the presence of
a spring near the temple portico suggests that
water was being pumped northwards. The
1998 evaluation, north of the temple site, also
noted pits and ditches of late Iron Age and
early Roman origin. In 1995 CAT excavated
a trench across a rectangular parchmark
feature east of the temple, revealing slots
for large timbers, possibly joists for a timber
floor. Another cropmark north of the temple
has been suggested as the site of a possible
bathhouse or waterworks, while yet another to
the east of the temple could be the site of a
piscina or the remains of a hypocausted room
(CAR 11, 103).
Other Romano-Celtic temples
Eight Romano-Celtic temples have been
identified in the vicinity of Colchester, with a
further site (MON836) at St Mary’s Hospital
suggested by a plan and a note by P G Laver.
Recent excavations at St Mary’s have failed to
find any trace of this ‘temple’ and the sighting
now looks suspect (H Brooks, pers comm).
Four temples have been recorded at Sheepen,
all of which showed traces of having been built
on a slight mound. The first (MON434) was
excavated in the 1930s at St Helena School;
it was a large structure approximately 18m
square which had stone and mortar walls. Stone
plinths were built onto the eastern exterior wall
of the ambulatory; inside, a number of loose
tesserae were recovered. A coin of Domitian
(AD 81–96) in the floor make-up suggested a
date of construction in the late 1st or early 2nd
century and three late coins in well-stratified
gravel layers east of the temple suggest that
the site was in use until at least c AD 333 (Hull
1958, 224–33; Crummy 1980a, 248–52). The
temple was surrounded by a temenos wall, with
alternating buttresses inside and outside the
wall. In 1976 a plaque dedicated to Jupiter was
found inside the precinct, providing the likely
dedication (interim note in Britannia 8 (1977):
427; RIB 2, Fas 3, 2432.8). A nearby building
(MON432), excavated in 1935, may be part of
a sanctuary; the structure had two rooms with
stone foundations dated no earlier than the
late 2nd century (Hull 1958, 224). North of
the precinct an L-shaped building (MON671)
with several rooms has been recorded as a
cropmark, and was perhaps associated with
the running of the sanctuary (Crummy 1980a,
256).
A temple (MON431) north-west of the
147
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
above precinct was partially investigated during
the 1930s. It was rectangular, with a gravel
path leading to its entrance (Hull 1958, 233–4;
Crummy 1980a, 252). Closer to the river Colne
two temples were discovered in 1959; here, a
stone temple (MON771) had been built on the
site of an earlier wooden temple burnt during
the revolt (MON770). The later structure
had a tessellated floor in the ambulatory and
produced traces of marble veneer. A temenos
wall enclosing these two temples was located;
it had a series of recesses, or exedrae, probably
for benches, suggesting the presence of a
garden (ibid, 256).
In 1947 a temple was excavated on the
Royal Grammar School playing fields. It sat
within a polygonal ditched enclosure with an
entrance at the east side; the ditch was c 0.9m
deep and was surrounded by an enclosure wall
(MON796) which curved around it in a curious
manner in order to accommodate its irregular
form. Inside this precinct was a rectangular
temple (MON795) with a floor of rammed
soil. Another building (MON797) to the south
was rectangular with a wide entrance, and was
perhaps a meeting hall. The curious shape of
the enclosure and the care taken to maintain
that shape may suggest a previous native shrine
on the site. Finds from the site included two
stratified coins, one of Domitian (AD 81–96)
and one of Hadrian (AD 117–38), as well as
a small bronze stag and two bronze plaques,
one of which was dedicated to Silvanus by a
slave or freedman and the other to Silvanus
Callirius by a coppersmith (Hull 1958, 236–40;
Crummy 1980a, 258; RIB 1, 194 and 195). The
stag motif and Silvanus dedications suggest a
connection with hunting and woodland (Lewis
1966, 76).
A temple (MON418) was discovered just
outside the west gate of the town during
excavations at Balkerne Lane in 1973–6. The
foundations of the cella were noted, along with
the robbed-out foundations of the ambulatory.
Traces of pink and white wall plaster and part
of a mortared stone and tile plinth, possibly the
base of an altar, were recovered. The temple
had been built on a layer of dumped material
that contained late 1st-century pottery. In the
4th century the ambulatory was demolished
and its foundations robbed; nothing later than
a coin of AD 341 was recovered. The walls
of the cella survived to the height of the latest
Roman levels, suggesting that the building
was left as a ruin at the end of the Roman
period; this has led to speculation that the cella
was reused for Christian purposes. Part of a
copper-alloy figurine of Mercury was found in
the spoil, providing a possible dedication for
the temple (CAR 3, 123–5). Excavation on the
St Mary’s Hospital (Balkerne Heights) site in
the vicinity of the temple in the early 2000s
produced further evidence for it being a cult
centre for the worship of the god and probably
also a centre for healing: a second figurine of
Mercury, a priestess figurine, model caducei,
fragmentary regalia, temple plate, a range of
small votive personalia, a collyrium-stamp and
a scatter of probes and spoon-probes used in
minor operations or to apply salves (Crummy
2006).
Shrines
A small square building (MON419) located on
the road from the Balkerne Gate was excavated
at Balkerne Lane. It measured 10.8m by 11.2m
and may have been a temple of unusual design
or perhaps a shrine. The structure had been
extensively robbed, although traces of wooden
piles survived in the foundation trenches; this is
notable because the area is well-drained and the
piles could therefore indicate that the building
was quite tall. The rear wall of the building
was solid but other walls rested on piers,
indicating that they may have formed an arcade.
The structure lay over the early defensive
ditch around the colonia and therefore could
date from the late 1st century; the date for
demolition could be as late as the 5th century
(CAR 3, 126). Elsewhere, a small rectangular
building with a small porch at its western
end was excavated in Hollytrees Meadow in
1928–9. The structure measured 22ft by 17ft
(6.7m by 5.18m), but unfortunately only the
mortar layer of the foundations survived. The
excavators suggested that the building was a
shrine (MON788; Hull 1958, 114).
The presence of cellars in major Roman
towns (10 in Verulamium, 6 in London) has
been noted by Perring (1989, 295–8), who
suggests a ritual function for some or all of
these structures, based on the presence of rich
finds and decoration in some of them (see also
Niblett and Thompson 2005, 95–6). At least
seven probable cellars have been excavated in
Colchester, although a ritual function has yet
to be definitively demonstrated.
148
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Cult objects and inscriptions
Cult objects in association with temple structures are rare in Colchester. Many cult objects
have been recovered, but these could have come
from private houses and need not be related
to ritual buildings. The most common deities
are Jupiter, Minerva, Mars, Silvanus, Venus and
the demi-god Hercules (Green, 1976, 216–7;
Lindgren 1978, 73–4, 77, 81–2, 93). Three of
these deities are known to have received native
epithets or were equated with local gods: Mars
Medocius, Mercury Andescociuoucus and
Silvanus Callirius (Hull 1958, 239–40; Breeze
2004, 228–9). Several inscribed copper-alloy
votive plaques have been found in the vicinity
of temple sites in Colchester (Hull 1958,
239–40) and other common finds are ‘Venus’
figures made of pipeclay, which are believed
to have originated in Gaul. Recovered religious
figurines include a copper-alloy Abundantia
or Fortuna. Animal figurines include an egg, a
bull, a pigeon and a ram in pipeclay, an eagle’s
wing, a sitting hound, a turtle or tortoise, a
snake’s head and a cockerel in copper alloy
and a jet hare, (CAR 2, 141–5). A number
of jet bears from infant burials in the town
relate to others from Yorkshire and Germany,
pointing to a folk belief in the protective power
of a bear-mother goddess who was probably
derived from Artemis (Crummy 2010). Other
notable finds include a high-quality bronze
statue of Mercury and an iron finger ring
with an image of Mars engraved on a semiprecious gemstone, both recovered from near
the Gosbecks Temple site; a bronze statuette
of Jupiter (FND141) found west of Queens
Road in 1844 (Hull 1958, 275); a possible
altar stone found at Middleborough (CAR
3, 165–6); an intaglio ring depicting Hercules
as a god (Henig 1978, no. 429; Irby-Massie
1999, 129); a fragmentary stone sculpture of
an equestrian figure which may represent the
Indo-European/Celtic horse goddess Epona
(Huskinson 1994, 1.8.14; Irby-Massie 1999,
154); a copper-alloy figurine of the child-god
Harpocrates, evidence of the cult of Isis, from
Oxford Road (Crummy 2008, 21); and a wheelthrown pot showing a set of tools used by a
blacksmith which was found as part of a grave
group at Colchester and may have served a
ritual purpose in the cult of Vulcan (May 1930,
146–7 and fig 3; Toynbee 1962, 192).
Inscriptions from Colchester include a
dedication to Mars Medocius from St John’s
Abbey (RIB 191), perhaps belonging to a
shrine beyond the town walls and similar to the
extramural shrine to Mars noted at Gloucester
(Wacher 1995, 160). The dedication to Mars
Medocius is otherwise unknown and could be
a local cult (Clarke and Davies 1979, 35). A
large altar or statue base made of sandstone
was found just outside the town wall in Balkerne
Lane in 1881; the dedication is to Matres
Suleviae and it may have come from a nearby
temple (Hull 1958, 113, note 1; RIB 192).
Another find of note was an altar of Purbeck
marble recovered in 1764 on the edge of the
western cemetery; its dedication is to Numina
Augustorum and Mercury Andescociuoucus
(RIB 193).
Cemeteries
Colonia Vitricensis was a large and cosmopolitan
urban centre and the surrounding cemeteries
encompass a wide variety of burial styles that
would have been influenced by diverse factors
such as family custom, social status, gender,
age, ethnic group, religion and occupation. In
contrast to more conservative rural traditions,
urban culture was more tolerant of variations
in personal religion and burial preference,
allowing a fusion of native, Mediterranean
and continental traditions and creating a huge
diversity of burial forms.
Under Roman law, burials were excluded
from the walled area with the exception of
very young infants, who were commonly
buried in and around private houses in the
town, although they also appear in the later
phase of the Butt Road cemetery. There are no
recorded examples of early burials from close
to the town wall and it is possible that an area
was marked out where human occupation took
precedence. Such a zone would be akin to the
Classical concept of the pomerium. This was, in
theory, a space clear of buildings around a city
boundary. At Gloucester there is evidence for a
large distinct suburban zone free from burials
(Hurst 1999, 120–1, fig 5), and at Colchester
burials appear to be spaced in an irregular way
around the walls, gradually getting closer as the
suburbs decline in the 3rd century. In 1986
a cremation dated to the late 2nd–early 3rd
century was recovered from 12 St John’s Street,
only 15m from the line of the city ditch (CAT
7/86A). It is possible that there was no formal
limit to the suburban area and that burials were
simply kept away from housing.
149
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Extensive cemeteries stretched north, west
and south of the Roman town, beginning
along roads and tracks but over time expanding
into the field plots beyond, encompassing
former agricultural land and linking with
existing native burial areas. The full extent
of the burial zones and the nature of their
internal division remain largely unknown. A
number of general cemetery areas have been
identified and broadly defined in relation
to the Roman road network, but these are
simplified divisions (Hull 1958, 250–2; CAR
9, fig 8.2). Colchester has produced a large
corpus of Roman grave goods, but many of
these were recovered as stray finds during the
19th century when collectors were interested in
objects rather than context or stratigraphy. The
early focus on collecting grave goods resulted
in cremations receiving greater attention
than later unaccompanied inhumations and
the known distribution pattern also reflects
other accidental factors, such as the westward
trajectory of Victorian ribbon development,
the laying-out of garrison land in the 19th
century and the position of Victorian gravel
and brick pits. Luckily the scale of the burial
zones is such that many burials remain and
excavations are slowly building up a more
detailed picture of burial practice, distribution
and management.
Museum curator Rex Hull catalogued 627
burials in his unfinished and unpublished index
of grave groups, which covers groups collected
from excavations and as stray finds up until
about 1960. Within this catalogue are important
assemblages collected by George Joslin from
around his house in Beverley Road and by
John Taylor from his house at West Lodge.
These and many other groups were found in
the vicinity of the main Roman Colchester–
London road (Fig 7.22; CAR 9, fig 8.2). Just
outside the west wall of the colonia, burials were
recovered from the Union Workhouse (also
known as St Mary’s Hospital and now Balkerne
Heights). Sixty-four inhumation burials and
one cremation burial were excavated here
during investigations on the site in the early
2000s (S Benfield pers comm). Other major
recovery sites included the gravel pit at Butt
Road, worked in the mid-19th century, which
cut into a large inhumation cemetery. Further
south the construction of the artillery barracks
encountered cremations ‘like currents in a fruit
cake’. North of the walls a brick pit near the
north-east angle of the town wall and a railway
cutting north of the river Colne disturbed still
more.
Several excavations have encountered
significant numbers of burials (Fig 7.22):
Sheepen (1930s), the walled cemetery at the
Royal Grammar School (1934–9), Sheepen
(1970), Maldon Road (1971), St John’s Abbey
(1972), Butt Road where nearly 750 burials
were recorded (1976–9 and 1988; Fig 7.25),
Turner Rise (1996–7), the Garrison Sports
Ground, Abbey Field (2000; Fig 7.23), St
Mary’s Hospital (1997–2003), Handford House
(2003; Fig 7.24) and the Garrison (2004–5;
Fig 7.23). In addition, around 30 cremation
and inhumation burials have been recovered
over the last 20 years during the course of
small-scale evaluations and excavations. Aside
from the large suburban burial areas, smaller
burial sites have been recorded near outlying
settlements: for example, at Gosbecks (Hull
Fig 7.21 Reconstruction
drawing of the ‘templetomb’ found at the Royal
Grammar School in 2005
(© Peter Froste. All rights
reserved, DACS 2013).
150
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.22 Location map of
Roman cemeteries.
1958, 259; interim reports in J Roman Stud
34 (1944): 81; Britannia 28 (1997): 432; Essex
Archaeol Hist 28 (1997): 217) and Kirkee
McMunn barracks (Shimmin 1998b, 266).
The western cemeteries
Large numbers of burials have been recovered
as stray finds from west of the town, grouped
by Hull into the ‘Lexden Cemetery’, ‘West
Fig 7.23 Plan of Roman burials excavated at Abbey Field, Napier Road and Garrison Areas J1 North and C2 (insert to Fig 7.22) (Colchester Archaeological Trust).
152
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.24 Plan of Roman
burials excavated at
Handford House (insert
to Fig 7.22) (Colchester
Archaeological Trust).
Cemetery’ and ‘Union Cemetery’ (Hull 1958,
252–5) and by Philip Crummy into ‘Lexden
Cemetery’ and Area A, Area B, Area C,
Area I and Area N (CAR 9, 259–64, fig
8.2). Important early stray finds included
military tombstones from the area around
the Roman road junction near the Royal
Grammar School, suggesting that a ‘street of
tombs’ developed here as a military cemetery
for the fortress garrison (Crummy 2001, 108;
see Chapters 5 and 6). The recovery of four
civilian tombstones from the same area (RIB
202, 204, 206, 208) indicates that the military
cemetery evolved into a civilian one when the
colonia was founded. Other funerary carvings
from the area include the Colchester Sphinx
(FND241), found in the garden of the Essex
County Hospital in 1821 (Hay 1821, RIB 211),
and the veiled and diademed bust of a woman
(Hull 1958, 254). In addition to high-quality
tombstones, the approach road also attracted
larger funerary monuments, of which the most
important found to date was discovered in 2005
at the Royal Grammar School (MON1054; Fig
7.21; Brooks 2006c). This is a temple-tomb
built in the mid-3rd century, which in plan
was a hollow, slightly uneven hexagon with a
maximum width of 5.2m set within a square
which measured 9.2m externally. It had an
irregular circular central space with a diameter
of 3.0m to 3.2m. The temple-tomb survived at
foundation level only with the exception of the
153
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Fig 7.25 Plan of Roman
burials excavated at Butt
Road (insert to Fig 7.22)
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
north wall, where a course of septaria in mortar
capped by a single course of dressed and
externally chamfered tufa blocks gave some
impression of the nature of the superstructure.
The foundations were of an unusual build,
with alternating layers of loose sandy gravel
and mortared small stones. The hexagon
foundation was broad enough to support a
substantial superstructure such as a tower (ibid,
4–5, Fig 7.21). There were six cremation burials
associated with the temple-tomb, two inside
the hexagon and four between the hexagon
154
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
and the outer wall, none of which had intact
cremation urns (ibid, 5). One of these, that
of a young adult, contained the bones of a
sparrowhawk and other juvenile birds, which
could suggest that the human remains are those
of a falconer whose birds were cremated with
him, although an alternative explanation is that
they are merely part of a more general ritual
(ibid, 20, 26). There is one almost exact parallel
for the Colchester temple-tomb – the temple
at Mordelles in Brittany. Here, the interior
hexagon is much more slightly built and may
not have supported the type of tower which
is assumed to have existed at the Grammar
School site. Though there are no parallels for
the hexagon-in-a-square in Britain, there is a
much larger hexagonal temple (9m in external
diameter) at Collyweston (Northamptonshire).
Neither of these examples has associated
burials, however, so the comparison is based
upon the hexagonal plan, rather than a function
as a tomb (ibid, 25).
In addition, fragmentary traces of larger
funerary monuments have also survived. One
of the tombstone inscriptions reads ‘in hoc
tumulo’, suggesting that it was related to a burial
mound or tumulus (RIB 1, 204). Such mounds
survive at Lexden Mount, to the west (Laver
and Reader 1913), and at Mersea Island, 18km
to the south (VCH 1963, Essex III, 159–61, pl
IVa). Elsewhere at Colchester, traces of large
stone funerary monuments have been recorded
at the Royal Grammar School (Hall 1944,
68–90; MON1054, Brooks 2006c), Beverley
Road (interim reports in Britannia 29 (1998):
407, and Britannia 30 (1999): 354) and West
Lodge (Hull 1958, 250).
Cremations dating from the 1st to 2nd
centuries have been recovered some distance
east and west of the Roman road junction at
the Grammar School and some are clearly
set back well away from the known roads.
For example, one later 1st-century burial
(ELM1242; Crossan 2000d) was found 115m
south of the main London road, close to
another early burial (ELM533). It seems that
early burials were not simply confined to a strip
alongside the main roads and that cemetery
plots must have been laid out, sometimes set
well back from the roadways, at an early stage.
Some of these may have been associated with
cultivated fields, a pattern that occurs later at
Butt Road (CAR 9, 26), or perhaps in plots
near settlements and trackways located in these
areas. There seems to have been little obvious
planning or regulation, as by the end of the
1st century burials were spread over a wide
area north, west and south of the city. The
gravegoods from these burials and the lack of
tombstones suggest that these areas away from
the main road were less prestigious areas to be
buried than next to the road.
One such burial area, Handford House in
Lexden, was excavated in 2003 (Fig 7.24), and
was the first modern sizeable excavation in the
important western cemetery area. Two pyre
sites, 57 cremation burials and 9 inhumation
burials were revealed at the site (Orr and
Crummy 2004, 3; Orr 2010). A wide variety
of cremations was recovered, most of which
dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD, although
some belonged to the later Roman period.
Some cremations were definitely pre-Boudican
in date. Single urns were the most numerous,
while a range of more elaborate grave groups
featured additional vessels such as bowls,
flagons and small beakers. In two groups, large
fragments of pots had been arranged in the
grave pit to shield small lamps from the grave
backfill, suggesting that they may have been lit
to provide light for the deceased person. The
most exciting features were the remains of two
busta cremation burials, in which the cremated
remains were left in a slot below a pyre; these
are comparatively rare in Britain and have
been generally associated with the army. The
evidence from the finds and the methods of
cremation suggests that, in its earliest phases,
the burial ground was closely associated with
the inhabitants of the Roman colony rather
than the Romano-British (native) population.
The eight inhumation burials were buried at a
deeper level than most of the cremations, and
at various orientations; some were evidently
placed within coffins, while others were not.
A watching brief in 2004 at an adjacent
site, 21 West Lodge Road, revealed one in situ
cremation burial and three disturbed cremation
burials. The in situ burial urn contained three
coins and a hand-mirror, and these, together
with the cremated bone, suggest that this
was the burial of an adolescent girl or young
woman who died after c AD 77–85 (ELM1410–
13; Orr 2010, 2–3). Lastly, further cemetery
evidence was revealed during two phases of
fieldwork at 15 West Lodge Road: in September
2004, two evaluation trenches were excavated,
uncovering two intact urned cremation burials
155
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
and uncremated, probably human, bone in two
pits which may represent inhumation burials.
A watching brief and limited excavation
subsequently carried out from December 2004
to September 2005 produced a further four
or five cremation burials plus a burnt feature
(perhaps a bustum). Burial occurred on this site
from the 1st or early 2nd century to the late 3rd
or 4th century (GRP132; Orr 2006, 3–6).
At Sheepen in the 1930s eighteen cremation
burials were recovered, including six inserted
into an abandoned tile clamp at various dates in
the 2nd and 3rd centuries (Fig 4.9; Hawkes and
Hull 1947, 116; Hull 1963, 144–7). This appears
to be a discrete group perhaps belonging to a
group of potters working in the Sheepen area.
Between 1934 and 1939 A F Hall excavated a
compact walled Roman cemetery (MON792)
in the grounds of the Royal Grammar School,
3m north of, and parallel to, the Roman
Colchester–London road (MON794). The
cemetery contained 10 cremations and 5
inhumations spanning the 1st to the early
4th centuries, all located within a robbed-out
walled enclosure 11.5m by 8.1m. The enclosure
could be a family burial ground similar to
that at Langley in Kent (Jessup 1959, 14–15,
26–7; Toynbee 1971, 94) or, alternatively,
it may have belonged to a burial club or
religious grouping. Building fragments and
traces of foundations recovered from this site
suggested an ornamental coping or roof that
protected a bay facing the road, which perhaps
housed a monumental tomb. Elsewhere in the
small cemetery other freestanding features
were suggested by small sockets and plinth
foundations, and a pit containing whelk and
oyster shells was noted. The pottery recovered
from the site indicated activity from the late 1st
or early 2nd century through to the 4th century.
The cemetery may have been filled to capacity,
as another skeleton was found just outside the
walls (Hall 1944, 68–90).
Fourteen late 3rd- to 4th-century inhumations
were recovered during excavations at Sheepen
in 1970. These were scattered over an area 50m
square and had no clear alignment (MON688).
A further five pre-Flavian burials were recorded
on a different part of the site (Niblett 1985,
22). An excavation at Maldon Road produced
18 inhumations dating to the 3rd or 4th
century (CAR 9, 236–44). Here the cemetery
(MON379) lay over a 1st-century building
(MON380) and appears to have been orientated
on the road from the Balkerne Gate. The layout
was undisciplined, but three distinct phases
were identified, the earliest orientated to the
north-west and the latest roughly east–west
and therefore conceivably Christian; only four
of the recorded burials were accompanied by
grave goods.
Trial trenching, excavation and watching
brief carried out during 1997–2003 at St Mary’s
Hospital recovered 64 well-spaced inhumation
burials including one crouched burial, plus
one cremation burial (S Benfield pers comm;
CAT Report in prep). Most dated from the
3rd century onwards; the bodies were placed
in wooden coffins and buried in a variety of
orientations. Many had footwear that survived
as hobnails, while others were accompanied
by grave goods. Some parts of this cemetery
were probably terraced away in the 19th and
20th centuries (Brooks 2002a, 12–13; interim
report in Britannia 33 (2002): 325).
The southern cemeteries
Large numbers of burials have also been
recovered as stray finds from south of the
walls stretching out to the Cavalry Barracks site,
Hull’s Abbey Field and Butt Road cemeteries
(Hull 1958, 254–6) and Crummy’s Area D,
Area F, Area G, Area L and Area H (CAR 9,
fig 8.2).
In 1972 34 inhumations (MON374) of late
3rd- to 4th-century date were recovered during
excavations in the grounds of St John’s Abbey
(ibid, 205–13). Most graves contained iron nails
and traces of decayed wood, indicating the use
of coffins, but grave goods were almost entirely
confined to child burials. The cemetery was in
existence in the decade c AD 270–80 (dated
from a rich child burial), but it was impossible
to establish upper and lower limits for its
period of use. The high incidence of graves
aligned east–west suggests that some of these
graves were later than c AD 320, in line with
the pattern observed at the Butt Road site to
the west.
Excavations preceding the construction
of the police station at Butt Road in 1976–9
and 1988 produced over 700 inhumations
and at least five cremations (CAR 9, 4–5).
These represented the north-eastern edge of
an extensive pagan and, in its later phases, a
Christian cemetery containing upwards of
perhaps 2,000 burials, many of which had been
quarried away in the Butt Road sand and gravel
156
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
pit. Two further inhumations were recorded in
1997 behind 47 Butt Road, one of which was
definitely east–west in orientation (Benfield
1997b). William Wire recorded numerous
burials from the nearby sandpit in the 1830s
and 1840s; perhaps as many as 200 cremations
and inhumations were exposed during this time
(Wire nd).
The area was initially divided up by boundary
ditches into loosely defined plots probably used
for agriculture. Scatters of ironworking debris
and pottery point to industrial activity nearby.
The earliest cemetery phase, with a closing
dated of c AD 270/-300/20 (MON396)
produced 15 uncoffined inhumations aligned
more or less north-south, and five cremations
which were probably directly associated with
those agricultural plots as the burials lay close
to the boundary ditches and were aligned
with them (CAR 9, 13, 28). In the early 4th
century a more formal cemetery was laid
out, with boundaries that still conformed
to the earlier plots (CAR 9, 28). This phase
produced 44 mainly coffined north-south
aligned inhumations, including a plaster burial.
Five family groups were distinguished, based
on location and supported by non-metrical
variants of the skull and burial characteristics
(CAR 9, 34, 51–4). A small number of
inhumations in this phase were without coffins;
these may be people who had been socially
excluded or punished. Some bodies were
placed awkwardly, as if little care was taken,
while others were found in a flexed or prone
position, including three bodies placed in one
pit. The phase was short-lived, commencing c
AD 300/20 and ending c AD 320/40 (CAR
9, 55), with 59 burials aligned north–south.
Of these, 15 inhumations and 5 cremations
were dated to the c 3rd(?) century AD–AD
270/300/20 and 44 inhumations were dated
to c AD 270–300/20 to 320/40.
Decapitated burials are known from inside
town and from Cedars Road, located east of
the Butt Road cemetery. Four bodies were
found here in 1930: one was lying in a crouched
position with the decapitated skull placed near
the pelvis (GG271), while another had been
deliberately dismembered (GG273a).
The final phase of the Butt Road cemetery
is marked by a shift to using east–west oriented
inhumation (MON397). This probably occurred
c AD 320.40 (arguably AD 330 from the coin
evidence) and coincided with the construction
of a cemetery church (CAR 9, 159–62). These
later burials were tightly packed and carefully
managed in rows in order to respect one
another, but not the earlier north–south burials.
Although there is some evidence that new
burials respected earlier ones, there was still
some intercutting. The cemetery at this stage
probably extended further to the south, east and
west of the excavation limits. There is evidence
for some continuity of the earlier family
burial plots, and new family groups can also
be distinguished, again supported by evidence
from the human bone and from the burial.
Only a few of the graves contained grave goods
and dating evidence was scarce but could be
supplemented by short stratigraphic sequences
of intercutting graves. Despite the low number
of grave goods, the site provides valuable
evidence for dating 4th-century finds, matching
Lankhills and other cemeteries in Winchester
(Clarke 1979; CAR 2; CAR 10; CAR 8; Swift
2000; Rees et al. 2008; Crummy 2010). Those
with grave goods were mostly children and, of
these, mainly young girls, leading to a suggestion
that buried jewellery had functioned as a dowry
for the bearer (CAR 9, 130). Some skulls had
hairpins close by, indicating that the occupant
had been dressed for burial. There were also
traces of shrouds, one incorporating silk of
possible Chinese origin. Hobnails were almost
entirely absent from the later cemetery. The
presence of nails with the majority of the
later burials suggests that they were placed in
wooden coffins, and there was also evidence
for a variety of structures designed to enclose
burials. For example, a baby burial had been laid
out face up on a tegula placed flanges upwards
with a second, reversed, tegula laid on top. The
cemetery also included six timber burial vaults
and a number of tree-trunk, log or plank burials.
A few graves seem to have been marked on the
surface by rubble or timber posts. No stone
coffins were recovered from Butt Road.
In 2000 an excavation and watching brief
on the site of the Garrison Sports Ground at
Abbey Field revisited a cremation cemetery
previously encountered in 1925, when 28 burials
were noted. Seventy-three cremations dating
from the 2nd–4th centuries were recorded;
they were mostly unaccompanied burials
placed within urns of everyday pottery. Some
graves, however, contained additional pots and
personal items such as shale and copper-alloy
armlets, jet beads, coins, a green glass unguent
157
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
bottle and a small stone mixing palette, possibly
for cosmetics. Four of the cremations were
within wooden boxes and one lay within a tile
cist (Crossan 2001a, 5–7; interim report in
Britannia 32 (2001): 361; Denison 2001, 7). Most
of the graves lay either side of a parallel pair of
indistinct linear features possibly representing
a trackway. An undated but potentially early
‘intensely’ burnt area was also noted.
More recently there has been further work
to the north and east of Abbey Field which
has revealed a considerable number of burials
and various burial rituals. In Area C2 of the
Garrison redevelopment area, to the south of
Flagstaff House, a total of 67 Roman burials
and burial-related features were recorded in
2004 (Pooley et al 2006, 31–3). These features
consisted of 26 inhumation burials (including
a lead coffin), 24 cremation burials, 11 urned
cremation burials, 5 burial pits containing pyre
debris, and a single boxed cremation burial.
The inhumations dated from the early–mid
2nd century to the mid–late 3rd century and
were succeeded by the cremations, which ran
into the 4th century. The burials appeared to be
divided into two distinct concentrations, which
would indicate the presence of two burial plots.
The majority were found in Burial Plot 1, which
was notable for the presence of 10 barrow
burials. The barrow burial is a highly unusual
burial practice in an urban context and has been
interpreted here as evidence of a detachment
of regular troops of Germanic origin drafted in
to protect Colchester from Saxon raiders (ibid,
67–70). Burial Plot 2 contained the remains
of a mausoleum, a rectangular stone walled
structure measuring 10m by 7m, associated
with an inhumation burial within a lead coffin.
This is another unusual, high-status burial rite
in Colchester (ibid, 70–1). Excavations in Area
J1 North of the Garrison redevelopment area,
to the south of Le Cateau Barracks, took place
during the winter of 2004–5. These revealed
356 burials and related features (ibid, 39–40),
comprising 207 inhumation burials, 70 urned
cremation burials, 20 un-urned cremation
burials, 37 burial pits containing pyre debris,
13 pyres/busta, 5 pot scatters (possibly from
disturbed burials) and 4 pyre-related features.
Unlike in Area C2, no distinct burial plots were
identified, there was no distinct date range for
the use of the inhumation or cremation burial
rite and burials had ceased by the middle of
the 3rd century. In general, burials within this
cemetery appeared to be of varying status,
with many completely empty of grave goods
while others contained many pottery vessels
and small finds such as coins and jewellery
(ibid, 71–2). Lastly, in Area J1 South a group
of four urned cremations burials, two amphora
cremation burials and one inhumation burial
are thought to represent a family burial plot
within a small field of the family’s holding
(ibid, 42, 72–3).
The northern cemeteries
A sizeable cremation cemetery north of
the river Colne is suggested by a series of
cremations identified by William Wire in
a railway cutting and brickyard east of the
station, Hull’s North Cemetery (Hull 1958,
257) and Crummy’s Area M and Area K (CAR
9, 261). Over 32 cremations of late 1st-century
to late 3rd-century date were recorded; this
cemetery may have served the suburb located
in the vicinity of the Victoria Inn in North
Station Road. Another cluster of eight or more
burials was recovered during the excavation
of a brick-earth quarry south of the river just
outside Duncan’s Gate, in Hull’s North-east
Cemetery and Crummy Area J. Here both
cremations and inhumations were noted, one
of the latter being in a lead coffin (Hull 1958,
257–8; CAR 9, 262).
In 1996 and 1997 the work preceding
the construction of the Asda superstore at
Turner Rise recovered 60 cremation burials
of late 1st- to 2nd-century date. Just under
half were in pots, while grave goods included
wooden baskets and up to five pottery vessels
in individual grave groups. The cremations
were strung out in a loose north–south line of
informal clusters (Shimmin 1998a, 13; interim
reports in Britannia 28 (1997): 434; Britannia 29
(1998): 408; and Britannia 32 (2001): 36).
Cremations
An average cremation burial from Colchester
consists of one vessel containing the cremated
bone and one other vessel; however, there are
many variations. Cremations were generally
placed in ceramic urns, but glass or lead vessels
were also used. Often cinerary urns were
covered or sealed in some way by a pottery lid
or tile fragment. In one instance a glass urn
was sealed with a lead lid (GG181). Four lead
urns have been recovered: three from St Mary’s
Hospital (CAR 9, 267–8) and one in Beverley
158
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Road containing the remains of the centurion
Facilis (GG39). Such lead containers are seen
as a distinctly Roman cultural form associated
with urban centres.
A variety of pottery forms were used as
urns; one distinct type from Colchester is a
rounded pottery jar decorated with human
faces, which were added to the body of the pot
by layering or incising the clay. Colchester has
produced an important collection of face pots
and may have been the origin of the tradition
within the province (Braithwaite 1984, 105).
The Colchester face pots have characteristically
short necks and high shoulders similar to
or perhaps derivative of Rhineland forms
(Ritterling 1913, pl xxvii: 12; Austen 1991,
174). The face pots occur both on domestic
sites and in burials, and the faces encompass a
wide range of facial expressions, although they
are typically tight-lipped or round-mouthed as
if blowing (May 1930, pl L1a and LII). They
may have been votive objects associated with
the rural deity Pan (ibid, 143–4) or perhaps, less
mysteriously, they were children’s items (CAR
9, 275): for example, a face pot was recovered
from a child’s grave excavated at St Mary’s
Hospital (Brooks 2002a, 14).
The presence of food or liquid containers
in many of the graves need not automatically
suggest that food and drink were left with the
dead. Only three graves have revealed actual
traces of animal remains: parts of a chicken
(CAR 9, 205), a pig (Joslin Collection, Grave 19)
and eggs (Alcock 2001, 46). The use of food and
drink containers in graves could, rather, indicate
the burial of favoured possessions (CAR 9,
270). One grave at Butt Road contained foodrelated objects that were already 200 years old
when they were buried, suggesting that they
were perhaps heirlooms or favourite objects,
or items that had prestige value because of
their rarity (ibid, 23–4, 47–8; Going and
Belton 1999, 156). Another Colchester grave
found in Creffield Road contained traces of an
imbibing pipe (Laver 1889b, 273–6): parallels
from other provincial centres include examples
at Chichester (Down and Rule 1971, 72) and
Caerleon (Wheeler 1929, 1–7).
At St Albans early Roman cremations were
often placed within square or rectangular
ditched enclosures, suggesting family groups
or collegia (Niblett 2001, 120). At Butt Road,
Colchester, probable family groups were
identified based on age difference, orientation
and consistency of grave goods (CAR 9, 92–3,
156–8). However, the earlier cremations from
Butt Road were not located in well-defined
ditched plots or enclosures and elsewhere
in Colchester the recovery pattern of burial
groups has been too fragmentary to trace
evidence for bounded groups.
It is rare to find cremation burials loose in
the soil, although some have been recorded
at the Asda site (P Crummy, pers comm) and
caution is required, as such burials are generally
harder to identify during excavation. Based on
the existing excavated evidence human remains
were generally enclosed in a container and in a
number of instances the container was itself
enclosed in a cist or chamber. At least 18
examples of burial cists are recorded, usually
incorporating roof tegulae formed into a box
shape. An exceptional example was found in
Beverley Road, comprising a square chamber
made from 40 coursed tiles (GG455). Complete
or near-complete amphorae were also used as
ready-made cists. Up to 1990 over 19 graves
have been found in association with amphorae
(CAR 9, 265). Amphorae were reported from
the late Iron Age cemetery at Lexden in the
19th century and presumably held cremation
burials (Hull 1958, 252). This type of burial
was seemingly a native tradition derived from
the continent. Some post-Conquest amphora
burials have been identified as utilising Dressel
20 forms datable to the 1st–3rd centuries.
Such burials appear to be high status, a prime
example being the ‘Lockhart’ burial found at
Sheepen. Here the grave contained a flagon
and amphora; the latter contained a wooden
box or casket, nine pottery vessels (one of
which contained the cremated bone), two glass
vessels, a lamp, two brooches, a mirror, a knife,
a bone needle, a bone pin, 20 beads and other
small objects (GG302; Hull 1963, 144–6; CMR,
1935, 18–26; CAR 9, 265).
Evidence for at least 12 wooden caskets,
some of which are likely to be ladies’ ‘vanity
boxes’, has been recovered. Others have studs
bearing a lion’s head motif and appear to have
been specially made as funerary furniture. The
lion’s head is thought to represent the ‘jaws of
death’ and is a symbol not found in late Iron
Age art (Borrill 1981, 315–16). Whether this
suggests a Roman occupant or simply a Roman
influence is unclear. One of the earliest graves
with lion’s head mounts is from west Colchester
and contained Gaulish rosette brooches that
159
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
Crematoria
Traces of three furnaces excavated at Gurney
Benham House, next to the Royal Grammar
School in 1937 have been interpreted as
potential crematoria; the furnaces were built
of tile and local conglomerate and had a tiled
floor. A chimney flue and an area of burning
0.61m–0.76m wide and 2.1m long were noted,
along with traces of possible burnt bone
(ELM988, ELM989, ELM990; Hull 1958,
258–9, fig 122; Black 1986, 210).
between c AD 150 and AD 275 (CAR 9, 264).
An inhumation burial in the walled cemetery
at the Grammar School has been recorded as
Antonine in date (Hall 1944, 77, fig 7, no. 24),
but may in fact date to the 3rd century (Philpott
1991, 58). The earliest inhumations from
Butt Road and St John’s Abbey grounds have
been dated to c AD 250–300 (CAR 9, 264).
Inhumations are recorded north, south and
east of the walled area and are generally found
closer to the town walls than are cremations,
suggesting a contraction of the suburbs in the
3rd and 4th centuries.
Only two stone coffins have been recorded
from Colchester, one from Burlington Road,
near the Butt Road cemetery (GG375) and
one found reused as a step on the High Street
(GG153). Lead coffins are more common, with
21 examples of either lead-bodied or lead-lined
coffins recorded. There is some evidence to
suggest that lead coffins were placed inside
wooden ones (GG349; CAR 3, 143–5; CAR
9, 123). Four lead coffins and seven wooden
ones from Butt Road contained gypsum or
some other form of lime plaster, the use of
which is a practice often linked with the desire
to preserve the body in preparation for the
literal resurrection. However, similar grave
packing has been found in apparently pagan
burials in other settlements (CAR 9, 123–5).
The lead coffins were often decorated, with
scallop shell, bead and reel reliefs on the lid
and sides. Sometimes strips of lead were nailed
internally along the joints of a wooden coffin.
Colchester also possesses an example of the
very rare ‘pipe burial’, found at Creffield Road,
south of Lexden Road (Laver 1889b, 273–6).
Here a lead pipe was located over the head of
the corpse; this was possibly an imbibing pipe
to allow the passage of food and drink into
the coffin, perhaps indicating a specific rite or
a fear of being buried alive.
Inhumations
As already noted, the transition from cremation
to inhumation burial in the mid–late Roman
period cannot be closely dated. Nor is there a
convincing reason for the change in rite, which
may simply represent a change in fashion. For
some reason the variety of burial customs
evident in the 1st and 2nd centuries simplified
into an increasingly uniform ritual involving
supine inhumation within a wooden coffin.
The transition in Colchester began sometime
Intramural burials
A number of burials found within the walls
may be late Roman or sub-Roman in date.
None of the bodies was accompanied by grave
goods or traces of coffins and no consistent
orientation can be determined. Three bodies
from East Hill House and Culver Street have
been radiocarbon-dated as broadly Roman
(CAR 6, 323). These include the body of
an adult male discovered in the grounds of
East Hill House, (south of the East Gate) in
also appear in late Iron Age contexts at St
Albans (May 1930, 255; Philpott 1991, 15).
Despite this evidently pre-Roman influence it
has been pointed out that lion’s-head mount
graves often include other objects with a
distinctly Roman cultural influence: examples
include a phallic amulet in the Joslin Grave
81b/94 (May 1930, 276). Perhaps distinct
from casket burial were plainer box burials
of 1st-century date from the Joslin collection
(Grave 30a/49; May 1930, 261) and St Clare
Drive (Hull 1942, 59–65). The latter example
was of Claudian date and included 10 Gaulish
brooches, terra rubra, terra nigra, samian and an
iron strap with wood impressions suggesting
a wooden box.
Cremation burial was the dominant form
of burial rite in Britain until inhumations
became increasingly popular in the 2nd and
dominant by the 3rd century. The date and
speed of the change of rite in Colchester is
not clear from existing information. Cremation
burial in Essex appears to have survived as a
custom into the 4th century, as examples are
recorded at Kelvedon (Rodwell 1988, 42) and
Wickford (Wilson 1970, 291). The inclusion
of a Hadham ware pot in a late cremation at
Abbey Field (GG408) is interesting, as the
form, Cam. 365, appears to be a 4th-century
ware (CAR 10, 297–9, 484).
160
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
1983, which was dated to AD 132–533. It was
accompanied by an infant (ibid, 375–8). Both
had been carefully decapitated after death and
the heads had been placed between the knees
(Clarke 1979, 372–6; Merrifield 1987, 72; Ross
1999, 26). The body of a young woman lying
directly on a tessellated floor was uncovered
nearby in the Berryfield in 1928. The burial
could have been sub-Roman, although the fact
that the body was neatly extended could mean
that it lay in a grave cut that happened to extend
down to the pavement level and a medieval date
for this burial cannot be ruled out (Hull 1958,
218; Crummy 2001, 130). At Culver Street two
bodies were found within the 4th-century barn
(MON608). One had been laid out flexed on
its side in a pagan manner. Elsewhere, two
inhumations were found at 65 High Street
(CAT report 5/76b) and another at William’s
Walk, off Maidenburgh Street (CAT report
5/82d), both potentially sub-Roman. Drury
has argued that the former are in fact Middle
Saxon in date (1982, 385–7). The presence
of late Roman burials within the walls could
suggest a collapse of the legal restrictions on
intramural burial.
Other burials
In St John’s Street a skull with an unhealed
cranial fracture was recovered from dump
material of late 1st- to mid-3rd-century date
(Benfield and Garrod 1992, 37). The skull
may be from a decapitated corpse, similar
to the pre-revolt bodies found at Balkerne
Lane, placed near the Head Gate (CAR 3,
94–8). Inhumations have also been recovered
apparently without coffins at, for example, Butt
Road (CAR 9, 13, 105–11) and just to the east at
Cedars Road (GG270–2, 273a, 287; Rudsdale
1931). The latter instance included a crouched
decapitated burial, and the other inhumations
appeared to have been dismembered (CAR 9,
266). Elsewhere, decapitated burials have been
observed within the walled town (above) and
at Butt Road (Benfield 2000a). Such burials
could be interpreted as low-status individuals
or criminals who had not been afforded a
‘normal’ burial, or they may represent obscure
burial rituals not yet understood.
Evidence for Christianity
Christianity became the formal religion of the
Empire under Constantine the Great, after
the Edict of Milan in AD 313. A year later
British bishops are recorded to have attended
an ecclesiastical gathering at Arles in Gaul,
pointing to the existence of a sizeable Christian
community in the province at this time (Frere
1987, 332). It is possible that a bishop from
Colchester attended the Council of Arles in
314, with all the implications for the level
of Christian organisation within the town
that this conveys. Unfortunately, however,
the documentary reference to Colchester is
corrupted and Lincoln or Cirencester are other
possible candidates (Esmonde Cleary 1989,
47). As the senior colonia the city would have
been a strong candidate for a bishopric, but
tangible evidence for a Christian presence in
the town is fragmentary.
Some of the existing temples remained
in use into the mid-4th century, implying
continuing affinity to pagan ideas, although
Hull has argued that the poor state of survival
of excavated temples and the absence of cult
objects from these sites points to a suppression
of paganism in the later Roman period (Hull
1958, 113). It is difficult to identify Roman
buildings associated with Christian worship.
At Balkerne Lane the ambulatory of the
pagan temple (MON418) retained its cella
after the outer wall was demolished in the
4th century, possibly suggesting that it may
have been converted for Christian use (CAR
3, 125). Other structures for which Christian
adoption has been proposed include the aisled
building (MON608) at Culver Street, which
was suggested as a possible church (CAR 6,
112–16) but might be a barn or warehouse
(Faulkner 2000, 128–9). The site of St Martin’s
Church in Insula 11 has been suggested as
another possible late Roman or early AngloSaxon (5th-century) church site due to the
presence of possible ‘Anglo-Saxon’ burials
and Roman pottery including four complete
vessels (Rodwell and Rodwell 1977, 30). A
late Roman church on the site is unlikely due
to the improbability of Roman inhumation
taking place inside the town walls and the
non-funerary nature of the pots (Watts 1991,
104–5). A possible Roman antecedence is
also suggested for St Botolph’s Priory church
(Rodwell and Rodwell 1977, 37; Crummy
1980a, 274). This hypothesis is given slightly
more weight by the discovery of a Roman wall
on the site (ELM1162; Crummy 1992b, 10).
Finally, it has been suggested that the Temple
of Claudius was converted to Christian use in
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
the later Roman period, based on conjectures
regarding later alterations to the temple and
parallels with other sites (Drury 1984, 33–5).
Presumed Christian symbolism does appear
on a small number of finds from the town
and points to the presence of believers in the
city during the 4th century. A glass rim from
North Hill was engraved with a fish forming
part of a letter C or S and may be a Christian
symbol originating from a workshop in
Cologne (COLEM:1908.1603; Charlesworth
1959, 44–6; Watts 1991, 152; Mawer 1995,
30, C6.G1.3). A rim sherd excavated in Castle
Park is cut with an approximation of the Chirho symbol (Hull 1958, 186; Mawer 1995, 37,
C8.Po.10). Another possible Chi-rho symbol
scratched on a clay roundel is mentioned from
Colchester (Green 1976, 217). A possible
Christian connection is also suggested by an
inscription on a bronze spoon found in 1847
under the west wall of the town, which reads
‘AETERNUS VIVAS’ or ‘Aeternus, long life
to you’ (Mawer 1995, 45, C9.Si.3). Other
finds include a presumed candleholder with
an Iota-chi (CAR 2, 168, fig 207, no. 4709)
and a Chi-rho graffito (Drury 1984, 48). The
decoration on a lead coffin from Butt Road
– a cross and circle device with ‘S’ motifs,
zigzag and circle pattern and scallop shells – is
considered by some to be a clear indication
of Christianity (Watts 1991, 53). Elsewhere
in Essex, Christian influence is suggested by
a Chi-rho graffiti from Kelvedon (Wickenden
1996, 80; Rodwell 1988, fig 42), a buckle
engraved with a peacock pecking a small fruit
tree from Harlow, and a similar strap end from
Rivenhall (Bartlett 1987, 117).
The later phase of the Butt Road cemetery,
consisting of 669 neatly managed east–west
graves and an associated apsidal structure, have
been interpreted as Christian. A fundamental
problem with the identification of such
cemeteries is that few burial rites appear
to be exclusively Christian and most can
be found in pagan contexts. Lack of grave
goods, orientation and use of lime need not
be exclusively Christian traits. In addition, the
planned 4th-century cemeteries may simply
be pagan precursors to later Christian burial
grounds rather than early examples of such
cemeteries. On balance, the orientation of
the graves and the plan and juxtaposition
of the building suggest a Christian cemetery
with a mortuary church sited by it, but
161
Fig 7.26 The site at
Butt Road is one of only
a handful of Roman
churches recognised in
Britain (Philip J Wise).
Fig 7.27 Plan of Butt
Road Roman Church
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
162
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
this explanation is not universally accepted
(Millet 1995, 452–4; Struck 1997, 497–8). The
presence of pottery or glass vessels in some
of the graves would suggest that, if Christians
were buried here, pagan traditions lingered on
among the parishioners.
Butt Road church mortuary monument
An east–west apsidal building (MON395) was
situated next to a large inhumation cemetery
at Butt Road and has been interpreted as
a church (Figs 7.26 and 7.27). It was first
recorded in a sketch by William Wire in 1845
and later plotted onto a copy of the 1876 OS
map now held by Colchester Museums. Rex
Hull excavated the structure in 1935, when
he uncovered the apse and a nearby pit (CMR
1935, 7; interim reports in J Roman Stud XXV
(1935): 214; XXVI (1936): 253; Hull 1958,
245). Another excavation was undertaken by
Dunnett in 1965 and a final comprehensive
series of excavations was undertaken by
CAT in 1978, 1979 and 1988, prior to the
construction of the Butt Road Police Station
(CAR 9, 164–76). The consolidated remains of
the structure are now on public display next to
the police station.
The building was prominently placed, as it
stood on the slope above a small valley which
runs east–west immediately outside the town
walls. A large inhumation cemetery (discussed
above) of perhaps 2,000 graves was located to
the south-east. Coins found during the various
excavations appear to date the construction of
the structure to c AD 320–40 and it seems to
have remained in use into the late 4th century.
The building measures 24.8m by 7.4m and had
four to six bays and a small eastern apse. The
roof was tiled and the outer walls, built of
greensand and tile, were plastered and painted
inside and perhaps whitewashed on the outside.
Traces of Purbeck marble veneer and Purbeck
burr were also recovered from the interior.
There were internal partitions or colonnades
of timber and wattle and daub which demarked
aisles, and a possible north–south partition
or screen. The internal layout was indicated
by rubble-packed post pits; unfortunately, no
evidence for a solid floor was found (Hull 1958,
245; CAR 9, 166).
The building began as a rectangular structure
probably divided into two by a screen wall.
A small apse was added to the eastern end
around c AD 380, when aisles were inserted
east of the dividing screen. Around 20 years
later new aisles were added which stretched
the whole length of the building, making this
the latest example of Roman building work
yet discovered in the town. The building was
evidently repaired as a result of subsidence
because part of it was built over deep made-up
ground. The building was generally of poorquality construction and this, along with the
close-packed density of the cemetery, could
indicate that the community it serviced was not
particularly affluent (CAR 9, 164–202).
An interesting feature of the building
was the recovery of numerous chicken and
pig bones, including, unusually, a number of
complete skeletons. Hull also recovered a
Roman frying pan and iron bowl, supporting
an interpretation of the building as a venue for
burial wakes or funerary feasts (Hull 1958, 247,
no. 14). Three rectangular pits excavated inside
the building by the CAT were interpreted as
possible graves, as iron nails but no bones were
found (CAR 9, 175). The presence of graves
could suggest that the building was a martyrium,
or church built over the bodies of venerated
persons or martyrs (Watts 1991, 122–3; CAR
9, 189; Crummy 2001, 123). Supporting
evidence comes from Hull’s investigation of
the apse in 1935, which recovered a female
skull and thighbone that had been placed in
a pit sealed with a worked stone slab. The pit
also contained debris from the superstructure
and therefore perhaps dated to the 5th century
(CAR 9, 175–6).
West of the apsidal building were the remains
of a small utilitarian building (MON399)
represented by a group of about 20 small
pits centred around a rectangular hearth.
Coin evidence provided a date range of c AD
335–88 for the structure (ibid, 178) and it has
been interpreted as possibly either a kitchen
or a baptistry (CAR 9, 187; P Crummy, pers
comm).
Extramural development
Suburban settlement was mainly concentrated
to the west, along the road to London. However,
extramural activity can be demonstrated
on all sides of the town and our current
understanding is biased by the pattern of
excavation, which has been mainly focused
to the west. We have no clear picture of the
boundaries of the early colonia before the wall
163
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
was constructed. At this time the legionary
defences were slighted and the distinction
between urban and suburban blurred, although
after the revolt a defensive ditch was dug on
an alignment yet to be precisely determined
(CAR 3, 110–11). Spreads of early native and
Roman pottery from the east end of the High
Street and the bottom of North Hill, along
with traces of Boudican destruction layers
at the bottom of Long Wyre Street, could be
evidence of early activity north, east and south
of the pre-Boudican colonia: they are all located
beyond the projected extent of the legionary
fortress and its annexe, on land later enclosed
by the wall.
Hurst has argued that the term suburb is
inappropriate for Colchester, as the extramural
context is provided by the oppidum (Hurst
1999, 131). Colchester is indeed dissimilar to
Gloucester, which has a large suburban zone
defined by burials around its outskirts (ibid,
120, fig 5). To the west of the colonia, burials
were placed away from areas of occupation,
but no formal boundary has been detected.
Nevertheless, the Roman cemeteries do appear
to separate ill-defined suburban areas to the west
and south-west of the city. Furthermore, the
strip building forms encountered immediately
west and north of the walls are dissimilar
both to structures in the colonia itself and also
to settlement in the wider oppidum, although
the apparent absence of this type of building
from inside the colonia could be artificial, given
the lack of evidence from principal street
frontages. A potential distinction between
urban and suburban is also suggested by the
presence of Romano-Celtic temples outside,
and not within, the walled town.
West of the walls
Our knowledge of the extramural settlement
west of the town was greatly enhanced by
the excavations for the dual carriageway at
Balkerne Lane. Here, after the revolt, a new
defensive ditch around the colonia cut through
the remains of earlier structures, pushing the
suburban boundary further to the west. A
series of strip houses (MON413–6, MON441–
2) located on the south side of the road on the
external approach to the Balkerne Gate were
found to have been built before the end of
the 1st century, and another well-preserved
house (MON417) was discovered 50m to the
south of the road (Fig 7.28). The strip houses
were similar in construction to their pre-revolt
counterparts, consisting of a range of rooms
flanked by a corridor, with plastered daub walls
resting on timber ground plates and floors of
daub or sometimes wood. Ovens and hearths
were noted and, outside, gravel alleys and
yards lay beside and behind the houses, at least
one containing a wooden water main. One
building (MON417) produced much painted
wall plaster, including a gladiator scene (CAR
3, 147–53).
By the mid–late 2nd century the strip houses
along the south side of the road had been
upgraded into a range linked by a corridor along
the street frontage. The buildings (MON420–3)
all shared a substantial northern wall, which
may have acted as a kind of façade along the
street frontage. They also all had ovens at the
rear which may have been inside or attached
externally to the rear of each structure. One
(MON420) revealed foundations of packed
septaria probably associated with a partition
wall, and patches of a mortar floor (CAR 3,
127–30). A second building (MON421) had
been destroyed by fire, preserving remains of
timber-framed walls on ground plates, parts
of which survived in situ as charcoal. To the
south of the building was a small fragment
of mosaic (ELM142; ibid, 126). A third
building (MON422) had a plank-built cellar
which was probably secondary to the original
construction of the building. The planks were
nailed horizontally to the timber studwork. The
cellar had been backfilled and the wooden walls
left to decay in situ (ibid, 126). A fourth building
(MON423) contained a hearth and a probable
robbed-out mortared foundation (ibid, 126).
The strip houses along the northern side
of the London road were replaced in the 2nd
century (MON444 and MON443 replaced
MON442 and MON441). These new buildings
were linked by a party wall set on mortar
foundations and shared a southern footway,
apparently surfaced with wood. The betterpreserved building (MON444) had gravel
floors, traces of a timber drain and ovens. To
the rear of this building was a cellar 2.4m deep,
built of septaria and tile, with a window or chute
at the top of the east wall (ibid, 135–7).
The 2nd century saw the appearance
of a more substantial high-status building
(MON425) outside the Balkerne Gate. This
had at least 10 rooms with mortared floors and
timber walls resting on ground plates set on
164
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 7.28 Extramural development at Balkerne Lane and St Mary’s Hospital Site (insert to Fig 7.2) (Colchester Archaeological Trust).
165
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
stone and mortar foundations; delicate painted
wall plaster was also found (ibid, 153–4).
A mosaic (ELM142) observed in 1876 and
1973–6 may have been part of this building
(Hull 1958, 243; CAR 3, 130–2). The house
was demolished no later than the mid-3rd
century AD. To the east of this building stood
a workshop (MON426) with walls of mortared
septaria sitting on shallow foundations of sand
and small stones. The building was associated
with a double-chambered oven and an external
oven comprising a reused storage jar (CAR 3,
130–2).
Occupation beyond the Balkerne Gate
extended well to the north of the London Road
and may have linked up with the settlement at
Middleborough, beyond the North Gate. A
Roman building (MON446) was discovered
during excavations for a subway at the bottom
of Balkerne Hill. The remains consisted of
waterlogged and perfectly preserved wooden
piles still in situ, together with part of a damaged
mortar foundation. The piles had been driven
into the base of the building’s foundation
trench and the highest surviving Roman levels
were about 0.8m above the tops of the piles.
The building may have been part of a complex
of structures located in the area later occupied
by the Victorian waterworks to the west, where
other remains have been recorded. In 1808 a
newspaper report recorded the discovery here
of ‘some spacious Roman baths, and earthen
pipes of a peculiar construction, for the letting
in and out of the waters, with a quantity of
Roman pottery’ (ELM441) (Morning Chronicle
6.9.1808 and 24.11.1808). The 1876 OS map
records Roman foundations (ELM442) on
the site of an ‘Old Reservoir’, and, during
excavations for the new Anglian Water offices
at the bottom of Balkerne Hill, coins and
pottery were found, indicating the probable
proximity of Roman deposits (CAR 6, 1024).
Another sizable part of the western suburb
of the town was explored during excavations,
trial trenching and watching briefs carried
out from 1999–3 within the grounds of St
Mary’s Hospital (Balkerne Heights) (Fig 7.28).
A previously unknown Roman road leading
from the Balkerne Gate towards Sheepen was
revealed, as well as two side roads. On the north
side of the main road was a large house which
had been burnt down in the Boudican uprising.
Following the revolt the site was reoccupied, as
evidenced by a series of high quality masonry
town houses, probably 2nd century in date, as
well as a clay-lined water main. In the 3rd and
4th centuries the area was used as a cemetery
and 64 inhumations were excavated during the
investigations (S Benfield pers. comm.; interim
report in Britannia 29 (1998): 406–7; Brooks
1997a, 19; Brooks 2002a, 10–15; Crummy
2003b, 10–15; CAT report in prep).
The situation to the west of St Mary’s
Hospital and Balkerne Hill is far more confused;
undated burials are interspersed with sightings
of walls and tessellated pavements (Hull 1958,
243). The tessellated pavements suggest that
by the 2nd century, high-status buildings
occupied the road frontage and land behind
to an unknown density at least as far west
as Rawstorn Road. Further west we must be
cautious about wall sightings, as they could
relate to mortuary monuments.
There is considerable evidence that land
west of the town walls was used as a municipal
dump from the 2nd century or earlier until the
contraction of extramural settlement and the
blocking of the Balkerne Gate in the late 3rd
century. William Wire noted Roman material to
a depth of 12ft (3.65m) at St Mary’s Hospital
(Anon 1844, 156; Hull 1958, 244) and Hull
suggested that this area was a rubbish dump
for the town as it contained a jumble of coins
and brooches from the earliest to the latest
Roman periods, although some material could
have come from late burials in the area (ibid,
255). An evaluation at St Mary’s Hospital in
1997 revealed pits containing animal bone,
oyster shells, tile and pottery dating from the
2nd to the 4th centuries (Brooks 1997a). At
Balkerne Lane substantial deposits of oyster
shells up to 0.5m deep and dating to the 2nd
century, lay on either side of the main London–
Colchester road. Furthermore, an examination
of the meat-bearing bone recovered from the
Balkerne Lane excavation suggested that this
area was a dump for processed cattle carcasses
in the early Roman period (CAR 12, 143). By
the late 3rd century activity at Balkerne Hill
appears to have largely ceased, although a
modest 4th-century structure was recorded
north of the London road (MON384) and
traces of dumping and sand quarrying were
noted to its south (CAR 3, 130–2).
North of the walls
Significant extramural settlement also developed
to the north of the town walls, on either side
166
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of the river Colne. During the late 1st or early
2nd century, strip houses were established
at Middleborough. These included a timberframed building (MON291) possibly of four
rooms, with walls supported on ground plates
set within shallow slots. Features included
a hearth, an oven and a gravel yard or alley
to the south (CAR 3, 155–6). To the south
another ground-plate structure (MON292)
was replaced at some time during the early 2nd
century by a sub-rectangular timber-framed
building (MON293) with painted and plastered
daub walls, partially set on a stout mortar and
septaria foundation. Four rooms and a long
passage along the south side were noted (ibid,
158–9).
In the mid–late 2nd century, high-status
buildings appear at Middleborough, as at
Balkerne Hill. The timber-framed building
MON293 was replaced by an impressive house
(MON294) which was 45m long and consisted
of rooms ranged around a central courtyard.
Components included a workshop or shop,
three mosaic pavements, tessellated pavements,
wall plaster, various mortar and daub floors,
hearths, pits, ovens and a possible altar. The
building’s foundations were of roughly coursed
septaria set in mortar, and timber walls were
indicated by a wood grain impression left
in the top of a foundation. Along the street
frontage was a veranda or portico with a floor
of compact gravel. A second passage was
situated along the north side of the courtyard
and three further cross passages with tessellated
floors were located within the building. The
building was demolished c AD 300, when roof
tiles and tesserae appear to have been salvaged
(ibid, 166).
Two other nearby structures were dated to
the same period as the courtyard house. A large
building (MON295) with at least five rooms
and a passage may have been a bathhouse. A
furnace room or praefurnium was identified,
although the absence of any plunge baths was
curious. The building contained fragments
of tessellated pavement and small mosaics
as well as underfloor heating and traces of
a metal grill. Once again, tesserae appear to
have been salvaged prior to demolition c AD
300 (ibid, 174). To the east, on the site of the
Market Tavern, two rooms and a passageway
of a building (MON297) were uncovered.
The rooms had tessellated pavements and the
floor of the passage was of daub (ibid, 180).
Occupation at Middleborough, based on coin
evidence, appears to have come to an end
between c AD 295 and 335, suggesting that it
lasted beyond that of Balkerne Hill.
North of the river Colne a series of walls,
tessellated pavements and mosaics have been
uncovered in the vicinity of the Victoria
Inn, but as yet only one coherent structure
has been identified – a substantial courtyard
house at 26 North Station Road (MON672).
In 2001 an evaluation immediately to the south
of the Victoria Inn produced evidence for a
high-status building, or buildings, dated to the
2nd century. Features included stone walls,
a herringbone-patterned brick floor, a black
and white geometric mosaic (ELM1268) and a
curious sunken water tank or cellar constructed
of opus signinum and stone (ELM1266). It was
not clear if this structure was an internal or
external feature. In its demolition debris was
a late 4th-century coin (Orr 2001b, 5–6),
although, given the fate of the Middleborough
buildings, it might have been expected that
this suburb would have fallen out of use in
the late 3rd century (CAR 3, 155). At the Old
Poultry Market site on North Station Road
an evaluation in 1998 revealed a foundation
trench for a building (ELM1094) sharing the
same orientation as the Victoria Inn structures,
providing the most southerly evidence for
occupation north of the river (Crossan
1998b).
The road from Duncan’s Gate may have led
to a river crossing over the Colne. The road
passed by a cemetery area, but there is also
fragmentary occupation evidence including
a timber-lined well (ELM909), rubbish pits
(COLEM:1958.60; Hull 1958, 293, no. 69) and
other pits and ditches (CAR 6, 860–2). One
pit contained a fragment of marble veneer
(COLEM:1958.60).
South of the walls
The evidence for extramural settlement south
of the town walls is, again, fragmentary, but
suggests that a number of high- and lowstatus buildings were located here. During
excavations for the pedestrian subway at
Crouch Street part of a Roman building
(MON627) was exposed; this consisted of a
hypocaust, of which a central tile-built drain,
a subfloor of opus signinum and 11 pilae were
noted. This was probably the same hypocaust
as the one uncovered under the adjacent
167
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
pavement in 1925 (ELM447; Hull 1958, 243,
no. 39). Another Roman floor (ELM445) was
noted nearby in 1922, again, perhaps, from
the same building (Laver nd a, 23.1.1922). The
hypocaust room aligned with the small road
known to run WNW–ESE 120m to the north,
and may have been part of a house that fronted
onto it (CAR 3, 138; CAR 6, 341).
On Maldon Road, 100m south-west of the
city walls, a building (MON380) was discovered
in 1971. The floors were of sandy clay and
the walls were of mortar, tile and septaria.
The floor sealed a slot containing Flavian
pottery and the latest associated pottery was
of 2nd-century or later date. Demolition
debris included plaster of pink, white, red and
mustard, and white and green stripe design.
Although nearly 200m from the main street to
the north, the building appeared to be aligned
at right angles to it (CAR 9, 241).
Further east at 2 St John’s Street, excavations
in 1990 revealed a substantial structure
(MON822) built over dumped material. Here
a northern wall survived as a robber trench
1.9m wide with a large buttress of septaria
and mortar on its north side. Pottery indicated
that the building was demolished in the late
3rd or the 4th century (Benfield and Garrod
1992, 33–8). In 1928 observations made during
building work for the Playhouse Theatre in St
John’s Street showed that ‘to a depth of eight
feet over most of the site the soil consisted
entirely of Roman tip, containing pottery,
animal bones, oyster shells and other remains’
(CMR 1928, 29). During the construction of
the St John’s Street car park a concentration
of Roman material, including painted plaster,
was noted from the western part of the site
(CAR 6, 876).
To the east, at Osborne Street, a mosaic
(ELM465) consisting of ‘white yellow, light
blue and grey tesserae of small size’ was found
under the Bath Hotel in 1901 (CMR 1908, 9).
Nearby a red tessellated pavement (ELM463)
was also recorded about 4ft (1.2m) from
the surface (Laver 1909, 88). Excavations at
Osborne Street Car Park in 1988–9 revealed
the remains of a building (MON458) of 1st- or
2nd-century date that may have fronted onto
a Roman road running south from the South
Gate. This had a daub floor with a burnt layer
or hearth, and a tessellated pavement had
been added in the mid-2nd century (Shimmin
1994, 45–59). On the opposite side of the
road near the South Gate evidence for a wall
(ELM1162) from a late Roman building was
recovered during excavations on the site of
St Botolph’s Priory (Crummy 1992b, 10). The
1876 OS map of the town marks a tessellated
pavement under the middle of Priory Street
(ELM462).
East of the walls
The situation to the east of the town walls
is curiously barren. To date only a handful
of unsubstantiated sightings suggest Roman
activity in this area. Roman foundations
(ELM822) are noted on the 1876 OS map
just east of the town wall on the south side
of East Hill (Hull 1958, 293, 66). There is also
an unpublished note in the museum recording
that during the construction of a petrol tank
for a garage at the bottom of East Hill a
Roman decorated pavement (ELM501) was
encountered at a depth of 1.5m.
Farms and villas within the dyke system
We do not know the extent of the territorium
around the colonia, nor do we have any clear
evidence for centuriation or the allotment of
land parcels to military settlers. One might
expect the pre-existing late Iron Age boundaries
of the oppidum to be increasingly rationalised
over time, if not completely realigned, and there
is some evidence for this from cropmarks. At
Gosbecks many curvilinear boundaries have
more linear successors. In addition, a series of
small Roman rectangular fields abuts the road
to Colchester and is linked to narrow eastwardrunning trackways, forming a distinct field
system aligned differently to the earlier pattern.
Further east, at Kirkee McMunn Barracks, a
settlement lies close to a series of rectangular
or sub-rectangular enclosures and a series of
small strip fields that are more characteristically
Roman than late Iron Age.
Find spots of Roman pottery and tile from
across the town’s hinterland provide only a
fragmentary picture of settlement character
and density. Miscellaneous pits and ditches
containing Roman waste have been recorded at
several locations within the oppidum, but because
of the extensive nature of the burial zones it
is not always possible to distinguish domestic
refuse from waste associated with funeral
rituals. Nothing that could be confidently
described as a villa has been discovered within
the area of the oppidum, although there is
168
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
evidence for buildings of some quality. For
example, a high-status building in the vicinity
of Spring Lane at Lexden is suggested by the
recovery from a sandpit of two large bricks
that were interpreted as voussoirs, which would
have formed part of a door or window arch
(Orr 2001a, 3). At Kirkee McMunn Barracks,
traces of a hypocausted building dated to the
2nd–3rd centuries were recorded (Shimmin
1998b, 262–9). Less satisfactory observations
include a reference to ‘a Roman house’ situated
on the rising ground near Park Farm at
Berechurch, south of Colchester (Gant 1972,
34) and two unconfirmed ‘villa sites’ suggested
from aerial photographs at Greenstead Road
and south of Harwich Road, to the east of the
town (EHCR 2549, EHCR 2495). These are
not confirmed by surface finds and may yet
turn out to be erroneous.
North of the river Colne, roof and flue tiles
have been recovered from Turner Rise (CAT
Report 2/98E), and 3.5km north of the town
centre brick and roof tile fragments have been
recorded from the vicinity of Severalls Hospital
(Crossan 2001b). Pottery, daub and roof tile
were found in a 1st- to 2nd-century ditch near
the Northern Approach Road, to the west of
Colchester General Hospital (FND224), and
nearby ditches produced late Iron Age and
early Roman pottery, along with oyster shells
and tile (FND225; CAT 1997/6). Further to
the north-east of the town there is a general
lack of evidence for villa settlement on the
Tendring Peninsula, an anomaly in north-east
Essex, where villa settlement is generally dense
and evenly spread.
West of the town, pottery and flue tile have
been noted north of the trapezoidal enclosure
at Gosbecks (Hull 1958, 259). A high-status
building near Gryme’s Dyke is suggested by
a mosaic recorded by Philip Laver at Stanway
Green in the right angle of the dyke (ibid, 244).
Elsewhere, in the grounds of Altnacealgach
House, a short-lived wattle and daub structure
was partially excavated along with a pit
containing large amounts of Antonine pottery
as well as oyster shells (CAR 11, 124–6). A
possible early Roman enclosure was recorded
nearby (Hull 1958, 271–3).
The 1930s Sheepen excavations recorded a
number of minor structures associated with
post-revolt deposits. In the south-eastern corner
of Region 5 the remains of a timber building
(MON436) and associated Hadrianic pottery
were recovered; the building’s destruction was
clearly dated to the late 3rd century (Hawkes
and Hull 1947, 121). A small Roman building
(MON432) was noted just outside the western
temenos wall of the temple at St Helena School
(ibid, 70). Towards Sheepen Springs, trenching
in 1939 recorded a timber building (MON430),
located to the north of two large Roman clay
extraction pits, which was occupied in the 2nd
and 3rd centuries (ibid, 121). A small Roman
building (MON694) was excavated at Warren
Field in 1959; this was asymmetrical, measuring
2.7m by 3.9m, and situated close to a group
of pottery kilns (MON691–3). The walls were
of Kentish ragstone with a mortar and rubble
core, and traces of red and white plaster were
also noted. The building appeared to have
been deliberately demolished and a pit dug
into the rubble was dated to the 4th century
(Hull 1963, 42).
Farms and villas in the wider hinterland
On the lighter sandy loam soils of the
Colchester gravel terrace mixed farming would
have played an important role in supplying
the city. We might also expect the expansion
of agriculture in the Roman period into more
marginal areas around Colchester, such as the
heavier soils of the London Clay south of
the Roman River, and this is suggested by the
distribution of settlement and villa sites. To
the north, beyond the river Colne, settlement
evidence is sparser. The place-names here, like
Little Horkesley, Great Horkesley, Brinkley and
Ardleigh, imply the Anglo-Saxon clearance
of woodland and perhaps point to either the
presence of woodland here in the Roman
period or abandonment and regeneration at
a later date.
An arc of villas has been recorded around
the southern and eastern side of the oppidum,
forming a settlement belt 4–6km from the
town walls. None of these villas has been
the subject of modern excavations. Chris
Going notes that the spread of villas across
Essex is datable to the Flavian period and
reaches its peak in the early–mid-2nd century
(Going 1996, 103). At Alresford a corridortype villa has produced flue tiles of Flavian
date (Hull 1963, 37–8). At Rivenhall, some
16km from Colchester, a substantial winged
corridor house set on masonry foundations
was built in the early Flavian period. This is
the nearest villa to Colchester to have been
169
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
subject to structured excavation and it is
notable for the quality of its construction and
decoration, apparently demonstrating a high
level of private expenditure well in advance
of the construction of elaborate private town
houses in Colchester itself. The presence here
of late 1st-century mortared foundations can
be compared with the situation in Colchester,
where such foundations become common
only in the early 2nd century (Walthew 1975,
198–9).
While a number of substantial villas were
established in the region in the 1st and 2nd
centuries, the density across East Anglia
generally appears to be less than in central
and western areas of the province. One
hypothesis is that the imperial reaction to the
Boudican revolt was to keep more land in direct
governmental control in Trinovantian/Icenian
territory (Percival 1976, 99). Alternatively,
the local trend for timber and earth-walled
construction may mean that sites have simply
not been identified (Perring 2002, 77).
As noted above, there is no evidence for
centuriation (the formal gridding of the
landscape) around Colchester; instead, the
landscape is dominated by irregularly laid-out
farmsteads, fields and trackways with dispersed
villas or suburban houses. At Silchester (Hants)
the lack of villas near the town has led to the
suggestion that some land was farmed from the
town itself (Boon 1974, 243–8), and at York it
appears that villa estates were not developed
close to the colonia, with the nearest identified
villa being some 10km away (Roskams 1999,
58). At Lincoln the picture is less clear-cut,
with two elite complexes, perhaps parts of
villa estates, located within a kilometre of the
town (Jones 1999, 109), and at Gloucester at
least two villa complexes are known within
4km of the town (Clifford 1933, 323; 1961, 42;
Sermon 1996, 13–15, 17; 1997, 44–5), although
there is also evidence for native settlement
in the same zone (Hurst 1999, 129–30). At
Colchester farming appears to have taken
place within and close to the town, but it has
yet to be established whether land within the
oppidum was worked from the town or from
nearby farmsteads.
Dykes and miscellaneous structures
To the east and west of the colonia a number
of linear earthworks have come to light
which appear to be Roman in origin (see
page 64–5). Some of these are relatively small
features, perhaps the remnants of temporary
military encampments, while others are more
substantial and suggest a Roman defensive
strategy that borrowed from the earlier native
tradition of dyke building.
Probably in the late 1st century, and possibly
after the Boudican revolt, a massive linear
earthwork now known as Gryme’s Dyke was
built from New Bridge on the Colne to Baymill
Cottage on the Roman River (Fig 3.2). There
are distinct sections, Gryme’s Dyke North,
Middle and South, which need not belong
to a single building phase. Dating for the
Middle section was provided by a trench near
the Peartree Business Centre, Peartree Road;
here a terra sigillata sherd and a Claudian coin
were recovered from the base of the rampart,
indicating a date after AD 41. Much of the
bank of Gryme’s Dyke still survives, in places
measuring 2m high and 12m wide, a scale
which suggests a defensive intent as opposed
to a purely territorial function. Midway along
its course the dyke changes direction, forming
a sharp right angle at Stanway Green, before
continuing south and skirting the tributary
valley running from the Gosbecks Spring.
The kink in the dyke does not conform to any
geographical obstacle and may perhaps relate
to a need to account for pre-existing settlement
or land divisions in that area. A small undated
ditch known as Dugard Dyke runs between and
parallel to Shrub End Dyke and Gryme’s Dyke
Middle, and two undated features known as the
‘Palisaded Earthwork’ and the ‘Laver Ditch’
may possibly relate to Roman roads running
through Gryme’s Dyke (CAR 11, 171–2).
East of Colchester another large linear dyke
also survives for a considerable part of its
original length. It appears to defend the coastal
approach to the colonia at Berechurch and its
linear morphology suggests a Roman date,
although Hawkes believed it to be late Iron
Age (ibid, 25–6). Elsewhere, excavations and
observations at Altnacealgach House in 1939,
1955 and 1956 revealed traces of a possible
second triple dyke (MON851), a palisade
trench and a rhomboid enclosure of probable
Roman date. The military flavour of these
features encouraged Hawkes to suggest at the
time that the legionary fortress was located in
this area (CAR 11, 62, 124–6).
170
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
A few east–west streets in the former retentura,
or rear part, of the fortress (that is, between
Insulae 9a/b and 17a/b and Insulae 25a/b
and 33a/b) are still problematic, and could
conceivably be post-Boudican features (but
this is unlikely). Otherwise the street system
of the rebuilt town seems to have been exactly
the same as the pre-Boudican one, and there
is some evidence for the survival of building
plots on the west side of Culver Street (CAR
6, 27–9) and at the site of the post office in
Head Street (Brooks 2004b). Thus, as far as
can be judged, the post-Boudican town was
effectively the same as the pre-Boudican one,
but with new buildings. The main differences
were, presumably, that there were no reused
military buildings, that the houses were more
uniform in the way that they were built and
that they were probably of a lower standard of
construction. The post-Boudican development
of the town as defined in 1992, characterised as
periods 4–6 (c AD 80–c AD 400) (CAR 6, 14–
18, figs 2.10–2.11), still holds good. Period 4 (c
AD 80–100/125) is still problematic because
it supposes the existence of a large defended
annexe to the west of the walled part of the
town, the evidence for which is limited.
Despite the large-scale excavations of the
1970s and 1980s, no complete house plans have
been recovered, although large parts of several
houses have been excavated. The Butt Road
church is unusual in that the whole building
has been excavated (CAR 9, 164–91). The
so-called ‘mithraeum’ in Insula 15 is another
with a fully excavated plan (Hull 1958, 107–15;
Crummy 1980a, 271–2). Generally the latest
buildings (which are usually 2nd–3rd century
in date) have stone or rubble foundations
and include rooms with tessellated, mortar or
mosaic floors. Their remains are thus relatively
durable and easier to study than 1st- and
early 2nd-century houses. Investigations have
tended to favour these buildings as well as preBoudican buildings. The least well-understood
buildings are those of Flavian and early 2ndcentury date: they have been investigated the
least and are poorly preserved because, unlike
their pre-Boudican counterparts, they have
not been burnt. Methods of construction
varied considerably with time and show clear
typological development, as do houses and
house plans (CAR 3, 20–2). Thus investigations
of the whole range of buildings across all
periods are important if the evolution of
buildings and construction techniques is to be
understood.
The quality of buildings inside the oppidum (as
opposed to the colonia) is yet to be determined,
although excavation opportunities have been
limited. Perhaps the best example comes
from the Kirkee and McMunn Barracks,
where some poorly preserved parts of a
Roman-period house or villa were recorded
(Shimmin 1998b). No good example has yet
been found of a house with foundations,
despite the fact that inside the colonia this was
standard from the Flavian period onwards. It
may be that the absence of foundations on
occupation sites may be the primary indicator
of either surface-built timber-framed houses
or even roundhouses. Either way, the lack of
foundations or robber trenches on the sites of
buildings is significant and indicates a lower
standard of house construction than pertained
in the colonia; this should be detectable even
allowing for the effects of plough and other
damage.
The town wall is dated to c AD 70–85 and
is seen as a response to the Boudican uprising
(Crummy 2003a, 50–1). The date of the wall is
yet to be established beyond reasonable doubt,
but it does seem as if it really was very early by
British standards. It has been well established
that the rampart was a later addition to the
wall (Crummy 1999b, 95–8). Variations in the
fabric and construction of the wall on the
western part of the circuit have been identified
and equated with the work of different gangs
who built the wall. However, interpretation
is difficult and uncertain. Most of the gates
are still poorly known, and the numbers and
distribution of culverts and interval towers
are only gradually becoming clear. The Roman
brick in the wall is interpreted as being
reused from demolished public buildings of
the pre-Boudican town (Crummy 2003a,
51–2). However, for this suggestion to become
credible, major pre-Boudican buildings need to
be identified and shown to have incorporated
substantial quantities of brick.
The number and size of the open spaces
in the town changed markedly with time,
and appear to be an indirect indicator of
population levels. However, this assumes that,
171
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
among other things, the average size of the
buildings did not change, which of course
was not the case. Nevertheless, the population
probably never recovered to its immediately
pre-Boudican level. Recovery was slow, with
open areas only gradually being built over. The
peak in terms of built-up areas was from about
AD 150 to AD 250 when, by British standards,
Colchester had an exceptionally large number
of large town houses, the presence of which
suggests a prosperous town. A good indicator
of relative wealth is the incidence of mosaic
floors: more are known from Colchester that
from any other town in Britain and they nearly
all date to the period AD 150–250.
Few public buildings and monuments have
as yet been recognised. Large foundations in
some of the insulae (that is, Insulae 18, 20, 29 and
30) indicate the presence of public buildings,
but the identification of these is otherwise
uncertain. The fragments of pilae stacks in
the external walls of Colchester Castle almost
certainly come from public baths which were
demolished for this purpose, yet the site of
the Roman baths is not known. The so-called
‘mithraeum’ (Hull 1958, 107–15) was probably
a waterworks and, if so, it may well have
supplied baths which may have been located in
Insula 30. The discovery of the circus, however,
indicates the continuing importance of the
town after the Boudican revolt.
There is plenty of evidence for the supply
of pressurised water in the town, but, with the
notable exception of the building in Insula 15,
the sources of the water remain unexplored.
Excavations in the Balkerne Lane area (CAR 3,
26–8) suggest that the Chiswell Meadow, to the
west of the town, was a major source of water;
there was probably a water tower here and
some means, such as a series of waterwheels,
for raising the water up the hill from the springs
down in the valley.
The nature of the activity changed at the
Sheepen and Gosbecks sites after the Boudican
revolt. Both sites became places where large
numbers of people assembled for fairs and
markets. The level of activity at Sheepen seems
to have dropped markedly after the revolt, and
it developed into a major religious sanctuary
with at least four temples, but pottery kilns
show that it still retained a manufacturing role,
albeit on a reduced scale. Gosbecks is less well
understood than Sheepen. However, it seems to
have continued as a farming area, with houses
and utilitarian buildings scattered among the
intricate network of fields, paddocks and
droveways which emanated from the central
farmstead. Gosbecks also developed as a
major religious centre and, with its theatre, as
a major place of assembly. It may also have had
some kind of civic/governmental function.
Like Sheepen, it retained an industrial role,
as indicated by burnt areas and finds of slag
(Hull 1958, 259–60). Parallels in Gaul suggest
that there could have been a bathhouse at
Gosbecks, and some support for this view is
provided by fragments of box tile from around
the temple site and a wooden water main which
was traced over a distance of 250m in 1999
(Benfield 2008a). Tesserae in the ploughsoil
near the north corner of the farmstead show
the previous existence of at least one other
substantial building at Gosbecks, apart from
any which lined the Roman road where it is
close to the theatre.
The architectural differences between
the temple and theatre at Gosbecks and the
temple and theatre in the colonia may reflect
differences between the native and the settler
populations. The theatre at Gosbecks is not
well understood. The disposition of the
external staircases suggest that two more are
yet to be located and the wall which retains the
cavea seems far too narrow if the building was
to have reached full height, unless the upper
part was completely constructed of timber.
In addition, the evidence is poor for a wholly
timber theatre pre-dating the turf one. The
Gosbecks theatre is not of orthodox Classical
design, but has affinities with theatres in Gaul.
The auditorium was raised on a solid base of
turf revetted by a single outer wall, and did
not incorporate a covered veranda; the scenae
was reduced to a simple wooden stage flanked
on either side by a single wall. A similar native
influence is apparent in the Gosbecks temple,
in that it is of the Romano-Celtic rather than
Classical type. In contrast, the theatre in the
town and the adjacent temple to the deified
emperor Claudius were of Classical type. The
plan of the theatre is incompletely known
and problematic because of a wall which
abuts the south side of it (Crummy 1982b).
However, it would appear that the building,
like Roman theatres around the Mediterranean,
had an auditorium on stone and brick vaulting
arranged so as to support a portico around the
upper perimeter.
172
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
The careful and exhaustive work of Robin
Symonds and Paul Bidwell on the pottery
from the town centre, now published (CAR
10), complements the earlier study by C
F C Hawkes and M R Hull on the pottery
from Sheepen (Hawkes and Hull 1947,
168–286). About 40 kilns have been recorded
at Colchester (Hull 1963; Rodwell 1982, 33–7;
CAR 3, 182–4; CAR 6, 338–40). They are
easy to recognise in the ground, and as a result
some of the kilns are single isolated discoveries
with no record of any of the supporting or
related structures which must have existed. It is
difficult to place the potters in the community,
either physically in terms of where they lived
or socially in terms of wealth and status. There
are hints that this may one day be possible,
however; stamps reveal the names of migrant
potters from abroad who set up workshops in
Colchester and elsewhere (CAR 10, 209–11),
whereas pottery seconds in thinly furnished
graves near a pottery kiln hint at a much less
prosperous group of potters north of the
river Colne (Shimmin 2008a). There is some
clustering of kilns, the most significant group,
which includes the samian kiln, being on the
Warren Fields at Sheepen.
Cremation was the normal burial rite until
the 3rd century, when inhumation superseded
it (CAR 9, 264). However, a few cremations
from one site (Abbey Field; Crossan 2001a)
suggest that cremation as a rite persisted into
the 4th century. The significance of changes in
the distribution of burials has been highlighted
(CAR 9, 263). Burials closest to the walled
part of town are dominated by inhumations,
whereas further out cremations predominate.
This suggests that the town’s suburbs shrank
before or soon after inhumation became the
normal mode of burial, which is probably
in the second half of the 3rd century. This
contraction of settlement outside the walls in
favour of habitation inside the walls thus freed
land for burial which had not been previously
available. Two recently excavated cemeteries
at Abbey Field (Crossan 2001a) and Turner
Rise (Shimmin 2008a) revealed a contrast in
the quality and number of their grave goods.
This suggests that different cemeteries could
each serve a different group of people, and that
some groups of people were richer than others.
It may be that large cemeteries in desirable
locations, such as next to a church, could and
probably did have family plots, whereas smaller
cemeteries such as the one at Turner Rise were
burial places for individual families. The Butt
Road inhumation cemetery produced evidence
for family plots within the same cemetery (ibid,
51–4, 92–3, 156–7).
The apparent evidence for a sharp decline
in the built-up areas of the town in the late
3rd century is well established. Excavations
inside and outside the walled part of the town
have shown that the suburbs at Balkerne Lane
and Middleborough shrank to practically nil
and that many houses within the walls were
demolished without replacement (CAR 6, 18–
20). The evident decline matches observations
of a decline in towns elsewhere in eastern and
southern Britain generally in the latter part of
the 3rd century onwards (Faulkner 2000, 121).
However, it is clear from various sources, such
as coin loss and cemeteries, that there must still
have been a substantial population in Colchester
throughout this period, and the question which
needs to be answered is the degree to which
the population redistributed itself in the town
rather than declined. Opportunities are limited
for excavation along the High Street, and the
remains there are poorly preserved because
of later activity, especially the construction of
cellars. However, the latest Roman occupation
levels yet recognised in Colchester have been
found on sites along the High Street frontages
at the Cups Hotel (CAR 6, 333) and possibly
Angel Yard (Shimmin and Carter 1996, 66). Too
few late sites have been identified to justify any
firm conclusions, but this raises the possibility
that the demolition of many of the large houses
of the period AD 150–250 was matched by
an increase in density of occupation along the
High Street in a way which foreshadowed the
morphology of the medieval town.
The transition from Roman to Anglo-Saxon
Colchester remains obscure. The Artillery
Folly coin hoard of clipped siliquae reveals a
recognisably ‘Roman’ town in AD 409 if not a
little later (Burnett 1984; Crummy 2001, 129).
The date for the changeover, whether this was
sudden or gradual, remains as it was in the
1970s, when it was provisionally put at c AD
440/450 on the assumption that Anglo-Saxon
Hut 2 at Lion Walk is post-Roman (CAR 1,
5–6; CAR 7, 23; Crummy 2001, 129–30).
Preservation
The late Roman town is subject to greater
damage through post-Roman pitting and
173
THE LATER ROMAN TOWN, AD 61–410
trenching than the pre-Boudican colony,
but, like the latter, there are large areas well
behind the medieval and later frontages where
the remains are relatively well preserved.
House foundations and hypocausts have
been extensively robbed inside the walled
area, although preservation is generally better
outside. The latest deposits were usually
destroyed by later cultivation and ground
disturbances of various sorts. Animal bone
and other faunal remains are usually fairly well
preserved, with good preservation of surface
detail. Copper alloy and glass are generally quite
well preserved, but the survival of ironwork
is very poor. Waterlogged deposits exist just
outside the walled area to the north and south
of the town as well as in Insulae 1a to 4/5. The
spring in the possible waterworks in Insula
15 suggests that similar deposits may exist
in Insulae 6 to 8 and 15. Preservation within
the oppidum is as stated for the late Iron Age
and early Roman period (see pages 56, 75–6,
97–8).
Importance
Despite the ascendancy of Londinium and
the foundation of other coloniae in Britain,
Colchester remained one of the province’s
major towns and a place of maximum
Romanisation. It was originally the foremost
town in the province of Britannia and centre
of the imperial cult. Being the first of its
kind in Britain, its stone defensive wall was a
physical expression of the town’s high status.
Colchester’s origin as a colonia settled by Roman
citizens and its coastal position in the south-east
of Britain, facing continental Europe, ensured
that the place was as Roman a town as any in
Britain and a good deal more so than most. The
workmanship of a few of the mosaics matched
the quality of fine pavements abroad. Evidence
for the manufacture in the town of samian and
picture lamps, as yet unattested elsewhere in
Britain, revealed immigrant craftsmen from the
continent. A house at Head Street underlined
the foreign ancestry of some of the inhabitants
of the town by incorporating a garden pool
(Brooks 2004b), a feature more familiar in the
Mediterranean than Britain.
Being a colonia planted inside a native
oppidum, Roman Colchester has much to offer
as a place in which to study the interactions
between Romans and Britons and the process
by which the latter adopted a Romanised way
of life. Sheepen and Gosbecks in particular are
key sites in which to explore the relationships
between the two groups and to investigate
physically, on the ground, whether the two
groups eventually became one.
Some early Roman houses in Britain have
a military appearance; examples include the
Claudian building in Insula XIV at Verulamium
excavated by Frere (1972, fig 8) and the Eccles
Roman villa (Detsicas 1977). Moreover, the
forum-basilica seems to have evolved from the
military principia (Hassall 1979, 246–8). Reused
buildings as well as new ones are evident in the
pre-Boudican town at Colchester and, most
importantly, it is normally possible to identify
which is which. The colonia is thus important for
the study of the evolution of town houses in
Britain, particularly in relation to the influence
of the army.
Roman Colchester, originating at the very
start of the occupation, spans the whole of
the Roman period in Britain, making it fruitful
ground for constructing typologies for artefacts.
Pottery, glass and small finds from Colchester
often occur on sites in large quantities and,
as a result, have formed substantial corpora
which are used widely in archaeological research
throughout Britain and beyond.
Potential for future research
Enough has been done to reveal distinctive
stages in the evolution of the town in terms
of its street grid, its built-up areas and its
cemeteries. Future fieldwork should enable
the development of the town to be charted
more clearly and accurately. Most of the town’s
public buildings have yet to be identified.
Important buildings as yet unlocated are the
public baths and the basilica, and the theatre is
yet to be closely dated. The date of the town
wall needs to be confirmed. More sections
behind the town wall will undoubtedly help. It
is now known that the wall is built on top of
wooden piles where the course of the wall is
below the spring line and the ground subject
to high ground water (in other words the
west part of the north stretch of wall). At the
Sixth Form College during a deep excavation
against the northern part of the town wall
several samples from wooden piles were taken
for dendrochrological dating but the results
were inconclusive (Brooks et al 2009, 61, 67
and 73). Much more work remains to be done
on the town’s defences. Little is known about
174
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
most gates, and the towers and turrets are not
fully mapped. The existence of the supposed
Flavian annexe on the west side of the town
can be validated or discounted by excavations
along the projected course of the enclosure
ditch on its south side.
As in towns generally, the commercial
and market functions of Colchester were
central to its existence, yet the numbers and
locations of the shops are unknown for the
post-Boudican town. The Boudican deposits
point to the existence of many shops lining
the High Street and other streets too, and
a similar situation is bound to apply to the
post-Boudican town, but it is not easy to
identify shops unless they have been burnt
or destroyed in some other way so as to leave
some of the stock behind. Clearly, this is a
major problem for the excavation of any
town, not just Colchester. Sites along the main
street frontages, especially the High Street, are
vital in this respect even though the prospect
of finding evidence for commerce is limited.
Allied to this problem is the extent to which,
if any, there was a relocation of houses and
other buildings in the late 3rd, 4th and early
5th centuries along what are now the High
Street frontages, and whether such an increase
in the density of buildings represented a
morphological change in the layout of the
town which anticipated that of late Saxon and
medieval Colchester.
Much of Gosbecks in the post-Boudican
period remains to be explored. The date and
nature of the occupation to either side of the
Roman road to the colonia could be established
through excavation and this will help to put the
temple and theatre in a wider context, which
at present is missing. The excavation of more
extramural sites dating to after the Boudican
period should reveal whether there was a
significant difference in the quality of build of
houses in the oppidum as opposed to the colonia.
This should prove to be an important indicator
of how the Britons fared under Roman
occupation. Excavation elsewhere within the
oppidum should reveal much more about the
layout of the native settlement and to what
extent its droveways, fields, settlement sites
and cemeteries were affected by the Roman
occupation. However, large areas would need
to be examined to achieve results such as these
and for much of the oppidum this is no longer
possible.
8 Early Anglo-Saxon Colchester, 410–916
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
The early 5th century saw colonisation of the east
coast of Britain by settlers from southern Denmark and northern Germany. These farmers,
traders and warriors brought with them a new
language, a form of English, and a rejection of
the urban ideals and Christian beliefs common to
the inhabitants of Colonia Victricensis. The speed
and character of Anglo-Saxon colonisation are
still disputed and therefore of great interest to
archaeologists. History, in the form of the Gallic
Chronicle of AD 452 and the writings of the
native British scholar Gildas, records a decisive
Anglo-Saxon influx in the middle decades of
the 5th century (Burgess 1990, 185–96; Yorke
1990, 2–3). However, excavations at West Stow
in Suffolk (West 1985), and Mucking (Hamerow
1987) and Heybridge (Drury and Wickenden
1982), both in Essex, could indicate an earlier
arrival of Anglo-Saxon settlers in the parts of
Britain geographically closest to the Rhine.
Unfortunately, the dating of excavated material
to the early 5th century remains an extremely
problematic exercise.
The end of the imperial administration in
Britain saw the final collapse of the late Roman
economy and consequent loss of commercial
distribution systems. During the first quarter
of the 5th century coinage and wheel-thrown
pottery went out of general circulation, with
the result that it is very difficult to assess the
survival of Romano-British culture. Assuming
that the native population organised their
defence around regional or city-based political
structures, the apparent early collapse of
activity in the Roman towns suggests that Essex
succumbed rapidly to the invaders. Graves
containing late Roman military equipment
and Anglo-Saxon-style accessories have been
seen as compelling evidence for the early use
of Anglo-Saxon fighters by the native Britons
in the South East. A popular theory was that
these communities of mercenaries and their
families helped to speed up the collapse of
native power structures and formed the basis
for the new settlements (Myres 1986, 87–9).
Recent thinking has moved away from this
model, however, and the extent to which largescale population displacement occurred is also
now questioned more rigorously, with recent
theories favouring higher levels of cultural and
ethnic integration (Hodges 1989, 29–36).
A small cremation and inhumation cemetery
at North Shoebury, a possible mercenary burial
ground, is one of the few cemetery sites in
Essex that appears to be exclusively 5th century
in date (Tyler 1995, 46–52; 1996, 110). It is also
one of a number of Essex sites where AngloSaxon burials appear to have been placed in
association with earlier prehistoric or Roman
burials; other examples include cemeteries at
Ardleigh (Brown 1999, 183–4) and Springfield
Lyons (Buckley and Hedges 1987, 15, fig 11),
which both integrate Bronze Age features.
Settlers may have attempted to claim legitimacy
and imply continuity by creating a physical
relationship with past social orders.
176
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
The settlers brought with them a far less
hierarchical social structure than that which
had existed under Roman rule, and a pattern
of agriculture based more upon community
interests than were the large farming estates
of the Roman Empire. However, the idea
that large tracts of farmland reverted back to
primordial forest during the ‘Dark Ages’ is no
longer held to be valid. Some historians would
even have continuity of farming practices,
with Saxon or Anglian overlords adopting
the Romano-British peasantry as underlings
(Dark 1992; Schama 2000, 46). Such continuity
of native field systems and settlement is not
readily apparent in the vicinity of Colchester,
and the nature and scale of occupation in the
town itself certainly does not point to such a
seamless transition.
The pattern of Saxon settlement across
Essex in the 5th century appears to be one of
dispersed hamlets and farms without a clear
settlement hierarchy or evidence for any sort
of political structure. The nearest evidence for
political hierarchy and organisation would be
the lingering British enclave at London (Clark
1989, 5–6) or the substantial Cambridge Dykes
(Malim et al 1996, 27). Large-scale excavations
of early Anglo-Saxon settlements in the region
have been undertaken at West Stow (West 1985)
and Mucking (Hamerow 1987), and several
smaller sites have also produced occupation
evidence (Tyler 1996, 108–10). Structural
features commonly comprise the traces of
sunken-featured buildings or Grubenhäuser;
there is generally little evidence for either
settlement boundaries or social differentiation
between buildings. Even the evidence from
the excavation at Mucking, which comprises
some 256 buildings and 867 burials, can be
interpreted as representing a shifting hamlet
which evolved during the 5th to 8th centuries
rather than a large bounded village (Hamerow
1987, 256–8). Studies of settlement continuity
and social hierarchy in Essex have been
hampered by there being so few excavated sites
where early and middle Saxon cemeteries exist
in association with settlement evidence, the
exceptions being Mucking and Ardale School
(Tyler 1996, 110).
In the 6th century Saxon tribal groupings
in the region appear to have coalesced into an
East Saxon kingdom, with London emerging as
a central place by c AD 600 (Clark 1989, 10–11;
Cowie and Harding 2000, 182–3). Colchester
is located at the eastern edge of the kingdom,
around 10km south of the river Stour, the
geographical boundary between the polities
of the East Angles and the East Saxons (the
ancestors of modern East Anglia and Essex).
Finds associated with both these groupings
– for example, cruciform and circular brooch
forms (Hills 1999, 184) – have been found in
the Colchester area.
The 7th century saw the consolidation of
the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the gradual
return of Christianity to south-east Britain.
There is no direct evidence, but Colchester may
have re-emerged as a royal estate (villa regalis)
towards the end of the 7th century (Rippon
1996, 120). Given the utility of its defensive
circuit, a revived administrative, economic
and religious status is possible but not proven.
The port known as ‘Old Hythe’ at Old Heath
could perhaps date back to this time, the
only supporting evidence being a single 7thcentury Merovingian vessel apparently found
in the vicinity. Elsewhere, there is evidence
demonstrating the socio-economic power of
a local estate owner at Mersea Island, where a
massive wooden causeway of between 3,000
and 5,000 piles was dated by dendrochronology
to the late 7th century (Crummy et al 1982,
83).
Early and middle Saxon industrial sites are
rare in Essex and there is little evidence for
manufacturing in the vicinity of Colchester,
with the notable exception of the ironworking
complex at Rook Hall, Little Totham, near
Maldon (Adkins 1989, 262–3). Here remains
of several smelting furnaces and smithing
hearths were recovered, and charcoal from
one furnace gave a radiocarbon date of
607±60 AD (GU-2151). There are also few
data regarding methods of coastal exploitation
such as salt production, fishing and sheep
herding, although wooden fish weirs have
been recorded at Bradwell on Sea and Mersea
Island (interim report in Essex Archaeol Hist
24 (1993): 209; Crump and Wallis 1992). The
weir at Bradwell has been radiocarbon dated
to between AD 640–75 and 882–957 and may
be linked to a nearby monastic foundation
(Rippon 1996, 124).
The evolution of Essex’s rural landscape
is distinct from the classic landscape of strip
farming in two or three open fields around a
nucleated village, as seen extensively across
the English Midlands. Rather, occupation is
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
characterised by dispersed manors and hamlets
each with their own fields, these sometimes
incorporating older field systems of Roman or
prehistoric date. The origins of this settlement
pattern are obscure, but there is some evidence
for the contraction and abandonment of
early Saxon sites followed by expansion of
settlement in the middle and late Saxon periods
(Hamerow 1991, 14). Regional excavations of
middle–late Saxon church–hall complexes have
failed to demonstrate whether these served as
the basis for later nucleated settlement (Rippon
1996, 124). In fact, our understanding of
the development of Christian infrastructure
in Essex is fragmentary. Many of Essex’s
churches are thought to date to the very late
Saxon period, although middle Saxon churches
have been suggested at Cressing (Hope 1984,
35–6, fig 26.1), Rivenhall (Rodwell and Rodwell
1986, 85–90, fig 60) and West Bergholt (Turner
1984, 52, fig 35.1).
By the beginning of the 8th century Essex
had fallen under Mercian control. Then, from
c AD 825, it came under the overlordship of
Wessex, finally being incorporated into the
West Saxon kingdom in c AD 860. Increasingly
frequent Viking raids on Britain in the 8th
century culminated in a major Viking army
landing in the 860s. This force pressed the
Anglo-Saxons into a peace settlement that
resulted in permanent Viking occupation
and the formation of the Danelaw. Essex
is traditionally thought to have fallen under
Danish control, but may in fact have remained
a Saxon borderland (Williams 1996, 97): placename and historical evidence suggests that
Viking influence was confined to the northern
reaches of the county, which may have
remained in a state of flux. Around Colchester
there are only a few Danish names: examples
include Easthorpe, to the west (West 1989,
9). There is also little evidence for a Danish
presence at Colchester itself, with the exception
of an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for AD
917 which records that Colchester was held
by the Danes before it was retaken by King
Edward the Elder, who repaired and restored
it as a burh.
Past work
Until the 1970s little was known about
the character of post-Roman settlement in
Colchester. Saxon pottery had been found
in small quantities within the town walls, and
poorly recorded but important collections of
metalwork were recovered from extramural
quarry pits, building sites and the grounds of
the Union Workhouse (St Mary’s Hospital) in
the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. From this
material four ill-defined extramural cemeteries
have been identified north-east, east, west and
south of the walled town. Dredging of the river
Colne in 1916 also produced a number of iron
weapons of some interest.
In the 1960s pits tentatively dated to the
5th–7th centuries were noted at the NCP
Car Park site on North Hill (Dunnett 1967,
38) and at the Lorgarth site on Nunn’s
Road (unpublished typescript, Colchester
Museums), but no structural evidence could
be conclusively identified. A breakthrough
came with the redevelopment that began in
the 1970s, when large tracts of the intramural
town were examined at Culver Street and Lion
Walk, leading to the discovery of ephemeral
Saxon buildings of 5th- to 7th-century date
(CAR 1, 1–6; CAR 3, 73–5; CAR 6, 118–22).
Hopes that High Street sites excavated in the
1980s and 1990s would produce further Saxon
occupation evidence were only partly realised.
At Angel Yard (Shimmin and Carter 1996,
38) and the Cups Hotel (CAR 6, 333) pits and
depressions were recorded and dated with
varying degrees of certainty to the 5th–7th
centuries. Aside from these sites, residual sherds
and miscellaneous objects have been recovered
from smaller excavations or as stray finds
from around the town. No excavated features
have yet been securely dated to the 8th–10th
centuries, and material from this period is
almost entirely absent from Colchester except
for a handful of residual sherds.
Metal detecting from the 1990s onwards has
produced a steady trickle of Saxon finds from
the borough. These have tended to come from
the parishes on the coastal side of Colchester,
although this may be an accidental bias caused
by disproportionate detecting in this area.
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
There is comparatively little material evidence
from this period, but an important small
assemblage has been found in a number of
sunken-featured buildings within the walled
town. The pottery and other objects range in
177
178
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
date from the 5th to the 7th centuries, and the
latter are typical of those found in Anglo-Saxon
settlements in the region: that is, combs and
spinning and weaving equipment. The very
earliest material also has strong continental
affinities (CAR 1, 1–6; CAR 5, 6, 22–3; 32–3;
CAR 6, 118–22; CAR 7, 309–11). There are
grave finds of similar date from outside the
town (CAR 1, 6–24), and other chance finds,
some from the later end of the period, from
the town and the suburbs, including coins,
dress accessories, weapons and pottery vessels
(ibid, 6–24; CAR 5, 6; Dunnett 1967, 57–8;
Dunnett 1971a, 24–5; Brooks 2004c, 64; N
Crummy 2000, 120). The Saxon coins from
Colchester have been reviewed recently by
Michael Metcalf (1993, 80–93, 194). A small
collection of antler-working debris found at
Lion Walk may belong to this period (CAR 5,
88–91). The scatter of material stretches out to
Old Heath, on the river, where a Merovingian
pot was found (CAR 6, 21–2).
Material at the later end of this date range
can be difficult to separate from later periods, as
items such as the cow femur head and limestone
spindlewhorls were made over many centuries,
and hones of Norwegian ragstone and phyllite
were imported from the 9th century into the
late medieval or early post-medieval period
(CAR 5, 30–3, 76–9; N Crummy 2000, 120–1).
However, given the small number of excavated
features datable to the 9th, 10th and early 11th
centuries, it is likely that much of this widely
dated material belongs to the Norman town.
A few sherds of pottery demonstrate limited
contact with France towards the end of this
period (CAR 7, 258–61).
The archaeological evidence
by David Radford
Occupation
The three sunken-featured buildings excavated
within the town walls suggest dispersed and
low-level occupation among the ruins of
the Roman town and a break in continuity
between Roman and Saxon settlement (Fig 8.1).
Associated pottery dated the earliest building,
Hut 2, found at Lion Walk Site K, to the early
5th century (MON 516). The hut was small
and comprised a characteristic Grubenhäuser
hollow, which was probably covered with a
timber floor at surface level. This interpretation
is based on the irregular shape of the hollow
and the presence of stones which projected
into the hollow from the Roman floor through
which it was dug (Crummy 2001, 135). The hut
would have had a ridged roof supported by
two upright posts, a form similar to the ‘two
post’ or ‘two post derivative’ types identified
as forming 90 per cent of the structures at
Mucking (Hamerow 1991, 10).
The second building, also at Lion Walk
(Hut 1, Site J), was of 6th- or 7th-century
date (MON515). It has been interpreted as
being without a raised wooden floor because
the hollow was apparently peppered with
stakeholes and its base had the appearance
of being trampled (Fig 8.2). The stakeholes
formed clusters and, combined with shallow
slots, appeared to represent the bases of
cupboards and benches against the walls. The
number of stakeholes implied the development
of internal features over time, as they were too
numerous to all be contemporary (CAR 1, 1–6;
CAR 6, 118–20). However, the interpretation
of these features as stakeholes is not universally
accepted; an alternative explanation is that
these are natural features, and consequently
that a suspended floor was in use (C M Hills,
pers comm). No hearth was found and the
recovery of a broken loomweight and a
spindlewhorl from the backfill of the hollow
led the excavator to suggest that the structure
was utilitarian in function, possibly being a
weaving shed. However, such an interpretation
needs to be judged against the practical aspects
of weaving, an activity which requires good
light. In addition, the stake patterning was
incompatible with known Saxon loom forms,
and alternative or joint domestic use is possible
(Crummy 2001, 135).
A third building, found at Culver Street (Hut
3, Site B) and dated to the 6th or 7th centuries,
was similar in structure to the last (MON593).
Its floor was trampled and contained a dense
pattern of possible stakeholes, though these
were less obviously juxtaposed with the walls
than those of the Lion Walk building. The
sunken area measured 3.9m by 3.1m and was
0.6m deep.
These two later structures were both butted
up against Roman foundations; in the case
of the Lion Walk building this was originally
interpreted as evidence that the settlers may
have utilised a standing Roman structure.
Subsequently, in the light of the Culver Street
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
179
Fig 8.1 The early Anglo-Saxon town showing distribution of find spots, monuments and significant elements.
180
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 8.2 Hut 1, a sunkenfeatured building from
Lion Walk, is one of very
few pieces of evidence for
an Early Anglo-Saxon
presence in Colchester
(Colchester Archaeological
Trust).
discovery, it has been suggested that the huts
were simply positioned adjacent to foundation
walls to avoid the unnecessary hard labour
required to break out the septaria foundations
(Crummy 2001, 136).
A possible fourth hut was recorded at
Culver Street (Hut 4, Site E) and consisted of
a rectangular pit 5.5m by 2.8m and 0.4m deep
with three evenly spaced postholes along each
of the sides (MON610). However, it appeared
to cut a Norman robber trench and so may not
be Anglo-Saxon at all (CAR 6, 120–2).
Also at Culver Street (Site K), a freestanding,
multi-flued, grain-drying oven was excavated,
the date of which aroused some interest
(MON573). It was constructed of reused
Roman material which included box tiles,
column bricks and hypocaust tiles, with many
fragments having opus signinum still adhering
to them. A curious aspect of the structure’s
construction was that it was unmortared
and bonded only with sandy clay, perhaps
suggesting that the community that built it
lacked the technical skills for producing mortar,
therefore suggesting a sub- or post-Roman date
(P Sealey, pers com). An alternative explanation
is that it was a late Roman structure reused at
sometime between the 5th and 7th centuries
for either baking or grain drying. The evidence
for its later use comes from two or possibly
three soot-coated vessels represented by fairly
large 6th- or 7th-century sherds scattered
through the ashy stoke pit fill and interior
(CAR 6, 111). Wheat grains recovered from
the ashy soil have been identified as the freethreshing variety common to the Anglo-Saxon
period (CAR 7, 25).
Shallow circular holes containing ash
and slag were discovered dug into a Roman
floor in the garden of ‘Lorgarth’ (house)
in 1963. Anglo-Saxon pottery and a bone
spindlewhorl were found above the floor and
the excavator speculated that the holes ‘may
have been Saxon hearths for some industrial
working’ (Blake 1964; CAR 1, 6). Nearby, a pit
containing pottery of 6th- to 8th-century date
was recorded at the NCP Car Park in 1965.
This may have been connected with five large
postholes, ‘perhaps part of a large hut’, which
were cut through a Roman floor, although
no levels were associated with these features
(Dunnett 1967, 38). A watching brief at St
Mary’s Cottage in 1982 recovered two sherds
of grass-tempered pottery, one of which was
thought to lie in a feature that could have been a
sunken-featured building (CAR 6, 980). Along
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
the High Street, a group of stakeholes and two
shallow pits or depressions associated with 16
sherds of Anglo-Saxon pottery were recorded
at the Cups Hotel in 1973 (ibid, 333), while at
Angel Yard in 1986 a shallow pit was found to
contain grass-tempered pottery (Shimmin and
Carter 1996, 38).
Unstratified early Saxon pottery and two
modified pig fibulae, probably of similar
date, were recovered from the excavation at
21–31 Long Wyre Street in 1998. The excavator
speculated that an early Saxon feature may
have been missed, but on balance felt this
unlikely (Brooks 2004c, 40). This site is near
to a spread of antler-working debris of 5th- to
8th-century date found on Site R of the Lion
Walk excavations (CAR 5, 88–91).
The possible Saxon origin of several
Colchester churches is discussed in the next
chapter. However, the church of St Runwald
(now demolished), which stood on the High
Street, is worth a mention, as the earliest
‘St Runwald’ is recorded in the 8th century.
No physical evidence has been recovered to
confirm such an early origin.
Coins
Aside from the clipped late Roman coins from
Artillery Folly (CAR 4, 71; Burnett 1984, 163–
4), only a small number of coins of early and
middle Saxon date have been recorded from
Colchester. The earliest is a solidus of Justin
I (AD 518–27), although unfortunately the
exact findspot is not known (Rigold 1975, 655,
no. 1). A thrysma of Vanimundus was found
in a garden on Queen Street in 1952 (CAR
1, 8). It is struck in pale gold and probably
represents the final stage of debasement,
around c AD 660. The archetype is Frankish,
although the coin may have been minted locally
in Essex (Metcalf 1993, 81). Three sceattas
have been recovered from Colchester to date,
one from Castle Park (COLEM:1940.140) and
one located only to Colchester (BMC type 8;
COLEM:1903.563; CAR 1, 20). The third,
from Head Street, is an imitation of a type
originating in Kent in the late 7th century
(Rigold Series A). Such forgeries are found in
the kingdoms neighbouring Kent and in Frisia,
where most are likely to have been produced;
their presence in Essex implies trading links
with the Rhine in the last two decades of the
7th century (Wise 2004, 28).
Elsewhere in the borough and outside the
UAD study area, six sceattas have been found
at Fingringhoe (COLEM:1999.54–55) and a
further two 8th-century sceattas at West Mersea
(series E and J: J Newman, pers comm). A penny
of Offa of Mercia (c AD 787–92) is recorded
from Layer de la Haye (COLEM:1999.53).
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, holds
five sceattas of c AD 675–750, a coin of Offa
(AD 765–92) and a styca of Æthelred II of
Northumbria (c AD 854–62), all said to be from
‘Colchester’ (COLEM:1960.0001, 1977.0019,
1986.0087, 1994.0112, 1994.0168, 1996.0096
and 1998.0108).
Burials
A collection of 5th- to 7th-century finds
probably from early Saxon burials has been
recovered from north-east, west and south of
the town walls along with a single cremation
burial south of the town, off Mersea Road.
All the finds come from areas within or close
to suspected Roman cemeteries. A burial area
(MON1010) is suggested north-east of the
town walls, where two early 5th-century burial
groups were recovered in 1971 and 1972 (Fig
8.3). One group consisted of a cruciform
brooch, two rings and a fragment of brooch
spring, and the other of a cruciform brooch,
seven beads, a silver finger ring, a Roman
silver coin pierced twice for suspension and
a fragment of skull belonging to a woman
of 50–70 years of age (CAR 1, 10). West of
the town, at the Union Workhouse, two more
cruciform brooches and an undated spearhead
were found in the 19th century, pointing to the
presence of burials and possibly a cemetery
here (MON1007). One of the brooches has
been identified as possibly 6th- or early 7thcentury, and survives in the British Museum
(ibid, 9).
To the south of the town walls, spearheads,
knives and arrowheads were recorded at
Butt Road, where antiquarian William Wire
noted a ‘Saxon burial ground’ in the sand pits
(MON1009) (Wire nd, 17.11.1843). Drawings
of these finds have been used to date one
of the spearheads to the 5th–7th centuries.
A large body of finds has also come from
outside the South Gate in the Mersea Road
area, perhaps from a cemetery (MON1008).
In 1873, three iron spearheads and a shield
boss, probably from inhumations datable to
181
182
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 8.3 A group of
Anglo-Saxon objects from
the Guildford Road Estate,
Colchester found in the
early 1970s: 1 bronze
brooch spring; 2–3 bronze
rings; 4–5 bronze brooches;
6–11 beads; 12 silver
finger-rings (from CAR 1,
fig 13).
the 5th or 6th century, were found during
the construction of 10 Mersea Road (ibid,
14). The 19th-century collector George Joslin
accumulated a number of Saxon finds and
local archaeologist Dr Henry Laver is quoted in
1903 as stating that most of the shield bosses
in the Joslin collection came from the Mersea
Road cemetery (VCH 1903, Essex I, 327). The
remaining spearheads, ferrules and complete
pots collected by Joslin are all compatible
with Anglo-Saxon types and datable to 5th to
early 8th-century forms (CAR 1, 17), but the
origins of these finds is unknown. Also from
the Mersea Road area, ‘Roman and Saxon
arms and urns’ are recorded in Fairfax Road
on a map by Cutts published in 1889 (Fig
1.2), and a Saxon inhumation from Cromwell
Road was accessioned by the museum in 1927
(Cutts 1889, folio map; COLEM:1927.7070).
Another collection of objects said to be from
Mersea Road, including 21 beads, 3 bronze
buckles, the head of a radiate brooch and a
bone comb, was accessioned in 1926 (CAR
1, 15–17). The datable finds suggest 5th- or
6th-century burials, although the group is not
thought to be securely provenanced. Further
south along Mersea Road, an unburnished
grass-tempered pot of 6th- or 7th-century
date containing cremated bone was found at
the north-west corner of the Meanee Barracks
in 1938 (ibid, 14).
In contrast to the spreads of finds
recovered without human remains, a number
of inhumations which may be Anglo-Saxon
or late Roman in date, but lack datable finds
in association, have been found within the
town walls. Six east–west inhumations on a
Roman floor, ‘almost certainly early Saxon’
in date, were found in 1892 in Castle Park
(Laver 1906, 122–5). Nearby, two inhumation
burials recorded at 5 Maidenburgh Street in
1964 were also thought to be possibly Saxon
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
in date (Niblett 1982, 342–6). In the south-east
quadrant of the walled town two inhumation
burials were found at East Hill House in 1983
(CAR 6, 378). One was an 18-month-old infant
laid out east–west and the other an adult male
laid out north–south, both with their heads
severed and placed between their legs. These
may be late Roman, as radiocarbon dating has
produced a result of 1700±70 BP (Har-5986),
corrected to 242–415 Cal AD (Stuiver 1986).
In the same area a skeleton, possibly that of a
girl, was found in 1923 lying on a mosaic floor
in the Bury Field south of East Hill House
(interim reports in J Roman Stud 12 (1922): 260
and TEAS 16 (1923): 295). The layer of topsoil
under the body may indicate that the body was
not a late Roman burial, as once thought, but
Anglo-Saxon or possibly much later in date.
Lastly, two burials were found inside the great
4th-century barn at Culver Street (CAR 6,
115–16). One of the bodies was laid out flexed
and on its side in a characteristic pagan fashion.
The barn appears to have been standing when
the inhumations were interred, suggesting a late
Roman or sub-Roman origin.
Possessions
Anglo-Saxon finds from Colchester are
modest and do not constitute a major regional
assemblage. Finds from the UAD study
area include: spears, swords, shield bosses,
knives, bone combs, spindlewhorls, an annular
loomweight, brooches, buckles, strap ends,
pins, bronze rings, beads, a silver ring and an
earring. The bulk of this material comes from
the cemetery areas around the walled town.
The identifiable weapon types are two long
seaxes of 8th-century date, four ‘low cone’
shield bosses and one of ‘sugar loaf ’ type, and
a variety of spears ranging in date from the 5th
to the early 8th centuries. The brooches are
a radiate brooch of 6th-century Frankish or
Almannic type, a saucer brooch dating from the
mid-6th to the 7th century and produced in the
workshops of the upper Thames valley (CAR
1, 8; Dickinson 1976, 93), and four cruciform
types ranging from the early 5th to the early 7th
century in typology (CAR 1, 9–10), although
these now have a revised later date (C M
Hills, pers comm). Another cruciform brooch
of Midlum and Volstad type was reported
by a detectorist as coming from Colchester
(Ager 1986, 149–50) and in 2001 an unusual
Scandinavian-style brooch was claimed to have
been found in Magdalen Street in Colchester
(Wise forthcoming). A chip-carved strap end
was found closer to the town at 26 Lexden
Road, apparently lying on top of a Roman
road, during an excavation in 1966 (CAR 1,
20). Eighteen beads were recovered from the
Mersea Road cemetery; these were of amber,
amethyst and dark, opaque and translucent
glass, and were mostly of 5th- to 6th-century
type (ibid, 16–17). The houses at Lion Walk
and Culver Street produced domestic objects:
bone combs, spindlewhorls and pottery; the
only metal object was a copper-alloy ringed
pin (CAR 5, 6, fig 2.3).
There is no trace of Danish occupation
in Colchester except for two Viking-type axe
heads found in the river Colne. These may
indicate a Danish cultural influence on axe
styles rather than the physical presence of the
Danes, and could be late Saxon or Norman in
date (CAR 1, 19).
Outside the UAD study area, two 8th- or
9th-century lead-alloy ‘strap end’ pieces with
animal-head designs have been found near
Fingringhoe church, south of Colchester.
These may have been model or trial pieces
and therefore rare evidence of middle–late
Saxon industry from the area (SAU Stray Find
17638–9). Other Saxon finds from Fingringhoe
include a 6th- or 7th-century light blue glass
bead (Brooks 2001b, 11, 18), a 5th-century
supporting arms brooch (SAU Stray Find
17640) and the sceattas mentioned above; these
finds point to significant middle Saxon activity
in this coastal parish.
Pottery
Anglo-Saxon pottery of the 5th century takes
the form of hand-made, sometimes burnished,
sandy brick-earth vessels (Fabric 97; CAR 7,
21–3), with the only stratified assemblage from
Colchester being from Hut 2 at Lion Walk
(MON516). Following the pattern of Mucking,
West Stow and London, this ware was gradually
replaced by vegetable-tempered vessels (Fabric
1; CAR 7, 23–6), which became dominant
by the 6th or 7th century. The production
of vegetable-tempered pottery may have
continued as late as the 9th century, although
there is no evidence for this from Colchester.
A total of a few hundred sherds of vegetabletempered pottery has been recovered from a
183
184
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
number of intramural locations. Three sites
in the town have provided useful groups and
associations: Hut 3, Culver Street (MON593),
the possible late Roman grain-drying oven, also
at Culver Street (MON573) and Hut 1, Lion
Walk (MON515).
Both the brick-earth and vegetable-tempered
wares which dominate the early and middle
Saxon pottery assemblage from Colchester
were locally made, although there are also a
few middle Saxon vessels originating from
elsewhere in England and from France. Three
cooking pots and one lamp or small bowl
of oolitic-tempered ware (Fabric 12D; CAR
7, 37–9) have been recovered from a small
number of intramural sites; these are perhaps
from c AD 650–850 and of Northamptonshire
(Mercian) origin. A single sherd of a wheelturned ‘bottle’ found in a residual context at
the Cups Hotel in the High Street (Fabric 8V)
may be an unusual variant of Ipswich ware
dated to the period c AD 725–850 (ibid, 27).
From further afield are two vessels of Frankish
sandy ware (Fabric 97F) also found at Lion
Walk (Sites H and A; ibid, 258–1). The first
was identified as a globular wheel-thrown jar
of possible 7th-century date and came from a
pit also containing vegetable-tempered ware.
This type of jar tends to occur in Anglo-Saxon
cemeteries and is uncommon in domestic
contexts. The second Frankish vessel was a
straight-sided, or possibly carinated, bowl,
tentatively dated to the 8th to 9th centuries,
found in topsoil resting on a tessellated
pavement (ibid, 261). To this small collection
of imported wares can be added the pot
found at Old Heath. The vessel is similar to
‘Beerlegem’ pottery of 7th-century date, which
is particularly common in the Pas de Calais and
the Belgian coast (CAR 1, 21–2).
Pottery from the 8th and 9th centuries is
very scarce in Colchester, but the presence
of a few sherds hints at continued low-level
occupation rather than abandonment. In the
8th century, Ipswich, located just 29km to the
north, emerged as a significant port and centre
of pottery production. It is therefore curious
that very little Ipswich ware (c AD 725–850) has
been found in Colchester, despite its presence
in greater quantities at sites to the west, such as
Maldon (CAR 7, 26). This has led to speculation
that the settlement at Colchester went through
an aceramic period or was even deserted for
a time in the 8th and 9th centuries. However,
a handful of 8th- to 9th-century sherds that
point to continued occupation have now been
recovered. At the Cups Hotel site on the High
Street finds included an Ipswich ware cooking
pot (Fabric 8; CAR 7, 26) and the wheelturned ‘bottle’ mentioned above (Fabric 8V;
ibid, 27), both perhaps of this period. Recent
excavations at 22–24 High Street produced two
rim sherds of a transitional Ipswich–Thetford
ware vessel, providing the strongest evidence
to date for continuity between the middleand late-Saxon periods in Colchester (Brooks
2004a, 82, fig 23).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
Indications of the breakdown of Roman
culture and the beginnings of Anglo-Saxon
Colchester are ambiguous and difficult to
recognise and date precisely. This may be
because the relevant deposits are either absent
or poorly preserved, but also because there was
a degree of overlap between the two which is
hard to disentangle. Germans served in the
Roman army at all levels; some late Roman
artefacts display Germanic influences, and
there is the possibility that foederati settled
in Essex. It is conceivable that some of the
earliest Anglo-Saxon material in Colchester
might be related to Saxons protecting the
town. The distribution of early Anglo-Saxon
settlement seems to mirror the Roman pattern,
in that the occupation sites lie inside the walled
part of the Roman town, and the known
cemeteries (at the north end of the Mersea
Road and outside Duncan’s Gate) correspond
to Roman cemetery areas. There even appears
to have been some reuse of Roman structures
(for example, the corn-drying oven at Culver
Street: CAR 6, 109–12), thus raising the
possibility that an element of the RomanoBritish population survived the transition from
Roman to Saxon. The simplest interpretation
is that the earliest hut (Hut 2: CAR 1, 5–6)
was post-Roman and thus dates the start of
the post-Roman era in Colchester (CAR 1, 22;
Esmonde Cleary 1989, 193).
Three Anglo-Saxon huts have been found
as a result of examining less than 2 per cent of
the intramural town. If this were typical of the
town as a whole, then there would have been
100 or 200 huts in total. However, too few huts
have been discovered to generalise confidently
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
about their numbers and distribution, and
post-built halls have yet to be recognised.
Stanley West argued that the huts at West
Stow had wooden floors (West 1985, 116–21),
whereas Margaret Jones was sceptical that
such floors were present, having noted they
were absent in sunken-featured buildings at
Mucking (Hamerow 1991, 11; Jones 1974, 198).
Colchester has produced evidence for both
(CAR 1, 1–6; CAR 6, 118–20).
The extent and purpose of the reuse of
Roman structures in the post-Roman period
is unclear. St Nicholas’s Church, St Helen’s
Chapel and the keep of Colchester Castle
all incorporate Roman foundations (CAR 1,
47–8), but proving functional continuity is
problematic.
There are so few finds from Colchester
attributable to the 8th and 9th centuries that
the impression is given that either the town was
deserted during much of this period or the size
of the population had reached an all-time low.
However, the discovery of two large sherds
of a pot in transitional Ipswich ware from the
High Street (Brooks 2004a, 82, fig 23) suggests
that this impression may be illusory and that it
is simply a matter of looking in the right place
for the evidence.
There are indications that the middle and
late Anglo-Saxon settlement was concentrated
in the central part of the High Street. St
Runwald’s church was in the middle, whereas
the other High Street churches (St Peter’s, St
Nicholas’s, All Saints’ and St James’s) were to
either end, as if the middle section had been
built up by the time they were founded (at a
guess, from the 10th century onwards). The
9th-century sherds referred to above were
found just south of the central part of the
High Street. The moot hall was in the middle,
too. Although apparently 11th century in origin
(CAR 1, 60–7), the moot hall may well have
occupied a site which had previously had some
similar civic function.
It has been argued that, like nearly all of the
rest of Essex, there was little significant Danish
settlement in the town and that the Danes
referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle were
part of the Danish army who used Colchester
as a stronghold from which to resist Edward
the Elder, as happened later at Lincoln and
Leicester (AS Chron, AD 942). Ann Williams
(1996), on the other hand, paints a picture of
an Essex which remained English except for
Colchester and the north-east, which were
settled by East Anglian Vikings. Whatever the
truth, it is clear that any material culture of the
late 9th and early 10th centuries assumes particular significance as a possible indicator of the
status of the Danish presence in the town.
A close examination of the medieval
street system, property boundaries and parish
boundaries led to the tentative identification
of three phases of large-scale town planning
(CAR 1, 70–4). The third and final phase relates
to the building of Colchester Castle and its
bailey in the late 11th century, but the first two
cannot be dated any more precisely than the 9th
or 10th centuries. One of these two phases is
presumably attributable to Edward the Elder’s
reconstruction of the burh (as suggested in
Biddle and Hill 1971, 84, fig 3), although it is
not possible to determine which. Excavations
at the Angel Yard site in the 1980s and 1990s
have shown that it is possible to test on the
ground by taking actual measurements some
of the dimensions of tenement plots (both
lengths and widths) which, being in round
numbers of poles based on a module four
poles long (22 yards), were identified as being
part of the three planned phases, and that other
dimensions can be found which will help in
revealing a planned townscape (CAR 1, 50;
Shimmin and Carter 1996, 63–4).
The correspondence between the Roman
and medieval street systems is so limited that
it may be that no Roman streets survived much
beyond the end of the Roman period and the
medieval street system evolved from a fresh
start in which gates were the only features
common to both periods. The apparent
absence of continuity is lent support by the
positions of the medieval frontages on the
High Street and North Hill/Head Street. They
meander gently and do not seem to relate to
the earlier Roman frontages. No post-Roman
metalling has yet been identified overlying a
Roman street and the limited correspondences
which exist between the Roman and medieval
street systems can probably all be explained
away by the use of Roman gates in the postRoman town. However, there are problems
with this assumption. If the only constraints
on the post-Roman street system were the
positions of Roman gates, then we need to
explain why the medieval High Street followed
the line of the earlier Roman street when there
was no gate at the west end of it.
185
186
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Preservation
The period under discussion lasted longer than
the Roman town, yet its material remains are
slight by comparison. Although the quantity of
material is bound to depend to a major extent
on the number of people who generated it, the
relationship is a complicated one, so that any
deductions about the relative population sizes
can only be tentative and vague.
There are many reasons for the difference in
the volumes of the surviving remains between
the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The
first, and perhaps the most important, lies in
the differences in building practices. Materials
(stone, brick, tiles, lime, sand, gravel, clay, clay
blocks and timber) were brought into the
town in large quantities for new building work
throughout the Roman period. The ground
level gradually rose by a metre or so as new
buildings were erected on imperfectly cleared
sites and street surfaces were resurfaced to keep
pace with these changes. In sharp contrast,
the preference for biodegradable materials in
the Anglo-Saxon town made for a much less
industrialised building trade and substantially
less tangible and enduring remains in the
ground.
Another reason is the fact that the AngloSaxon and the latest Roman levels are much
more susceptible to damage from natural
processes and later groundworks than the
earlier, more deeply stratified, material. The
development of the dark earth proved to be
especially destructive of these vulnerable levels.
Its cultivation in the medieval period and after
resulted in the truncation and loss of some of
the deposits, and the roots of plants, shrubs
and trees growing in it (cultivated or not) have
degraded the levels directly under the dark
earth sometimes to the point of near-obscurity.
As a result, the latest Roman levels tend to
survive only in pockets, such as the 4th-century
cellar at the Cups Hotel site (CAR 6, 333–4),
and the Anglo-Saxon remains consist only of
the lowest parts of cut features. The digging
of pits and other groundworks in the medieval
and later periods also damaged these deposits.
The worst-affected areas are building plots,
particularly on the High Street, where cellars on
the street frontage have penetrated to natural,
destroying all the stratified deposits, and pits
at the rear of the properties have obliterated
much of what was left. This process probably
affected the middle Saxon remains more than
any other, if, as seems almost certain, the
medieval town emerged from a small middle
Saxon nucleus focused on the High Street.
A third factor is the rate at which the AngloSaxon and Roman populations deposited their
debris and artefacts, whether through accidental
loss, deliberate burial or discarded waste. The
rates of deposition are themselves multifactored in their make-up and must depend not
only on population size, but on how the two
populations disposed of their waste and how
much they had in the first place. The rates and
volumes of deposition presumably also relate
to levels of prosperity as well as to differences
in culture and the technology of production,
but they are, unfortunately, always likely to
be difficult, if not impossible, to compare
meaningfully.
The fact that the Roman town left much
more in the ground than its Anglo-Saxon
successor explains in part why there is so
much more Roman than Anglo-Saxon material
in the museum collections. As a result of
the imbalance, residual finds become more
important in the archaeological record if they
are Anglo-Saxon, to the extent that residual
material in the dark earth might be the sole
indication of late Roman or Anglo-Saxon
levels which no longer exist. Objects such as
thrymsas assume great significance regardless
of context, and the distributions of finds,
stratified or not, are of considerable value in
a way they would not be for the Roman or
medieval periods.
Importance
Early Anglo-Saxon settlements in former
Roman towns such as Colchester are of
importance because they are likely to have
been seats of regional power and authority.
Colchester is a town where apparently there
was continuity of occupation throughout the
whole of the Anglo-Saxon period. Although
imperfectly understood at present, the early
Saxon settlement at Colchester is likely to have
been as large as the better-known examples
at West Stow or Mucking, and as such would
have constituted a significant episode in
Colchester’s history. Its cemeteries are likely
to be of considerable local and regional
importance because they will help to set the
Saxon settlement in the town in its regional
context. The relationship of Colchester’s early
Saxon settlement to relic Roman features also
EARLY ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 410–916
offers opportunities to study the evolution
of an early Saxon settlement to a degree not
possible in places such as Mucking and West
Stow. The same opportunities apply to the
middle and late Saxon periods and to the
emergence of Colchester as a small, regionally
important town with a street system and
parish boundaries which appear to bear little
relation to the topography of the earlier Roman
town. In the middle and late Saxon periods,
Colchester was a defended burh of regional
importance.
Potential for future research
The first focus of future research should be
the Roman and Saxon interface, between c AD
410 and AD 450. Cemeteries which were in
use during the first half of the 5th century will
be critically important in understanding the
transition from Roman to Anglo-Saxon, and
so too will any early huts like Hut 2 from Lion
Walk, along with their relationships to Roman
buildings and the topography of the Roman
town. The interface between Roman and
Saxon might be illuminated by the recognition
of ‘events’ in the archaeological record which
seem to be a product of difficult times in the
first part of the 5th century. Two such events
can be cited: the burial of the heavily clipped
coin hoards near Artillery Folly (CAR 4, 71;
Burnett 1984, 163–4), and the lead sheet
buried and not recovered at the Butt Road
church (CAR 9, 184–7). Both would appear to
belong to the very end of Roman rule. Other
‘events’ claimed in the past, but no longer
seeming credible, relate to the corpse lying
on the Berryfield mosaic (probably just an
inhumation; Hull 1958, 218) and the late fire
(or fires) at Duncan’s Gate (Hull 1958, 40–1;
but see Crummy 2001, 130–1).
A key area of research for the future will
be the degree to which the populations of
the late Roman and Anglo-Saxon towns were
predominantly of the same stock. Personal
names in Colchester between the late 10th
and 12th centuries reveal an overwhelmingly
English population despite the arrivals of the
Danes and the Normans (CAR 1, 25–6), and
we must ask to what extent the population
in the 5th and 6th centuries could have been
Romano-British in origin. The extraction and
study of DNA offers a way forward, but only if
it can be done on a large scale. Dr Patricia Smith
and Dr Ken Yoong at the University of Essex
showed that it is possible to extract DNA from
Roman inhumations from Colchester (as yet
unpublished). They examined bones from the
4th-century cemetery at Butt Road to test some
of the family groups that had been tentatively
identified on the basis of stratigraphic and
other evidence (CAR 9, 51–4, 92–3, 156–8).
Although the extracted DNA did appear to
provide support for some of the postulated
family groups, it became apparent that the
DNA profile for the whole population needs
to be established before any firm conclusions
can be made. A DNA profile for the early
Anglo-Saxon population is equally desirable
because, combined with a similar genetic study
for the Roman population, it would open up
the possibility of determining to what extent
the groups were the same.
A second strand relates to the evolution
of the early Anglo-Saxon settlement. This
encompasses four key areas of future research:
firstly, the size, development and morphology
of the early Anglo-Saxon settlement; secondly,
the physical relationship of the early AngloSaxon settlement and its cemeteries to the
surviving remains of the Roman town, and the
extent to which the Anglo-Saxon settlement
was shaped by them; thirdly, the degree to
which the Roman streets survived into the
Anglo-Saxon town either as relic features or
thoroughfares in use; and, fourthly, the extent
to which Roman structures were reused and
the continuity of function, if any, between the
old and the new.
A third main area of research concerns
the evolution of the medieval town and the
development of its street system, parish
boundaries and property boundaries. There are
five themes within this broad heading: firstly,
the size and location of occupation in the
middle Anglo-Saxon settlement, and the degree
to which the settlement can be described as
urban; secondly, the relative importance of the
central part of the High Street in the middle
Anglo-Saxon town; thirdly, the transition from
vegetable-tempered pottery to middle Saxon
wares; fourthly, the early development of the
medieval street system, property boundaries
and parishes; and, lastly, the effects, if any, of
the Danelaw on the archaeological record.
Sites on High Street, Head Street and North
Hill are important for the information that
they might contain about the evolution of
the street system. Particularly valuable will be
187
188
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
any occasions when it is possible to examine
site boundaries, especially on frontages, for
evidence of Roman influence.
St Runwald’s church may be the single most
important site when it comes to understanding
the evolution of the High Street and Colchester
as a medieval town. Of critical importance
is understanding how the church came to
stand in the middle of the High Street, and
how that street came to be as wide as it now
is. Was the High Street widened, and, if so,
when? Was St Runwald’s church built in the
middle of the widened street or was the street
widened to leave the church in the middle of
the market? The earliest St Runwald’s church
was 8th century, and this might prove to be the
date for the emergence of the High Street as
the site of its main market and the focal point
of Colchester in its post-Roman urban form.
Whatever survives of the church must have
been badly damaged by the numerous trenches
for services which have been dug up and down
the High Street over the years, and part of the
north side may have been completely destroyed
for the construction of a public toilet in the
20th century. Nevertheless, as shown during a
watching brief in 1975 (CAR 6, 810), parts of
the church do still survive, and clearly the site
needs to be carefully monitored.
In theory, service trenches ought to provide useful opportunities for dating streets.
In practice, this has proved unfruitful,
largely because the earliest gravels produce
little or no dating evidence, and they are
otherwise indistinguishable from much
later metalling. Opportunities to excavate
sections archaeologically across streets are
rare, but obviously are of great potential value.
Meanwhile, the easiest indicators of date are
unrobbed foundations under medieval streets.
The robbing of Roman foundations is nearly
always a feature of the late 11th and 12th
centuries. Unrobbed foundations inside the
walled area of the town are rare (but not so
outside). Thus if a town-centre street existed
before the mid-11th century, then any Roman
foundations underneath are unlikely to be
robbed. No example of a robbed foundation
has been recorded under a medieval street,
whereas several intact ones have been found,
such as the Roman theatre in Maidenburgh
Street and various foundations recorded by
William Wire in Culver Street and elsewhere
(Hull 1958, 196–7). The monitoring of service
trenches should produce more examples and
help to date the development of Colchester’s
street system.
9 late anglo-saxon Colchester, 917–1066
by Adrian Gascoyne
Introduction and historical
framework
The first quarter of the 10th century witnessed
the creation of a fledgling kingdom of
england, with the majority of lands south
of the humber united under the rule of one
king, edward the elder (aD 899–924/5). over
the next century and a half the kingdom was
consolidated, enlarged, lost and regained by a
succession of english kings, as they fought to
maintain pre-eminence over other British rulers
and the vikings, until harold ii’s eventual
defeat in 1066. this was a formative period of
national kingship which saw a multiplication of
english law codes allied with the emergence
of a stabilised system of local government,
including a complex and efficient tax system,
through which the king’s will was applied. the
10th century was also an important period of
ecclesiastical and monetary reform, with courtdriven attempts to revive english monasticism
running parallel to the great european reform
movement of the time, while royal control over
coin production resulted in a single currency of
exceptional quality. the strength of the early
english monarchy meant that, arguably, its
influence and authority reached further than in
any other contemporary european country of
comparable size (Blair 1984, 88). this was also
the period when the manorial system began to
develop in the countryside.
edward the elder’s success against the
viking settlers was underpinned by an
extensive programme of fortification across
southern england, extending alfred’s strategy
of creating defensive centres as a means
of securing english gains and enabling the
local population to withstand scandinavian
reconquest. a pivotal moment in edward’s
ascendancy was his attempt to secure the
english frontier in essex by the removal of
the Danish occupants of Colchester and the
establishment of a burh within the walled town
in aD 917. the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records
that ‘a great [english] tribe gathered together
in harvest time from Kent and from surrey and
from essex and from the nearest strongholds
everywhere, and went to Colchester and
besieged the stronghold and fought against
it until they captured it; and they killed all the
people and took all that was inside there, except
for the men who fled away over the wall’ (AS
Chron, abingdon ms). the Chronicle goes on
to report that, in the same year, ‘King edward
went with a West saxon army to Colchester,
and improved the stronghold and restored
it where it was broken down earlier’ (AS
Chron, Winchester ms). this action resulted
in the capitulation of the east anglian and
Cambridge Danes, marking the successful
reconquest of the eastern Danelaw.
in addition to their military roles, many
of the english burhs were intended as places
of permanent settlement and commerce,
and edward’s refoundation of Colchester is
generally seen as marking the beginning of
the post-roman town. similar initiatives were
responsible for the development of other
edwardian burhs such as Bedford and stamford
190
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
where, as at Colchester, elements of internal
planning have been recognised (Wilson 1976,
137). During a period of systematic urban
foundation Colchester was the third or fourth
burh to be established in Essex, following
Witham in AD 912 (Rodwell 1993a, 76–7),
Maldon in AD 916 (Dodgson 1991, 170) and
possibly Newport in AD 917 (Blackburn et al
1993, 125–6).
It is likely that, having recovered north Essex
from the Danelaw, Edward the Elder brought
the administration of the area into line with the
rest of his kingdom. The 10th-century Essex
charters indicate that the shire and hundred
boundaries, along with the shire hidation
recorded in Little Domesday, were all in place
by at least AD 932, and Hart has speculated
that Edward restored the East Saxon shire and
then formalised its administrative structure
with a redrawn cadastre (taxation register),
before gifting it to a magnate as the earldom
of Essex (Hart 1971; 1987, 62; 1993, 185–200).
These boundaries seem to have changed little
prior to the Norman Conquest, although the
formation of the Colchester Hundred and
Maldon half-Hundred have been viewed as
late developments that are unlikely to have
occurred before the death of the powerful
Essex ealdorman Byrhtnoth in AD 991 (Hart
1993, 198). Other East Anglian trading centres
– such as Ipswich, which was a half-hundred by
c 1070 – appear to have achieved this degree of
local autonomy earlier than Colchester, and the
town’s economic prosperity may have suffered
as a result.
The creation of the English burhs resulted
in new legal arrangements for the minting of
coins in each of the kingdom’s principal towns,
and the laws of Edward the Elder, and later
Athelstan, secured the position of the burh as
a centre of trade (Stenton 1947, 354; Campbell
et al 1982, 131). Within 15 years of Edward’s
death, coins were being minted at Maldon,
providing a measure of its importance for
external trade, while Colchester’s exclusion
from the list of 35 mints known from the
coins of Athelstan indicates the town’s relative
economic standing at this time (Stenton 1947,
336; Campbell et al 1982, 131). Despite the lack
of a mint, Colchester was prominent enough
to host a meeting of Athelstan’s royal council
(witenagemot) in AD 931 (Sawyer 1968, Cat
no. 412). This would have been attended by
noblemen and senior clergy from across the
land, as well as representatives of local interests
(Stenton 1947, 352). King Edmund also held a
council at Colchester in AD 940 and it can be
inferred that by the end of the 10th century
the town was a meeting place for one or more
of the judicial institutions of late Anglo-Saxon
local government: the borough, hundred and
shire courts.
The administrative structure of the English
shire served as a framework for royal taxation
managed through the king’s estates, and the
refounded town at Colchester is one of 12
sites in Essex identified through archaeological,
place-name and documentary evidence as the
location of a royal vill (or manor) (rippon
1996, 119). these sites range from the highstatus settlement at Wicken Bonhunt (Wade
1980) and the burhs at maldon and Witham to
the minster church and associated settlement
at Waltham abbey (huggins and Bascombe
1992). Despite the fragmentation of lay,
ecclesiastical and royal estates in the late anglosaxon period, the continued importance of
these royal centres is highlighted by the fact
that many of them, like Colchester, went
on to become hundred centres, while by
Domesday most lay landholders held just one
manor corresponding in size to the modern
rural parish (Boyden 1986, 173; rippon 1996,
123).
the majority of parish churches were
founded during the later 9th–12th centuries,
with the division of large minster territories
and ‘multiple estates’ leading to the informal
provision by secular lords of churches intended
to serve the spiritual needs of the lord, his
household and tenants. these estate churches
formed the basis for england’s parochial
system, which was formalised by the legislation
of eadmund and eadgar. the laws of eadgar
established the payment of tithes as a legal
obligation throughout england (Deanesly
1961, 311), an obligation that was enforced
through the power of the king’s men. By the
time of the norman Conquest the right of
a thegn to build a church and endow it with
tithes was fully recognised in english law
(stenton 1947, 156). in essex, as elsewhere,
the relationship between parish church and
manorial hall has long been noted (rodwell
and rodwell 1977, 92). recent work has
confirmed the long-held view that late anglosaxon essex had a preponderance of dispersed
settlements, frequently of the church–hall type
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
(for example, Rivenhall: Rodwell and Rodwell
1986, 178–80); although the origins of this
settlement pattern are obscure, it is thought
to have developed during the middle to late
Saxon period (Wrathmell 1994, 182; Rippon
1996, 125).
By the reign of Æthelred II, Colchester
had achieved sufficient economic importance
to attract a coin mint, and for a short period
it was extremely busy, with several moneyers
producing a significant percentage of the
national output alongside the mint at maldon
(metcalf 1998, 296; metcalf and lean 1993,
210–11). the start of minting at Colchester
coincided roughly with the Battle of maldon
in aD 991, and the mint’s extraordinary
productivity has been variously linked to the
payment of a local geld (or tax), the death of
the essex ealdorman Byrhtnoth, and a growth
in foreign trade resulting from the sacking of
ipswich by the viking army in the same year
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 26; metcalf and lean
1993, 211–22; metcalf 1998, 220). the return
of the vikings to the english coast marked
a renewed period of danger that culminated
in the english defeat in 1016 at the Battle of
assandune (ashdon or ashingdon) in essex
and the acceptance of the Danish leader Cnut
as king of england (rodwell 1993b, 127–9).
small-scale minting of coins continued
at Colchester and maldon throughout the
11th century. other essex mints may have
been briefly active at horndon (metcalf and
lean 1993, 223–4) and newport (Blackburn
et al 1993, 125–7), but neither of these sites,
nor the shire’s other ‘proto-urban’ centre at
Witham (rodwell 1993a, 67–71), appear to
have developed into towns until after the
norman Conquest. By 1066 Colchester and
maldon were the only boroughs in essex, with
Colchester the most important of the two.
the town had developed significantly since its
refoundation, with a sophisticated pattern of
burgess tenure and an estimated population
of over 2,000 inhabitants (Darby 1957, 254).
Despite being eclipsed in terms of trade by
london and the main east anglian boroughs, a
steep rise in the annual farm payment following
the Conquest may be a sign that Colchester was
prospering (metcalf and lean 1993, 208).
Past work
early archaeological interest in the period
was generated during the first World War,
when viking-style axes dredged up from the
river Colne were purchased by the museum
(Colem:1916.3507; Colem:1917.3565;
Colem:1917.3566). also at this time mortimer
Wheeler undertook an investigation of the
Balkerne gate, suggesting that it may have
been blocked as part of edward the elder’s
refortification of the town (Wheeler 1921,
183). in the following decade redevelopment
of properties along north hill and the high
street resulted in the discovery of ‘saxonorman’ pottery, while, during the 1930s,
Philip laver’s investigations in and around the
castle indicated the presence of a late saxon
chapel that pre-dated the construction of the
norman keep (Drury 1982, 328–31).
excavations in 1950 on the castle’s northern
defences proved to be a key archaeological
investigation for this period of the town’s
history, largely because the sequence of
pottery that was recovered could be linked
to documentary evidence relating to the
construction of the norman castle and its
bailey (Cotton 1962). another important site
was excavated in 1955 at st nicholas’s Church in
the high street (hull 1960), where the pottery
assemblage from a pit consisted entirely of
thetford-type ware, a rare occurrence in essex.
together with pottery recovered from lion
Walk in 1972 (CAR 1, 33, 39) and the Cups
hotel site in 1973–4 (CAR 6, 333), these finds
allowed Philip Crummy to establish an initial
typology of 11th- and 12th-century pottery
which he published in 1981 (CAR 1, 39–40).
large-scale excavations in Colchester during
the 1970s coincided with Biddle and hill’s
topographic studies, which were the first to
recognise the existence of late anglo-saxon
town planning in the former roman town.
Biddle and hill (1971, 84) proposed that postroman Colchester had undergone a singlephase reorganisation of the street system, in
common with Winchester and other towns
in southern england, and then postulated
that this operation had taken place under
edward the elder, at the time of the town’s
refoundation in aD 917. Philip Crummy
subsequently undertook a detailed examination
of Colchester’s medieval topography, including
a morphological and metrical analysis of the
street plan (Crummy 1979b).
rescue excavations in 1972 confirmed the
site of st John’s Church, which is recorded
191
192
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
as an Anglo-Saxon foundation in an 11thcentury manuscript and is an important
addition to our knowledge of Colchester’s
ecclesiastical archaeology (BL Cotton MS
Nero D, viii, fols 22–5; Rodwell and Rodwell
1977, 38–9). Warwick and Kirsty Rodwell’s
1977 report includes a study of Colchester’s
ancient churches and considers the origins
of all the town’s religious foundations using
a wide range of evidence (ibid, 24–41). It
was followed in 1981 by the publication of
Colchester Archaeological Report 1, which compiled
all the then-known information relating to the
Saxon and Norman town. This has since been
supplemented by Drury’s 1982 examination of
the origins and development of the Norman
castle (Drury 1982, 302–419), and a popular
summary was provided in City of Victory
(Crummy 2001). Coinage from the Colchester
mint has been discussed by Metcalf and Lean
(1993, 210–11, 222–3), while the late AngloSaxon pottery typology for the town was
refined by Cotter (CAR 7, 28–34).
The nature of the evidence
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anglo-saxon charters
and little Domesday are the key surviving
documentary sources for late saxon Colchester.
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to events in
Colchester in aD 917. the charters, listed by
sawyer (1968) and hart (1971), include details
of historic figures and events, with place-name
evidence providing clues to the location of preConquest settlements, natural resources and
surviving roman features. together with the
Domesday returns from norfolk and suffolk,
those from essex were recorded in the second
volume of the little Domesday survey, which
includes details for 1066. the Domesday
entries for Colchester supply environmental,
economic, demographic and social data about
the town and its hinterland (morris 1983).
Darby (1957) has provided a synthesis of the
Domesday data for the eastern counties.
excavated evidence from the 10th and
11th centuries, including structural features,
is sparse, and few pottery assemblages come
from securely dated contexts, making the
development of a chronology for late saxon
ceramics at Colchester problematic (CAR 7, 31).
the rest of the archaeological record consists
of a handful of often imprecisely dated artefacts
which either come from investigations around
the town or were recovered as isolated finds.
no environmental data has been recovered
from late saxon deposits. the most impressive
vestige of this period of Colchester’s history is
the tower of holy trinity Church, which is of
10th- or 11th-century date (taylor and taylor
1965, 162–4). Despite the fact that many of
the town’s standing churches are thought to
be anglo-saxon foundations, few have the
architectural components needed to support
such a claim. topographical detail has been
essential in providing insights into this and
other aspects of the town’s development, such
as the street system.
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
Without supporting stratigraphic evidence it
is difficult to assign material culture to such
a tightly dated period. many items, such as
spindlewhorls and hones, are of types made in
both the latter end of the previous period and
the beginning of the next. items which may be
placed in this period include the heads of two
viking-type axes (CAR 1, 19) and two strap
ends (ibid, 21; n Crummy 2000, 120). of the
small quantity of pottery which may belong
to this period (in particular some sherds of
thetford-type ware) (CAR 1, 32–40; CAR 7,
31–2), a well-stratified group of sherds from
the bottom of the town ditch at vineyard street
was broadly dated to the period 1000 to 1075,
although the assemblage may date to late in
that range. limited contact with france is again
shown by a few pot sherds (ibid, 261).
a particularly important item that may
belong to this period is a probable fragment
from a heating tray used in the refining of
precious metals (CAR 5, 87). unfortunately,
there was no associated evidence to assist in
the interpretation of this object. two crucible
fragments from the town may belong to this
period or the next (ibid, 87). Colchester was
a mint at this time and, while examples of
the coins themselves are almost unknown
from the town and there is no positively
associated manufacturing debris, the names of
33 moneyers are known (CAR 1, 77).
While many towns, such as thetford, york,
Worcester, london, lincoln and Winchester,
have produced considerable numbers of
tools associated with spinning and weaving
from this period and the previous one, in
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
particular spindlewhorls and pinbeaters, they
are rare in Colchester (CAR 5, 30). As the
textile-manufacturing industry was largely
home-based at this period, the dearth of
these artefacts, even in residual contexts, is
surprising.
The archaeological evidence
Town defences, street system and urban
plan
Considering the extensive survival of the
Roman town wall (MON570) into later periods,
it is likely that the defences were standing
sufficiently high above ground to require little
more than repairs to the stonework during
the refurbishment of the town defences in
aD 917. neither excavations nor structural
survey have produced evidence for edwardian
refortification of the wall and it would appear
that any such repairs have been obliterated or
masked by medieval and later activity. similarly,
there is no evidence to suggest that the roman
town ditch was recut at this time and no new
defences appear to have been provided until
the 11th century, when a large ditch (mon512)
was added to the base of the town wall. this
ditch was revealed in vineyard street during
the lion Walk excavations, where it was found
to be approximately 7.5m wide and 3.0m deep
(CAR 1, 33, 35). excavations at other points
around the walled circuit have failed to identify
this structure, although investigations at Priory
street in 1965 (holbert 1965, 44–9) revealed
a ditch (elm1256) that may have been part
of the same feature. this was dismissed by
the excavator as being too shallow to serve
a defensive role, but reanalysis by Crummy
indicated an original depth of 2.75m (CAR 1,
52). the lion Walk ditch’s apparent absence
from the rest of the walled circuit suggests that
it was only provided along the south side of
the town, perhaps because the wall was weakest
here (ibid, 53). the construction of the ditch
was dated to between 1050 and 1075.
our knowledge of the gateways into the
town is also limited, although excavations at
Balkerne lane in the 1970s (CAR 3, 93–154)
have provided indirect evidence that the
blocking wall across Balkerne gate (mon412)
is late roman rather than the work of edward
the elder, as was postulated by Wheeler
(Wheeler 1921, 183; CAR 3, 121–3). the
correspondence between the primary roman
thoroughfares and the medieval street system
suggests that, whatever their condition, the
other principal roman gates continued to
direct traffic in and out of the town. thus the
apparent survival of head street (mon952),
north hill (mon953) and high street
(mon1021) imply the continued use of head
gate (mon765), north gate (mon850)
and east gate (mon835). high street did
not continue west of head street/north hill
because of the earlier closure of Balkerne gate,
and the only other gate that may have endured
was south gate (mon924), the site of which
is linked to the high street by Queen street
(mon964). superficially, this road appears to
follow the course of a roman predecessor, but
Cooper has suggested that it originated in the
medieval period as a path across agricultural
land (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 42). all other
medieval streets in the walled area, with the
exception of eld lane (mon511) and north
hill (mon953), run across insulae of the
roman town and can only have been laid out
after the roman ruins had been removed or
covered by the build-up of dark earth (CAR
1, 49, fig 42).
elements of the walled town’s medieval
street system indicate that, prior to the norman
Conquest, at least one major reorganisation
of the town plan was superimposed over the
surviving fabric of the roman city. evidence
for this consists principally of a grid of north–
south streets which run at right angles to the
primary axis of the high street (fig 9.1). the
high street (mon1021) appears to have been
used as the baseline for this grid, with head
street (mon952) and north hill (mon953)
serving as a pre-existing north–south boundary
to the west. added to this t-shaped layout
were West stockwell street (mon43) and
trinity street (mon965), maidenburgh street
(mon957) and long Wyre street (mon960),
and east stockwell street (mon44) and lion
Walk (mon510), although the last two do not
line up with each other. so-called ‘pinchedends’ at the southern ends of east and West
stockwell streets indicate that the high street
frontage was already built up when these two
roads were laid out (CAR 1, 50). stockwell
street (mon958) was presumably laid out
to join the northern ends of these two roads
together and the curving north end of West
stockwell street may have developed during
193
194
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 9.1 The late Anglo-Saxon town showing distribution of find spots, monuments and significant elements.
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
this period as an extension, allowing access to
the Stockwell Street spring from Northgate
Street. Both Church Street (MON954) and
Church Walk (MON955) could have developed
during this period as routes from Head Street
to an Anglo-Saxon predecessor of St Mary at
the Walls church.
Parallel and immediately to the south of the
High Street is Culver Street (MON961), which
terminates the course of Trinity Street, Lion
Walk and Long Wyre Street before they reach
the High Street. This may indicate that Culver
Street was a later development which resulted
in the replanning of the area between it and the
High Street, leading to the loss of the northern
sections of the aforementioned streets. Culver
Street has a ‘pinched-end’ at its junction with
Head Street, indicating that it was added
when the Head Street frontage was already
developed. The fact that Culver Street was set
out prior to the building of the castle’s bailey
defences c 1076 is illustrated by its eastern end,
which fails to curve correspondingly with the
curve of the High Street that resulted from
the construction of the bailey. Culver Street
also appears to pre-date Holy Trinity Church
(MON340), which was founded before 1000
(CAR 1, 71).
Attempts to date the town’s post-Roman
streets through excavation have had only
limited success. Investigations by Hull, and later
Hebditch, of the castle’s southern defences
revealed that, prior to the construction of the
bailey ditch, the line of the High Street had
already moved southwards and the street had
become hollowed (Drury 1982, 389). Further
to the west, a thick layer of gravel metalling
(GRP125) recorded on the Castle Methodist
Church Site in 1969 has been interpreted as
a late Anglo-Saxon predecessor of medieval
Maidenburgh Street (ibid, 389).
In addition to the post-Roman grid of
north–south streets, a number of other
primary property divisions and parish
boundaries appear to have formed part of the
reorganisation of land within the walled town
(CAR 1, 48–52). Excavations at Angel Yard
revealed further elements in the regular layout
of the area between West and East Stockwell
Streets (Shimmin and Carter 1996, 35–83) and
showed that the pattern of medieval tenements
developed within this earlier framework (ibid,
63–4).
The excavations at Angel Yard also confirmed
dimensions previously identified by Crummy,
who speculated that an initial redevelopment
of the town covered the intramural area west
of the line of maidenburgh and Queen streets
and consisted of a systematic division of the
land based on modules of four poles (Crummy
1979b, 149–51; CAR 1, 50). Crummy has also
postulated that a second phase of replanning
involved the widening of the high street to
form a market place and the formation of
Culver street as an east–west back lane to the
rear of properties along a new, southern high
street frontage (ibid, 71). Crummy further
argued that st runwald’s church (mon48) was
left standing in the middle of the high street
as a result (ibid, 71), and several imprecisely
dated north–south masonry foundations
observed in service trenches on the north side
of the high street to the east of the church
site (hull 1958, 159, CAR 1, 49; CAR 6, 810)
support this theory (shimmin and Carter 1996,
63–4). other scholars happily accept Culver
street as part of a single plan (Biddle and hill
1971, 84; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 38; rodwell
and rodwell 1977, 40), and some have argued
that st runwald’s is a later insertion into the
middle of the market (rodwell and rodwell
1977, 33–4). only extensive excavation is likely
to resolve the issue.
either of these episodes of town planning
may have formed part of edward the elder’s
restoration of the borough, and Crummy
believes that both schemes were so radical that
they could only have been imposed by royalty
or through a royal agent such as the ealdorman
(CAR 1, 73). it is not unreasonable to suggest
that a royal manor or estate might be expected
within the refounded town (rippon 1996, 118),
and Drury has tentatively identified the site of
a villa regalis within the partially upstanding walls
of the roman temple precinct (Drury 1982,
389–90). such large urban estates were typical
of late saxon towns, and another pre-Conquest
estate, situated in the south-west corner of the
town, is known to have been acquired by the
Bishop of london between aD 998 and 1066
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 324). it is conceivable
that the town plan developed on the basis of
a series of such intramural estates, as has been
suggested for Winchester, with each block of
land owned by an individual lay or ecclesiastical
lord (Wilson 1976, 133).
outside the town walls, possible late anglosaxon developments of the street system have
195
196
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
been noted at Lion Walk, Priory Street and
Magdalen Street (CAR 1, 53). At the Lion
Walk site, gravel metalling (MON509) which
was observed along the southern edge of the
11th-century ditch outside the town walls
was interpreted as a road constructed when
the ditch was dug (ibid, 53). A similar feature
(ELM1256) was recorded during Holbert’s
excavation at Priory Street (Holbert 1965)
and Crummy postulates that the two surfaces
may represent the origins of Vineyard Street
and Priory Street, laid out as one scheme
of street construction (CAR 1, 53). Further
from the town walls, a hollow-way (Grub
Street) excavated at Magdalen Street may have
originated in the 11th century (MON649).
Religious buildings
The Domesday survey mentions only one
church at Colchester (St Peter’s), but the town
may have had as many as nine parish churches
and two chapels by the time of the Norman
Conquest. The present structure of Holy
Trinity church preserves the only convincingly
identified pre-Conquest fabric in the town. st
Peter’s (mon336), situated at the west end
of the high street, was the richest church
recorded in the county, although the present
structure does not hint at its anglo-saxon
ancestry (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 330). however,
its prominent location close to the highest
point within the walled town and at the junction
of the principal streets of the roman colonia,
combined with its Domesday record, suggests
that it was an anglo-saxon minster (rodwell
and rodwell 1977, 28; Cooper 2000, 166).
topographical obser vation sug gests
that three of the town’s other high street
churches – all saints (mon327), st nicholas’s
(mon334) and st James’s (mon329) – were
anglo-saxon foundations, and rodwell and
rodwell persuasively argue that much of
Colchester’s parochial layout developed out of
the post-roman replanning of the intramural
area (rodwell and rodwell 1977, 40). all saints
and st nicholas’s, for example, were founded
prior to the high street’s southward diversion
following the construction of the norman
castle bailey, while the church of st James is
located in a prominent position by the town’s
east gate, on the primary high street axis.
although there is no visible anglo-saxon
fabric in these buildings, the relationship of
st nicholas’s and all saints to former roman
buildings may be further indicators of early
foundation dates for these two churches. all
saints appears to share the alignment of a
roman structure nearby (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 309) and excavation has shown that st
nicholas’s church was built over the surviving
walls of a roman masonry building (hull 1960,
301; Crummy 1974, 27; rodwell and rodwell
1977, 31). Crummy has postulated that the
original church of st nicholas may even have
been built using part of a modified roman
building, rather than simply employing its walls
as foundations (CAR 1, 47). this would make
a construction date after the early 12th century
most unlikely, as by that time any upstanding
roman ruins would probably have been
demolished to provide stone for the norman
keep and other masonry buildings in the town.
a square timber-lined pit (grP124) recorded
beneath the chancel and dated to the 10th or
early 11th century may have been liturgical
(rodwell and rodwell 1977, 31).
a second high street church, st runwald’s
(mon48), was located in the centre of the
street, with a detached graveyard in West
stockwell street. a ground-penetrating radar
survey of the site in 1999 failed to recognise
any buried remains, but an undated north–
south wall (elm19) and human bone recorded
in a service trench on the north side of high
street probably mark the east end of the
church (Cat report 3/75b). skulls (elm675)
of unknown date were recovered near the site
during a watching brief in 1996 (Cat report
11/96b). nineteenth-century photographs
and a description and plan by Buckler (1856)
have enabled the form of the original church
to be established with a degree of certainty.
the proportions of the building, its squat
design and thick walls, and the potentially early
dedication to an 8th-century child saint make
an anglo-saxon origin likely (rodwell and
rodwell 1977, 33).
two explanations have been proposed for st
runwald’s unusual position as an island in the
middle of the high street. Crummy believes
that its dedication and central location on
the primary high street axis suggest that the
church was an early foundation left stranded in
the middle of the street when it was widened
to accommodate a market (CAR 1, 53).
Conversely, rodwell and rodwell postulated
that it was an intrusion on an existing market
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
place with its parish formed out of parts of
several adjacent parishes of earlier origin
(Rodwell and Rodwell 1977, 33). This theory is
supported by the church’s detached graveyard
in West Stockwell Street, granted to the church
in the 14th century (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 334),
which indicates that the church failed to acquire
burial rights until after its foundation, by which
time the surrounding area was already built up.
This process would suggest a late 9th-century
or later origin as a proprietary church.
St Helen’s Chapel (MON305) incorporates
part of the remains of the town’s Roman theatre.
The present building has no architectural
features earlier than the 13th century (RCHME
1922, 50), but the chapel’s north wall sits
directly over the theatre’s north wall and its east
wall follows the original alignment of the postRoman Maidenburgh Street. The Colchester
Chronicle records that Eudo Dapifer repaired
the chapel in 1076, making an Anglo-Saxon
foundation highly likely, and the thickness of
the walls (some 0.75m) also suggests a preNorman origin (Drury 1982, 387). Written
sources indicate that the chapel was always
non-parochial, although Rodwell and Rodwell
argue that it once formed a separate parish
which was later divided between St Martin’s
and St Nicholas’s (Rodwell and Rodwell 1977,
40).
A chapel which almost certainly failed to
achieve parochial status was located during
excavations within the Roman temple precinct
immediately to the south of the later castle
keep, where a Norman chapel was preceded by
two late Anglo-Saxon structures (Drury 1982,
328–33). The latest of these (MON824) was
interpreted as a single-celled apsidal building
built of masonry, which pre-dated the late
11th-century construction of the castle keep
and was of sufficient importance for its site to
be retained despite its inconvenient proximity
to the castle. Drury has dated the masonry
chapel to around aD 1000, but a timberframed structure with walls of plaster infill
over wattles (fnD237) and a ‘concrete’ floor
evidently preceded this (ibid, 330). this earlier
building’s use as a chapel is virtually confirmed
by the survival of part of an interior wall
painting of the virgin and Child (rouse 1982,
350–3). the building and associated features
are aligned on the late anglo-saxon street
system and Drury has interpreted the site as
part of a royal vill (ibid, 389–90).
holy trinity church (mon340), at the
junction of Culver street and trinity street, is
the best surviving monument from this period
(fig 9.2 and 9.3). it has a fine 11th-century
tower built of flint rubble and septaria, with
reused roman brick and tile in place of stone
dressings. the tower is of three stages and has
a triangular-headed west doorway built from
reused roman brick, round-headed windows,
traces of a round-headed wall arcade and a
tower arch also built of reused brick. the tower
contains timber floor joists squared to roman
imperial measurements (hewett 1980, 108),
and has been dated architecturally to around
aD 1000. it is clearly a later addition to the
west end of the nave, which contains parts of
197
Fig 9.2 The tower of Holy
Trinity church is the only
surviving architectural
evidence of late Saxon
Colchester (Tony Nichols).
198
Fig 9.3 The triangularheaded west doorway
of Holy Trinity church
tower is of characteristic
Anglo-Saxon design (Tony
Nichols).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
an earlier stone structure in its west wall and
south-east corner (rChme 1922, 33; rodwell
and rodwell 1977, 32). in its original form the
anglo-saxon church may have been a modest
single-celled building (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
312), although rodwell and rodwell suggest
(1977, 32) that it had a square-ended or stilted
apsidal chancel.
the fact that holy trinity probably postdates Culver street, combined with the evidence
that its parish boundary does not extend as far
as the high street, indicates that the church was
potentially a late insertion into the parochial
system (CAR 1, 52, fig 44). the parish
boundary of St Martin’s church (MON324),
located in the town’s Dutch Quarter, also fell
short of the High Street, suggesting that its
foundation was later than those based along
the primary High Street axis. However, the plot
of land on which the church is situated was
clearly formed by the establishment of East
and West Stockwell Streets, and the church has
some pre-Conquest features within its fabric
(Rodwell and Rodwell 1977, 29–30).
Another possible Anglo-Saxon foundation
is St Mary at the Walls (MON338), located in
the south-west angle of the town walls, where
the presence of an early church was indicated
by the discovery in 1962 of inhumation
burials (MON339) to the south of the present
graveyard. These graves were laid west–east
in mortared stone and tile coffin-shaped cists,
indicating a pre-Conquest date. if an early
church existed on the site it may have begun
as a private chapel for the Bishop of london,
situated on his estate, which is recorded in
this corner of the town (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 324).
two ecclesiastical foundations that imply
suburban development during the late anglosaxon period are st John’s church (mon345)
and st Botolph’s church (mon1018). an
early church in the grounds of st John’s
abbey precinct was discovered during salvage
excavations in 1972 (CAR 9, 203–18). the
walls of this building, which had been largely
demolished, had been built of reused roman
building materials, as had the foundations,
which consisted of rubble coursed with layers
of sand. the structure was three-celled and
apparently of two phases, originally consisting
of a tower–nave with apse (ibid, 213–15); the
western compartment appeared to have been
butted against the tower at some later date. the
church stood over a roman cemetery with a
large roman grave directly under the central
area, leading to some discussion as to whether it
had begun life as a reused roman martyrium or
mausoleum (rodwell and rodwell 1977, 38–9).
historical references record the existence of
an anglo-saxon wooden church in Colchester
belonging to a priest named siric and dedicated
to st John the evangelist (Bl Cotton ms nero
D, viii, fols 22–5), and Crummy has attempted
to reconcile the archaeological record with
the written evidence (CAR 1, 45). however,
no traces of an anglo-saxon timber structure
have been found and the closest parallels to
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
the building’s foundations are 12th century
in date.
The existence of a church (MON1018)
pre-dating the construction of St Botolph’s
Priory, is implied by the small company of
priests that founded the Priory c 1100 (VCH
1994, Essex IX, 313). It has been postulated
that the Augustinian foundation regularised
a pre-existing Anglo-Saxon institution (Peers
1964, 3) and the church’s dedication to an early
7th-century East Anglian abbot suggests that it
may have been a minster (Rodwell and Rodwell
1977, 34–5). Alternatively, the church could
have been a fairly late parochial foundation,
driven by suburban growth outside the town’s
south gate. Similarly positioned churches with
the same and other dedications are known from
London and elsewhere (Biddle and Hudson
1973, 14–16, 19). No physical evidence of an
Anglo-Saxon church has been recovered from
the site, although a Roman foundation wall
found during excavations beneath the Priory
Church in 1991 could represent the remains
of an earlier religious structure (Crossan 1992,
103; CAT Report 1/91a). Indeed it has been
suggested that it was, like that in the grounds of
St John’s Abbey precinct, the site of a martyrium
(Crummy 2001, 150). The building’s function
remains unknown, however, and the location
may be purely coincidental.
Secular buildings
No secular buildings have been examined
which can be attributed to this period with any
certainty. Drury tentatively interpreted several
masonry sills and ‘concrete’ floors in an area
to the south of the castle keep (grP123) as
belonging to two or more late saxon buildings
associated with a timber chapel. in addition,
several shallow slots (grP30) containing
thetford-type ware and stamford ware were
discovered adjacent to the blocked arches of
the roman temple precinct arcade, suggesting
some reuse of the structure (Drury 1982, 341).
further along the high street, a well (elm27)
which may be as early as the 11th century
in date was discovered in east stockwell
street, while a possible 11th-century building
(mon611) was identified during excavations
at Culver street. however, evidence for its
function and date was difficult to assess (CAR
6, 122), and both structures are likely to have
been post-Conquest in origin (see chapter 9).
Pottery and metalwork
there is scant physical evidence for settlement
within Colchester during the 10th and 11th
centuries, and a dearth of excavated features
has resulted in a heavy reliance on pottery
distributions as indicators of occupation. the
main ceramic types belonging to this period
have been identified as thetford-type wares
dated to c aD 930–1125, early medieval shelly
wares ranging in date from c 1000 to c 1275,
and early medieval sandy wares dating from
between c 1000 and c 1225 (CAR 7, 28–32, 34–
57). imported thetford-type wares were the
dominant pottery in Colchester during the 10th
and early 11th centuries, but appear to have been
displaced by locally produced early medieval
sandy wares during the 11th century, the
quantities of which recovered to date suggest
a significant increase in the town’s population
at this time (CAR 1, 72). the two types were
for some time contemporary, however, and,
with the exception of examples from a few
of the high street sites, thetford-type wares
have rarely been found unaccompanied by early
medieval sandy wares. other imports may have
included the two most commonly circulated
saxo-norman wares in south-east england, st
neots ware and stamford ware, although no
examples have been found in contexts securely
datable before the 12th century.
the distribution of late saxon pottery is
principally intramural (fig 9.1), with notable
concentrations along the high street, particularly
its central section, and north hill (CAR 7, 31).
off the high street, assemblages of thetfordtype wares have been excavated from only three
safely dated late saxon contexts, which include
pits at st nicholas’s church (grP124) and the
Cups hotel (grP13), and from beneath an
old turf line sealed under the castle’s inner
bailey bank (fnD279). of these, only the
thetford-type ware (fnD315) from the pit at
st nicholas’s church can be confidently dated
to the 10th century because of an absence
of early medieval sandy ware. much smaller
collections of thetford-type ware have been
recovered from the area between the high
street and the town wall to the south, with a
conspicuous cluster recorded in site J of the
lion Walk excavations (fnD337) (CAR 7, 6).
at present, it is not possible to say whether this
pottery emanated from properties fronting the
high street or from other late saxon properties
situated along secondary streets such as eld
199
200
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 9.4 A silver penny of
Æthelred II struck by the
moneyer Swetinc during
the period AD 991–7.
This is one of the earliest
coins minted in Colchester
(COLEM: 1929.517)
Lane, Trinity Street and Culver Street, which
may have existed at this time (CAR 1, 71).
Certainly the Co-op site (nos 7–15) fronting
Long Wyre Street has produced a significant
amount of thetford-type wares (fnD318),
indicating occupation along the street during
this period (CAR 7, 9, 31). the only significant
extramural spread of thetford-type ware
(fnD310) is located in the grounds of st
John’s abbey, to the south-east of the town,
where the late saxon or norman church of st
John was excavated (CAR 7, 31).
the distribution of other late anglo-saxon
artefacts from the uaD study area adds little to
our knowledge of Colchester at this time and
there are few items that can be securely dated
to the period. anglo-saxon coins are generally
scarce and the only coin minted in Colchester
and subsequently found in the town is a Crux
type of Æthelred ii by the moneyer eadsige c
aD 991–7 (turner 1945, 9, pl 1.1). no coins
were discovered during the 1970s excavations
(Crummy 1987, 68), but a penny of Cnut dating
from 1018–24 was recovered from the angel
yard excavations in the late 1980s (fnD339;
shimmin and Carter 1996, 66) and a penny
of edward the Confessor dated 1062–5 was
found at Culver street in the 1980s (fnD338;
CAR 6, 407). a bronze strap end, said to
have been found in Colchester, is considered
to be 9th or 10th century in date (fnD329;
CAR 1, 21), and an iron strap end of similar
date was recovered from excavations at the
hythe (fnD4; n Crummy 2000, 120–1). a
doughnut-shaped spindlewhorl found on the
same site may also be late saxon, although the
dating of such objects is imprecise (fnD330;
ibid, 120).
elsewhere, to the west of the walled town,
a late 10th- to 11th-century brooch of gilded
copper set with a copper cloisonné enamel disc
depicting the ‘evil eye’ (fnD331) was found
along lexden road (Buckton 1986, 11–12, fig
3). lastly, a walrus ivory disc in a copper-alloy
base was discovered c 1.5km south-east of the
town (fnD292). the disc is decorated with
clambering beasts and acanthus foliage in
the Winchester style and has been dated to c
1000–50. it would have originally been riveted
to the cover of a book or a shrine and, while
providing a ‘glimpse of lost splendours’ of
the anglo-saxon church (Campbell et al 1982,
197), it is not possible to associate it with any
of Colchester’s churches.
Manufacturing and trade
Colchester in the 10th and 11th centuries
probably served as a market for the surrounding
countryside, although coins were not minted
here until the reign of Æthelred ii. Before this,
traders would not have brought foreign coin to
the town to be reminted and maldon, which
had a mint from the reign of athelstan, was
presumably the primary port for foreign trade
coming into essex. the only firm evidence
from Colchester for foreign contact during
this period consists of a single sherd of 10thto 11th-century north french glazed ware
(CAR 7, 261). fragments of german lava
quernstones found in 12th-century contexts
may also indicate foreign trade before c 1000
(CAR 5, 38). Coastal trade would probably
have utilised the postulated landing place at
old heath, although late saxon finds from the
hythe have raised the possibility that the area
of the medieval port was settled before the
11th century (Brooks 2000, 112).
minting began in the town in c aD 991
when a london moneyer named swetinc
began striking pennies of the Crux type.
Colchester was one of a number of mints, in
a broad band of territory from southwark up
to thetford and Cambridge, where there was
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
a significant increase in production (fig 9.4).
at Colchester this flurry of activity involved
14 moneyers, some of whom were brought in
from london, and led to the production of 2.7
per cent of the national output (metcalf 1998,
220). metcalf and lean suggest (1993, 211–15)
that this ‘blip’ in production is related to the
impact of the battle of maldon. thereafter,
Colchester usually produced 0.5–1 per cent of
the national total, and from c 1000 it was the
most important mint in essex, continuing in
production up to the norman Conquest when
it was linked with maldon for the purposes of
the Domesday survey (metcalf 1998, 220).
no conclusive evidence has been found
that might reveal where Colchester’s moneyers
operated and there is little evidence for any
kind of metalworking in the town. a crucible
fragment (fnD333) from the Cups hotel site
retained traces of silver, and a second crucible
fragment (fnD334) containing traces of
copper, was found at lion Walk. Both pieces
may belong to the period, although they could
equally be post-Conquest in date (CAR 5, 87).
a rim sherd (fnD335) from a shallow heating
tray discovered at Butt road is most probably
late saxon and suggests that metalworking was
taking place outside the town walls (ibid, 87).
a casting pit (mon288) discovered during
excavations at the gilberd school site on north
hill (CAR 6, 137–8) and quantities of tap slag
discovered in features at the south end of lion
Walk (CAR 3, 91) may also date from this
period, but are discussed in the next chapter.
no kiln sites have been discovered in the
uaD study area despite the pottery evidence
indicating that a local early medieval sandy ware
industry was initiated at Colchester c 1025–50
(CAR 7, 353). other manufacturing industries,
such as weaving, wood-turning, leather- and
bone-working, were probably undertaken
on a household or local community scale,
but no conclusive evidence for this has been
recovered.
the Domesday survey records six mills in
the vicinity of Colchester in 1086, of which
the approximate locations of at least two
can be identified: north mill (mon914) was
situated on the Colne to the north-west of
north Bridge, and east mill (mon916) was
located next to east Bridge. of the other mills,
greenstead mill (mon1051) may have been
originally situated on the Colne before being
moved to the site of the later hull mill, on a
tributary stream, in the 12th century (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 259). the mill which belonged
to st Peter’s church in 1066 may have been the
later stokes mill (mon913) located on the
Colne at the end of land lane. the presence
of at least six mills along the river and its
tributary must have required effective riparian
management of the Colne in order to avoid
the problems of water shortages and flooding
reported in later centuries (ibid, 259).
The late Anglo-Saxon countryside
Administrative frameworks
in the mid-10th century Colchester was the
centre of an important group of administrative
estates held by the ealdormen of essex
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 19). these estates
included: West mersea and fingringhoe,
which commanded the seaward approaches
to Colchester, alresford, Peldon and Bryton
(in stanway). in the immediate countryside
around the walled town were the estates of
lexden, greenstead, Donyland and stanway.
hart has tentatively suggested that all these
properties were taken from the Danes by King
edward the elder in aD 917 and used for
the endowment of the essex earldom (hart
1987, 70).
towards the beginning of the 11th century
several of these estates were broken up in the
wills of Æthelflaed and Ælflaed, the widows
of King edmund and ealdorman Byrhtnoth
and the daughters of the previous ealdorman,
Ælfgar. Æthelflaed divided Donyland into
four parts and Ælflaed granted stanway and
lexden to King Æthelred ii (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 19). Ælflaed also surrendered the
estates of Byrton (in stanway) and alresford
to the king, so that, by the time of Domesday,
several of the large estates had fragmented
into smaller administrative units. however, at
some point following Byrhtnoth’s death, this
fragmentation was reversed with the formation
of the large administrative block of the
Colchester hundred, which was to fall under
the jurisdiction of the town’s burgesses (hart
1993, 198) and had been established by 1066.
there is no early record of the bounds of
the hundred of Colchester which eventually
formed the borough’s liberty and was to
include the outlying areas of greenstead, mile
end, lexden and West Donyland. Cooper has
studied the topography of the post-Conquest
201
202
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
perambulations of the borough (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 230) and Cyril Hart has discussed
the hundred’s formation, keeping with the
long-held view that it was carved out of Lexden
Hundred in the late 10th century (VCH 1903,
Essex I, 406; Tait 1936, 48; Hart 1993). The
boundary of the Colchester Hundred was
delineated on two sides by elements of the
late Iron Age–early Roman dyke system: to the
west of the UAD study area the linear bank
and ditch earthwork of Gryme’s Dyke has
survived into modern times as the borough’s
western boundary and forms much of the
eastern boundary of Stanway parish and the
western boundary of the parish of Lexden;
another dyke, recorded by Morant as ‘The
Rampers’ (Morant 1768, bk I, 96) and located
to the north of the study area on the former
Boxted and Horksley Heaths (CAR 11, 50),
formed the borough’s northern boundary.
Within the parish of Lexden, a flat-topped
mound known as lexden mount has been
proposed as a possible post-roman nonsepulchral mound (adkins and Petchey 1984,
250). it has also been suggested as a possible
meeting place for the lexden hundred (Christy
1928, 181). excavation of the earthwork in
1910 failed to identify its function although
small quantities of roman pottery and tile
were recovered (laver and reader 1913, 190;
hull 1958, 252).
Settlement and religious buildings
of the 247 essex settlements recorded at
Domesday, 11 that are recorded in 10thcentury wills and charters and which can be
assumed to have been in existence by c 1000
can be identified in the vicinity of Colchester.
these include greenstead, lexden, stanway,
Berton (in stanway), alresford, Donyland,
fingringhoe, Peldon, Copford and West
mersea. added to this are several settlements,
including Birch, Wivenhoe, langenhoe and
layer, whose locations and place-names also
suggest a 10th-century or earlier origin (hart
1993, 201–3).
archaeological evidence for r ural
settlements of this period is generally lacking
and few of the churches in the parishes
around Colchester exhibit pre-Conquest
features. excavations at st mary’s church,
West Bergholt (ehCr 11741–6, 11748,
11795, 12730), revealed evidence for a late
saxon timber building which had been
replaced in the 11th century by a single-celled
stone church with an apsidal end. its position
next to Bergholt hall suggests that it was
established as a proprietary church, probably
in the 10th or 11th centuries (turner 1984,
43). st Barnabas’s church, great tey (ehCr
8699), and all saints at inworth (ehCr 8152)
both have major structural elements that are
accepted as late anglo-saxon. in addition,
st Peter’s at alresford (ehCr 2384), st
mary’s at little Birch (ehCr 11732, 11733),
and st Peter and st Paul at West mersea
(ehCr 2274) all have structural features
likely to belong to this period. st andrew’s
at fingringhoe (ehCr 2525), st albright’s at
little stanway (ehCr 11834, 11835) and st
michael’s at Berechurch (ehCr 11749) may
also have anglo-saxon elements (rodwell
and rodwell 1977, 94–125). saxon pottery
was reportedly found in the vicinity of st
michael’s, Berechurch, when a second World
War PoW Camp was built (gant 1972, 33)
and it has been suggested that it originated as
a private chapel founded for Berechurch hall
(rodwell and rodwell 1977, 97).
Churches are recorded in the Domesday
survey at Peldon, greenstead and West mersea,
the last being the site of a minster church (st
Peter’s) known from a series of later 10thcentury wills. a fragment of anglo-saxon
carved stonework with characteristic interlace
ornament, thought to be a fragment of
architectural detail or coffin lid, is embedded
in the church’s 14th-century south aisle (Carter
1971, 37). in 1046 a Benedictine priory was
founded at West mersea on a site to the south
of the present church (hart 1980, 94) and
several undated burials (ehCr 12546) thought
to be associated with the priory have been
recovered from the area.
Landscape management and rural resources
the Colchester dykes are the only ancient field
boundaries that can be demonstrated to have
persisted into the modern era. there is no
clear evidence for relict roman field systems,
such as those observed in the south-east of
the county (rippon 1991, 57), or anglo-saxon
field boundaries within the uaD study area.
however, investigation of a roman doubleditched droveway and enclosure cropmark in
stanway has produced some pottery evidence
for continued use into the anglo-saxon period
(Partridge 1993a, 218). it has been further
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
suggested that Stanway’s northern parish
boundary may have originally followed strips
or furlongs in open fields (vCh 2001, Essex
X, 266). this process parallels the nature
of parish formation in Colchester, and the
other contemporary urban settlements, where
parochial units are mapped out in relation
to a pre-existing framework of tenurial
boundaries.
our knowledge of Colchester’s late anglosaxon agricultural economy, which is entirely
based on the Domesday survey, indicates that
agricultural land, measured in plough teams,
was concentrated to the south of the town.
arable fields, probably once the common
fields of the borough, survived throughout
the middle ages to the south-east and southwest of the town, mainly in the parishes of
the intramural churches. the boundaries of
the borough field in the parish of st mary
in the Walls suggest that it was set out in the
late anglo-saxon period (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 256).
at the time of the Domesday survey, essex
was a relatively well-wooded county (Darby
1957, fig 61). to the north of Colchester the
place-name Cestrewald (from oe ceaster weald,
meaning ‘wood of the walled town’) has been
used to identify an extensive tract of preConquest woodland over which the people of
Colchester held common rights. the woodland
appears to have stretched as far south as mile
end, well within the Colchester hundred
and in sight of the walled town from which
it took its name (stephenson 1979a, 111–12).
Woodland was exploited during this period for
fuel, constructional timber, withies, grazing
for pigs and the intercommoning of cattle on
woodland pastures (rackham 1986a , 16, 40).
the late saxon floor joists of Colchester’s holy
trinity church provide a possible indication of
the quality of timber or woodland management
regimes in the woods around Colchester,
having been interpreted as representing either
the poor quality of the raw material in general
or a poor-quality selection from the available
resources (hewett 1980, 108).
heaths were also exploited through
intercommoning and as a source of pasture and
fuel (rackham 1980, 105). Domesday generally
contains scant information about communal
grazing and, as a result, heathland is a neglected
feature of the pre-Conquest essex landscape
(hart 1993, 190). significantly, 240 acres of
pasture and scrub were entered for Colchester,
and fragments of heathland that survived to
be mapped by Chapman and andre in 1777
probably originated in the anglo-saxon period,
and can be shown to have once encircled the
town (hart 1993, 191). grazing on the coastal
salt marshes was also a communal right in the
saxon period and by Domesday the marshes
were further exploited through the production
of salt (Darby 1957, 246–7). no fishery is
recorded for Colchester in Domesday, but in
recent years aerial photography has revealed
several v-shaped timber fish weirs off the essex
coast, including a particularly fine example at
east mersea. radiocarbon dates from similar
structures at Collins Creek, in the Blackwater
estuary, have provided a middle–late saxon
date (Buckley 2000, 9).
Communications
following edward the elder’s reconquest
of essex, the itinerant nature of late anglosaxon government would have required the
maintenance of at least the principal roman
roads in the shire (hunter 1999, 80); the survival
into modern times of the main routes leading
to Colchester from london, norwich and st
albans implies their use throughout the period
for national and regional communication.
although the condition of these arterial
roads is uncertain, the 11th-century forms of
the name stanway have been taken to signify
‘at the stone ways’ (reaney 1935, 394) and
stephenson has postulated that this derives
from two or more ‘stone ways’ – that is, roman
roads that remained serviceable in the anglosaxon period (stephenson 1979b, 115). these
probably included stane street (ehCr 8646),
still in use as the a120 from st albans to
Colchester, and the road to Cambridge, both
of which converged close to stanway Bridge
in the west end of stanway parish.
the courses of other postulated roman
roads, such as the easthorpe, nayland and
mistley roads, survive in sections, indicating
that parts of them remained in local use
(rackham 1986b, 257). these were joined to
a network of minor roads, lanes and trackways
linking villages, hamlets, fields and commons
that remains fossilised, in part at least, within
the modern landscape. little work has been
done to elucidate these anglo-saxon highways,
but an important source of information are the
late anglo-saxon charters. a local example,
203
204
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
the Mersea Charter of Edward the Confessor,
mentions two river crossings: the causeway
to Mersea Island (the Strood), and the point
where the Colchester–Mersea Road crosses the
Roman River at the modern Manwood Bridge
(Hart 1980, 94–5).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
The early 10th to mid-11th centuries was a
crucial time in the development of the medieval
and modern town, yet no structures have been
recognised for this period and contemporary
artefacts are meagre. The absence of a
successful local pottery industry is presumably
one reason for the limited numbers of finds.
low population and the limited opportunities
for the excavation of key areas within the town
may be others.
an approximate indication of the extent
of the occupied areas of the late anglo-saxon
town has been obtained by mapping finds of
thetford-type ware (CAR 1, 33, fig 29). the
number of find spots is low and the distribution
crude and patchy, but the evidence seems to
suggest occupation along the high street and
north hill, with pockets along Culver street
and lion Walk. head street can now be added
to the map on the basis of thetford-type ware
sherds from excavations in 2001 at the former
Post office site. the absence of thetford-type
ware in the defensive ditch at lion Walk (ibid,
33–5; CAR 7, 311–16) is crucial, as it suggests
that the ware had ceased to circulate in the town
to any significant degree by c 1050–75.
very few features datable to between aD
900 and 1050 have been identified and much
of the thetford-type ware from the town is
residual in later contexts. the only deposits
dating to this period are the mid-11th-century
defensive ditch sectioned at lion Walk (CAR
1, 33–5; CAR 7, 311–16), a pit at the site of st
nicholas’s church (hull 1960, 327–8; CAR 1,
39), two pits at the Cups hotel site (ibid, 33–8;
CAR 7, 311), and a buried land surface under
the castle rampart (CAR 1, 32–3). equally
significantly, pre-Conquest features, apart from
the early saxon huts, were entirely absent at
lion Walk and Culver street (CAR 6, 123).
the quantity of thetford-type ware found
so far is very modest compared to the quantity
of early medieval sandy ware (fabric 13),
which dates from c 1000 (CAR 7, 39–41). the
minting of coins did not start until c aD 991
(metcalf and lean 1993, 210), which is later
than at maldon, where a mint was established
in aD 925. nevertheless, Colchester was a
significant town in the 10th century. the fact
that both athelstan and edmund held councils
in Colchester suggests that this was so, as
does the scale of athelstan’s council in c aD
931 and the statement that it took place in ‘a
town well known to all men’ (Kemble 1839).
the relatively late start for Colchester and the
modest amounts of thetford-type pottery
suggest that the town’s population was small
until the late 10th century, when it began to
rise. the population is not likely to have been
that sparse, however, as holy trinity church
was founded well back from the high street,
hinting at a shortage of building land in the
central part of the high street frontages before
c 1000–50.
early churches remain unexcavated apart
from st John’s, which pre-dated st John’s abbey
(CAR 9, 203–18); the presumed minster church
at st Botolph’s has not been located despite
limited investigations of the site. excavation
of the chapel in the castle bailey has provided
support for a late saxon date for the building
(Drury 1982, 328). however, the interpretation
and dating of the chapel foundation(s) were
problematic (ibid, 326–7).
Preservation
the preservation of houses and related buildings
is very poor. Being close to the frontages of
the main streets of the medieval and later
town, remains of these structures are often
severely damaged during the construction of
later buildings and cellars. their susceptibility
to damage is made more acute by the slightness
and shallow depth of the remains.
the metalling which makes up the main
streets of the post-roman town has been
examined in various places, although it has
proved difficult to define and date individual
sequences of metalling. none has as yet been
identified as being early and the extent to which
the early metalling might survive is not clear. it
is conceivable that most has been stripped off
and replaced during resurfacing work over the
last few hundred years or so.
some of the potentially early churches in or
near the town centre have been demolished:
notable among these are st runwald’s, st
nicholas’s and st John’s. moreover, the
LATE ANGLO-SAXON COLCHESTER, 917–1066
foundations and floor levels of the western
half of st John’s have been completely
destroyed and st runwald’s is likely to have
been extensively damaged by the digging of
services and other more recent excavations in
the high street. on the other hand, the buried
remains on the site of st Botolph’s Priory
appear to be well preserved.
Importance
Colchester was a defended burh of regional
importance which provides a significant
opportunity to study the evolution of a
small medieval town in relation to a closely
mapped roman one, taking into account
the constraints which the surviving elements
of the latter imposed on it. Colchester’s
archaeological importance as an example of
a late anglo-saxon town is moderated by
the paucity of finds from the period and by
the difficulty in identifying contemporary
structures. the reasons for the deficiencies in
the archaeological record need to be explained
and, ironically, these make late anglo-saxon
Colchester an even more interesting place to
study. a minster church preceding st Botolph’s
Priory, if one existed, and particularly if there
was any evidence of a physical relationship
with earlier roman structures, would be of
regional and even national importance.
Potential for future research
Despite the poor chances of survival, there is
nevertheless the possibility that the remains of
houses dating to c aD 900–1050 do exist to a
useful extent in the town. the investigation of
buildings of this period would add substance to
the postulated distribution of the late anglosaxon population as indicated by thetfordtype ware and would also provide information
about the nature of domestic houses of this
period which would be of regional as well as
local value.
the excavation of sections across medieval
streets might provide dating evidence for the
origin of the medieval street system, while the
investigation of buildings and other structures
of the period c aD 900–1050 could produce
ceramic sequences for the period as well as
useful information about the buildings and
structures themselves. subjects for excavationbased research are churches (especially holy
trinity, st runwald’s, st Peter’s, st nicholas’s,
st martin’s and st mary’s), mills (especially
north mill, middle mill and east mill) and
wells, if they can be located (especially stock
well, stane well, King Coel’s well and the well
in Colchester Castle).
the need to study the impact of Christianity
in the region has been highlighted by Brian ayers
in the eastern Counties research framework
(ayers 2000, 31). st Botolph’s Priory, especially,
could prove to be of particular importance
if pre-Conquest levels survive, particularly if
continuity could be demonstrated between a
minster church and the roman building partly
uncovered there during excavations in 1991
(unpublished but see Crummy 1992b). the little
that was seen of the roman building suggested
that, probably, there was no such relationship,
but the site needs to be thoroughly investigated
to be certain.
205
10 early medieval Colchester, 1066–1348
by Adrian Gascoyne
Introduction and historical
framework
Soon after his coronation at Westminster,
William I set off upon a military and political
advance into East Anglia, a region that was
seen as of primary importance because of its
exposure to the ongoing threat of Scandinavian
invasion. The king’s first stop was Barking in
essex, where he received the submissions of
various english notables before travelling on to
norwich, receiving further submissions on the
way (Brown 1969, 187). Considering its status as
the principal town in essex, and its location en
route to norwich, it is perhaps not unreasonable
to assume that Colchester was one of the places
visited by William. Within a few years, norman
control in essex was to be epitomised by the
erection of a royal castle in the town.
according to the Colchester Chronicle, the
castle’s construction was initiated by the
norman baron eudo Dapifer on behalf of the
king, following an attack on the town by Danish
pirates c 1071; probably, according to Philip
Crummy’s reconciliation of the dates, the same
Danish fleet that attacked east-coast ports in
1069 (CAR 1, 30). england’s east coast was
threatened again by invasion in 1075 and 1085,
and these raids and anticipated attacks from
overseas have been proposed as a contributory
factor in the decline of coastal holdings in
north-east essex during the period (finn
1971, 251). no loss of value is apparent for
Colchester, however, and by 1086 the town’s
fee-farm, or annual rent paid to the Crown, had
risen to five times the pre-Conquest level. of
the known borough farms, Colchester’s was
behind only those of london, york, lincoln
and norwich, something Cooper has taken as
a sign that Colchester prospered as a result of
the Conquest (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 21).
as steward to William i and his son William
rufus, eudo Dapifer appears to have had
custody of the castle and town. from the
latter part of the 11th century he transformed
Colchester through the foundation of st John’s
abbey and the leper hospital of st mary
magdalen, and other public benefactions. in
1101 eudo was granted both the town and
castle by charter from henry i and held them
in his possession until his death in 1120, when
they reverted to the crown. By 1130 the town’s
farm had been reduced to half the 1086 figure
and, on the basis of taxes paid to the king,
Colchester was ranked 27th of the provincial
towns at the time of henry i’s visit to the
castle c 1132 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 21). this
reduction in farm combined with the ending of
coin-minting in the town c 1157 may indicate
a short-term decline in the town’s fortunes
around the middle of the 12th century (ibid,
26).
in england, as over much of europe, the
12th and 13th centuries were largely a time of
economic expansion, evidenced in essex (and
elsewhere) by the foundation of new markets
and towns, such as Braintree and Chelmsford
(hunter 1999, 92–3; Petchey 1980, 116). like
many other boroughs, Colchester received
208
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
its first royal charter in the latter part of the
12th century, although the wording of the
charter and the town’s norman moot hall
indicate that the burgesses had been enjoying
elements of self-government since the reign
of henry i (Crummy 2001, 152). another
expression of self-determination by the town’s
burgesses was the establishment by the mid12th century of a new port to generate income
for the borough at the hythe. the creation
of the port gave Colchester direct access to
the flourishing north european markets of
the angevin dominions in france, and of the
low Countries, and as such it was probably
the most important economic development
in early medieval Colchester. Despite the
county’s long coastline, the hythe and the
port at maldon appear to have dominated
sea-borne trade in essex to the extent that
only three other ports were founded during
this period (Petchey 1980, 117). the hythe’s
early commercial success is illustrated by an
assessment for subsidy in 1204 that records it
as one of england’s principal east coast ports.
the port’s assessment was higher than those of
norwich, ipswich, Dunwich and orford, with
an overall ranking of 19th or 20th out of the
30 seaports assessed at this time.
By the late 12th century Colchester had
attracted a Jewish population large enough to
be documented, and, drawing parallels with
other towns in england, the prestigious stone
houses that were located around the market
place have been linked to this community.
in 1191 Colchester’s Jewish community was
perhaps the ninth wealthiest in the country,
but the town was never to become a major
centre of english Jewry and by 1221 the
Jewish community ranked 16th among those
paying taxes to the crown. at the time of the
Jewish expulsions in 1290 there were only
seven Jewish householders in Colchester,
most of whom appear to have been relatively
poor (stephenson 1986, 48), although a
‘schola’ (synagogue) was among the properties
confiscated by the king, and the overall value
of the seizure placed the community seventh
among the english Jewries (Cutts 1889, 125).
During the early 13th century Colchester
once again became important as a centre for
defence in eastern england when it was drawn
into King John’s struggle against the rebellious
english barons and his wider conflict with the
Capetians, which resulted in the invasion of
the french prince louis. in 1215 Colchester
Castle was taken by a french army and then
besieged and captured by John’s forces in 1216.
later in that year a baronial army ravaged the
town. it is difficult to gauge the impact of these
events on Colchester’s inhabitants, however,
and local arguments appear to have caused
more violence than civil wars and national
upheavals in the 13th and 14th centuries.
territorial disputes between burgesses and
local landlords were common in towns of
this period and at Colchester disagreements
between st John’s abbey and the town were a
source of intermittent tension. this erupted
into violence in 1253, when up to 40 Colchester
men were accused of destroying the abbot’s
property (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 22). a series
of disputes between the townspeople and the
fitzWalters of lexden dominated the early
14th century, culminating in sieges of the town
in 1342 and 1343 (ibid, 22).
under the norman kings religious life
in england was reorganised, enriched and
diversified. although the urban parishes of
Colchester would have been left largely in the
hands of the native clergy, the establishment
of several major religious houses in the
town reflects the large number of religious
institutions set up in essex, particularly during
the 12th century (Ward 1996, 133). further
houses were established in the first half of
the 13th century, when the mendicant friars
arrived in the english towns; their popularity
and success, as elsewhere in western europe,
was immediate (Platt 1976, 159). in Colchester,
as at Chelmsford and maldon, they chose
to build their monastic houses off the main
street, indicating that there was still plenty of
undeveloped land in the town, although the
house of the Crutched friars probably signals
the extent of the town’s south-western suburb
at this time.
the documented growth of the town’s
suburbs in the two centuries after the norman
Conquest mirrors a significant increase in
the country’s population during this period.
Colchester’s Domesday population has been
estimated at over 2,500 individuals, placing it
among the middle rank of english boroughs.
the town appears to have retained the largest
urban population in essex throughout this
period, despite the fact that population
growth during the 13th century in the county’s
other market towns greatly exceeded that of
209
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
Colchester (Britnell 1986b, 12). In 1301 the
town sustained an estimated population of
3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants, which paled by
comparison with the populations of crosschannel centres such as Bruges, Ghent and
Ypres. Even by English standards it was not
very big, with a population approximately a
twentieth of that of London and probably
less than a quarter that of Norwich. By 1312
there were at least 518 adult males, excluding
paupers, in the liberty, again suggesting a
population of between 3,000 and 4,000. This
number seems to mark the peak of Colchester’s
early medieval growth as, like many other towns
and much of rural Essex, it appears to have
stagnated in the earlier 14th century (VCH
1994, Essex IX, 23).
In 1334 the people of Colchester witnessed
the demolition of the Justice’s house in the
castle bailey. By this time Chelmsford was
becoming the usual place of administration for
the county and this, combined with a reduction
in the castle’s defensive capacity, suggests
that Colchester’s military and administrative
roles had reduced (ibid, 245). The lay subsidy
of the same year shows that, in comparison
with other towns in Essex, Colchester was
not exceptionally prosperous; it was ranked
fourth in the county behind Writtle, Barking
and Waltham Holy Cross. Bury St Edmunds
and Sudbury, both in Suffolk, also had more
taxable wealth (Britnell 1986b, 16) and on a
national scale the town ranked about 46th
among provincial towns (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
23). In comparison with other east coast ports
Colchester was just as unimpressive, its taxable
wealth being half that of Ipswich, and only a
quarter or less than that of Newcastle-uponTyne, Boston and Great Yarmouth (Britnell
1986b, 16). All the documentary evidence thus
points to a decline in the town’s population,
wealth and political importance by the time the
Black Death arrived in the winter of 1348/9,
throwing the town’s economic fortunes into
further uncertainty. The epidemic continued
throughout the summer and possibly into the
autumn of 1349 and, like the populations of
most other towns, Colchester’s townspeople
suffered severely. Mortality in rural northcentral Essex has been estimated to have been
as high as 45 per cent; the evidence from the
town suggests that Colchester’s may have been
slightly lower (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 24).
Past work
Unsurprisingly, interest in Colchester Castle
was expressed by some of the county’s earliest
historians and mapmakers, including Camden
and Norden, who both suggested a Saxon
foundation by Edward the Elder (Round 1882,
17). By the early 18th century, a Norman origin
for the keep had been promulgated (ibid, 18),
but during the 19th century the building’s close
associations with Roman remains led to the
rather fanciful belief that the keep itself was
a Roman structure (Jenkins 1853 and 1869;
Buckler 1876). However, by the late 19th
century the Colchester historian J H Round
had strongly reasserted its Norman origins
(Round 1882) and excavations by Wheeler
in 1920 proved that the castle keep had in
fact been built over the Temple of Claudius
(Wheeler 1920). Since Wheeler’s discovery,
numerous investigations have concentrated
on the keep, features within the castle’s inner
bailey and the bailey defences themselves.
The 1950 excavation of the bailey bank by M
Alwyn Cotton, to celebrate the anniversary
of the formation of the Roman colonia, was
a significant piece of archaeological work
relating to Norman Colchester (CAR 1, 32) and
the resultant finds of early medieval pottery
were published by Dunning (1962). further
excavations of the bailey defences were
carried out by ros niblett in the 1960s (Drury
1982, 342–7), while investigations of the
castle keep have ranged from the Colchester
archaeological trust’s roof-top excavation of
the ‘chapel’ in 1988 to an examination of the
castle well in 1972 by the north east essex
aqua club. most recently, the keep has been
subjected to a detailed survey by a team from
historic royal Palaces.
the norman origins of the town’s stone
houses were first debated in the 18th century
(morant 1768, bk iii, 191–3) after the demolition
of a stone building at the junction of Pelham’s
lane and the high street in c 1730. morant’s
work on Colchester’s antiquities included a
description of the norman moot hall, which
was also, shortly after its demolition in 1843,
the subject of an article published in the first
volume of the Journal of the British Archaeological
Association (morant 1768, bk ii, 113–14; J Brit
Archaeol Ass 1 (1843): 143). a second stone
house was recorded at the instigation of Dr
J h round prior to its demolition in 1886.
210
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Two further stone houses came to light in the
1970s during the large-scale excavations at
Lion Walk and a smaller examination of the
Cups Hotel Site in 1974. The other major town
centre excavations, at Culver Street in 1981 and
1984, provided few significant features dated
to the period (CAR 6), while the large-scale
excavations outside the roman wall at Balkerne
lane revealed no post-roman features prior to
the 17th or 18th centuries (CAR 3). in addition
to the suburb outside the town’s north gate at
middleborough, the only medieval suburb to
have been subjected to a significant excavation
is that which developed around south gate,
where the osborne street dig took place in
1988 (shimmin 1994).
finds of medieval pottery have been
acquired by Colchester museums since the
1870s and from 1903 until 1977 were described
in the annual museum reports. in 1973, roadwidening and gas-pipe-laying schemes resulted
in the discovery of late 12th- to 13th-century
and 14th- to 15th-century kiln sites at mile
end and great horkesley (Drury and Petchey
1975). in 1981, Philip Crummy published a
synthesis of 10th- to 12th-century pottery
from the town, based on finds recovered from
excavations by the Cat between 1971 and
1977, as well as earlier discoveries (CAR 1, 32–
40). this was supplemented in 1982 by a report
on the medieval pottery from excavations
around the castle in which Cunningham
defined medieval ‘Colchester ware’ for the
first time (Cunningham 1982). excavations in
the suburb of middleborough in 1979 led to
the discovery of seven or more early medieval
pottery kilns and a possible potter’s workshop,
together described in a 1984 publication by
Philip Crummy (CAR 3, 186–9). a year later
Cunningham produced an outline typology for
post-roman pottery in essex (Cunningham
1985); the early medieval pottery typology for
the town was most recently refined by Cotter
in CAR 7.
there have been several medium-sized
excavations and smaller-scale investigations of
the town’s religious precincts. During the 1970s
this work was concentrated on st John’s abbey
(CAR 9, 203), but more recently the leper
hospital of st mary magdalen was examined in
two separate excavations (Crossan 1990, 8–11;
Crossan 1991, 19–20), and st Botolph’s Priory
has witnessed limited investigations (Cat
report 1/86b; Crossan 1992, 103). small-
scale excavation has taken place on the site
of the house of the Crutched friars (CAR 9,
245–56), but the buildings of greyfriars remain
unstudied. the hythe has been subjected to
two medium-sized modern excavations as well
as several evaluations and watching briefs in
recent years. only two significant excavations
of medieval churches have taken place: that
of st nicholas’s in 1955, which was a rescue
excavation that largely ignored the church
fabric, and the 1972 examination of the anglosaxon church of st John’s (ibid, 213–15).
rodwell and rodwell published a major work
on the town’s religious establishments in 1977
and a summary of work on religious sites was
published by Crummy in 1993 as CAR 9.
in 1979 Crummy published a detailed
examination of Colchester’s medieval
topography (Crummy 1979b) which he further
embellished in his 1981 publication CAR
1. later excavations at angel yard in the
high street in 1986 confirmed many of his
measurements (shimmin and Carter 1996).
several of the early documents relating to
the town have been published and others
have been studied more recently by David
stephenson (CAR 1, 28–30; stephenson 1982,
409–13), while nina Crummy has undertaken
a survey of the origins of personal names of
the burgesses in Colchester Domesday and of
moneyers operating in the town up to 1087
(CAR 1, 75).
The nature of the evidence
the principal sources for the study of early
medieval Colchester are documentary records,
archaeology, standing remains and isolated
stray finds. historians interested in Colchester’s
Domesday record are fortunate in that essex
was included in little Domesday, which
gives returns for 1066 in addition to 1086.
unfortunately, Domesday fails to provide
details of the industrial and commercial
activities in which the town’s burgesses were
involved and gives few details about agricultural
life (Darby 1957, 254). the tremendous
proliferation of written records that occurred
in england during the 12th and 13th centuries
included many references to Colchester that
have survived as a largely untapped source of
information about the norman town (CAR
1, vii). from the early 14th century these are
supplemented by the town’s rich and varied
211
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
archive of municipal records. Colchester court
rolls run from 1311 and have been partially
translated by I H Jeayes (1921). Two other
multi-period municipal compilations are The
Red Paper Book of Colchester (Gurney Benham
1902) and The Oath Book or Red Parchment
Book of Colchester (Gurney Benham 1907),
which mainly contain information on local
government in the town from the reigns of
Richard II to Henry VIII, with some earlier
information. Other printed works include the
Feet of Fines for Essex (Kirk 1910; Anon 1928),
covering the period from 1182 to 1326, and the
Cartulary of St John’s Abbey (Moore 1897).
The latter is a compilation of annals forming
the only extant medieval record of the building
and early history of the castle. Colchester is also
fortunate in possessing two unusually detailed
taxation lists for the years 1295/6 and 1301
(Rot Parl; Rickword 1906), in which the name,
and frequently the profession and possessions
of individual citizens, is given.
Five large-scale, open-area excavations that
have taken place in recent decades within the
walled town and its suburbs have retrieved
information from early medieval deposits (Fig
10.1). In addition, there have been numerous
smaller-scale investigations, including modern
evaluations and watching briefs, which have
included an examination of these levels.
The first volume of the impressive Colchester
Archaeological Reports series concentrated on
the archaeology of this period, and summaries
of modern investigations are published
annually in the Transactions of the Essex Society
for Archaeology and History. structures and
negative features recorded within the uaD
study area include: stone houses and cellars;
stone-founded buildings; cess and rubbish pits;
churches; burials; cloistral buildings within the
religious precincts; industrial features, including
metalworking but predominantly lime and
pottery kilns; street metalling; and robber
trenches. unfortunately, excavation along the
modern street frontages has revealed poor
preservation of the early medieval remains as
a result of later rebuilding and cellarage.
there is little early medieval material
recognisable in the fabric of the town’s
churches and only one secular standing
building is known to survive from this period.
the castle is, of course, the most impressive
example of norman architecture in the town
largely because, with the exception of the ruins
of st Botolph’s Priory church and the precinct
wall of st John’s abbey, the buildings and
structures of the town’s monastic houses are
poorly represented. however, early medieval
burials have been recovered from investigations
at st giles’s (CAR 9, 230–1), st John’s (ibid,
215–18), st Botolph’s Priory church (Crossan
1992, 103), the house of the Crutched friars
(CAR 9, 248–9) and the leper hospital of st
mary magdalen (Crossan 1991, 20).
The finds evidence
by Nina Crummy
the pottery type series for the town enables
the development of local wares, as well as the
range of imports, both from within the eastern
region and beyond, to be charted over the
period. Contact with the low Countries and
germany is particularly well-attested (CAR
7, 265–7; 276–7). the town’s early medieval
pottery assemblage is predominantly domestic
in nature, however, with only a tiny percentage
being derived from foreign imports (CAR 7,
355). a few documented dated contexts have
been identified, but unfortunately these have
produced only very small pottery assemblages.
only one scientifically dated feature has
relevance to medieval pottery, and that is an
11th-century bronze-working oven associated
with a single cooking pot on the gilberd
school site (ibid, 15). the pottery assemblages
from the angel yard site, osborne street and
hythe hill have not been studied in detail and
represent a useful source of future research
material (Crummy and hind 1994; Cotter 1996;
Walker 2000). similarly, the post-roman glass
from the town remains unexamined.
two medieval coin hoards deposited in lead
canisters were found in adjacent properties at
the western end of the high street and a third,
empty, canister came from one of the properties
(grueber 1903, 111–66; andrew 1905, 32–47;
rickword 1905, 113–22; thompson 1956, 33–
5; Clarke et al 1974, 39–61; archibald and Cook
2001, 67–142; Brooks et al 2004, 131–42; CAR
4, 70–1). Coins of this period are otherwise rare
(for example, CAR 4, 68; CAR 6, 293; Davies
1996b, 64). finds from excavations between
1971 and 1985 are published in CAR 5, and
later finds reports include those for excavations
at osborne street (Crummy and hind 1994),
21–31 long Wyre street (Crummy 2001) and
79 hythe hill (n Crummy 2000). medieval
212
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 10.1 The early medieval town showing distribution of monuments and significant elements.
213
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
coins from excavations in the town between
1971 and 1979 are published in CAR 4, and
Archibald and Cook (2001) have published a
detailed examination of the important coin
hoards from the town.
Other recovered artefacts are of types
commonly found elsewhere, but are not
particularly numerous, though they are
representative of many areas of daily life
(CAR 5; Crummy 1996a, 75–80; N Crummy
2000, 119–22). Of particular interest is a
bolster chisel abandoned in a robber trench
(CAR 5, no. 3124). Trade is represented by two
balances, but objects associated with specific
crafts are rare. exceptions are the two crucibles
mentioned in the previous chapter, which may
belong here, and a small collection of leatherworking debris from osborne street (Crummy
and hind 1994, 57–9). numerous pottery kilns
lie both within and close to the uaD study area
(CAR 7, appendix 2).
reuse of roman building materials is
particularly important in this period (ryan
1996, 15–21), but among the contemporary
assemblage some late 12th-century limestone
waterleaf capitals are particular distinctive
(CAR 6, 373–4; CAR 9, 235), as are some early
(12th- or early 13th-century) glazed roof-tiles
from the church of st mary magdalen (Crossan
2003, 123). a collection of decorated floor
tiles from the town and its suburbs probably
mainly belong to the late medieval period (CAR
9, 231–4).
environmental samples have been taken
at middleborough and Culver street and are
dealt with by murphy and luff in CAR 6
and CAR 12, while other organic materials
are detailed by Crummy and hind (1994)
(see also interim report in Med Archaeol 48
(2004, see eh ‘the Preparation of material
for Publication’, references to short notes on
page 45]): 229–350). significant waterlogged
structures remain to be found. environmental
sampling has demonstrated the importance
of the herring and cod fisheries in this period
and the next, with few other species present
(CAR 6, 279).
The archaeological evidence
The castle
Colchester Castle (mon760) was conceived
and built on a grand scale and with a degree
of sophistication that, with the exception of
london’s White tower, was to be unequalled
during the 11th and 12th centuries (fig 10.2).
in addition to demonstrating the wealth and
power of england’s new king, the castle was
designed to function as a defended palace,
serving both basic military and specialised
residential needs. the castle keep was built in
at least two main stages and in its initial form
consisted of a single-storey stone keep with
crenellated parapet wall. During the early 12th
century the keep’s outer walls were raised by
at least one more storey, and a fore-building
was added on the south side to protect the
main entrance. a barbican replaced this in the
13th century. the castle’s earthwork defences
consisted of an upper and ‘nether’ bailey bank
and ditch with at least one entrance in the
upper bailey’s south-west corner. a masonry
chapel and domestic buildings stood to the
south of the keep. the keep’s completed
form remains unknown owing to the 17thcentury destruction by John Wheeley, whose
abortive attempt to demolish the building left
its upper level(s) missing and laid the ground
for an ongoing debate over the castle’s original
height.
Design, siting, preparation and construction of the
first-phase keep
the site chosen for William’s castle was
upon high ground on the western side of the
roman walled town, and was that previously
occupied by the roman temple of Claudius.
no destruction of property to clear space for
the castle is recorded in Domesday. at the time
Fig 10.2 The south front
of Colchester Castle said
to be the largest Norman
keep in existence (Tony
Nichols).
214
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of the Conquest, the temple precinct appears
to have contained a late Saxon masonry chapel
and other buildings which Drury has tentatively
identified as part of a royal vill (Drury 1982,
389). the Colchester Chronicle states that the
norman keep was built on the foundations
of the palace of King Coel and the site’s
identification by the local populace as a past
royal residence, together with its continued
high status in the anglo-saxon period, are
likely to have been determinants in its reuse.
Perhaps a more decisive factor influencing the
castle’s location, however, was the availability
of suitable building material in an area with
no naturally occurring stone. the fact that
the keep was built directly over the temple’s
podium suggests that the roman structure and
its surrounding masonry ruins represented a
ready-laid foundation and immediate source
of materials that the norman builders could
not ignore.
responsibility for the keep’s design has been
speculatively linked to gundulf, Bishop of
rochester, who is believed to have supervised
the king’s works on the White tower in london
and thought to have started construction
there in c 1078, after work commenced at
Colchester (renn 1968, 34). the White
tower has unquestionably strong architectural
similarities with the keep at Colchester, with
both buildings sharing a plan consisting of
two major elements: a square and a rectangular
block with a semi-circular apse on the south
side. Colchester has the larger ground plan of
the two, measuring 46.18m by 33.5m, and is the
largest keep, in terms of horizontal dimensions,
ever to have been built by the normans. the
key factor in determining the keep’s size was the
decision to reuse the roman temple podium,
and Drury has argued that the castle’s ground
plan, in particular the apse and south-west
tower, was fixed by the podium’s late roman
form (1982, 391). the evidence for this
remains inconclusive, however, and an early
11th-century predecessor for Colchester and
the White tower has been identified at ivry-laBataille, near evreux in normandy (impey and
Parnell 2000, 19). Whoever was responsible
for planning the keep at Colchester may have
modelled both towers on this earlier structure,
although other links with 10th-century fortified
palaces in northern france have been proposed
(Colvin 1963, 32; somerset fry 1990, 15).
the building of the castle has also been
associated with eudo Dapifer, who probably
oversaw its construction in his capacity as high
steward to William the Conqueror (CAR 1,
30). the Colchester Chronicle provides the only
historical reference to the start of construction
work on the keep. it states that, in 1076, ‘eudo
Dapifer built the castle of Colchester on
the foundation of the palace of Coel, once
King…’ (quoted in CAR 1, 26). although this
date cannot be taken at face value and there is
ambiguity over what it actually refers to, Drury
concluded that it ‘very probably related to the
start of the construction of the first phase of
the castle’ (Drury 1982, 399). Crummy has
argued for an earlier start date, suggesting that
eudo was granted the town after an attack by the
Danes c 1069 with the intention that he should
begin work on a castle immediately (Crummy
2001, 145). although one interpretation of the
temporary ‘battlements’ seen on the outside
of the building would suggest that only a
single-storied structure was originally intended,
Drury has argued against this on architectural
grounds and believes that the first keep was
a ‘temporary expedient forced on its builders
either by military or financial crisis’ (1982,
393). the threat of Danish invasion during the
rebellion in 1075 by ralph, earl of norfolk,
and roger, earl of hereford, could be such a
crisis, but a later threat by Cnut of Denmark in
1086–7 may also have been the cause.
Prior to the excavation of the keep’s
foundation trenches, any remaining roman
superstructure was cleared away from the
temple podium, leaving a thick demolition
layer of mortar rubble on the surrounding
ground surface (Drury 1982, 391). according
to Drury, excavations by Philip laver in 1932
and rex hull in 1977 within the castle’s subcrypt revealed preparation of the stumps of late
roman walls to receive new walls, together with
holes cut to receive the centring for the vault
(1982, 311). the same excavators undertook
external investigations against the south face
of the keep which identified the keep’s narrow
foundation trenches. these had been dug to a
depth of some 3.65m below the bottom of
the sloping plinth of the keep: that is, below
the original norman ground level. the lowest
0.75m of the castle’s foundations consisted
of a mixture of poured stone and mortar. on
this base layer the masonry was built up in
three stages of increasing quality during which
the foundation trenches were back-filled with
215
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
sand and dark earth. The third and final stage,
up to the toe of the plinth’s batter, had finely
rendered plastered joints and marked the point
at which the foundation trench widened out, to
be partially filled with debris that accumulated
during the construction of the third stage and
the castle plinth (Drury 1982, 315).
the north, east and west sides of the castle’s
outer walls were butted directly against the
temple podium, and on the north, east and west
sides the walls projected inwards, over a recess
on the podium (hull 1958, 164). the castle’s
southern wall was placed behind the edge of
the podium, apparently to clear the temple steps
and to avoid a late roman structure which,
Drury believes, had been added to the podium’s
south side (1982, 391; 1984, 31). this also
made it easier to incorporate a well within the
structure of the keep. the keep walls are built
of coursed rubble, including much septaria and
tile robbed from the town’s roman buildings,
with dressings of ashlar (Barnack, Caen, Quarr
and other freestones) and roman tile. at the
base of the walls there is a plain chamfered
course of Barnack stone, below which the
walls batter outwards into a sloping plinth. the
keep has two bays on the north side and three,
divided by flat pilaster buttresses, on the east
and west sides (rChme 1922, 51).
in the keep’s first phase of construction, its
3.5m-thick outer walls rose for a single storey
above the splayed plinth to a height of about
9m and ended at first-floor level in a temporary,
crenellated parapet wall approximately 0.6m
thick. soon after the addition of crenellations,
the south-west and north-west corner towers
were raised one storey above the level of the
battlements (Drury 1982, 392) to overlook the
sites of the proposed entrances. Comparison
with the White tower and other early keeps
suggests that the intended main entrance would
have been via a timber staircase to a doorway
at first-floor level on the south side. Crummy
has speculated that, as a temporary measure,
a staircase would have provided access onto
the top of the keep’s southern curtain wall
(Crummy 2001, 147). hull argued that the
north-west tower had provision of this kind for
an external timber ‘sally-port’ staircase leading
to the northern curtain-wall (Drury 1982,
321), but believed that the first-phase keep
was provided with a ground-storey entrance
reached by a timber staircase set on a rubble
wall foundation. this foundation, discovered
during excavations in 1930–1, abutted the
keep’s plinth (ibid, 315) and took the stairs to
a landing at the base of the ‘gateway tower’
on the west side of the southern curtain
wall where the existing doorway is situated.
the landing was built as an integral part of
the plinth but is narrower than the existing
doorway, which was a later insertion. no trace
of an earlier one survives, but hull speculated
that the original doorway would have been
smaller and ‘probably of plain romanesque
style’ (ibid, 322). it has been suggested that
the original entrance may have been in the east
face of the ‘gateway’ tower, leading into the
south-west tower into which the great staircase
was inserted during the keep’s second phase
(ibid, 396)
from the south-west tower, this original
ground-floor entrance would have led into the
castle’s lobby, which has a 15m-deep well on its
east side and a window in its south wall. the
main building was divided unequally in two
by a north–south cross-wall, with the larger
hall, on the west side, further sub-divided by a
wall or arcade. this main hall had two roundheaded windows in the north wall and three
in the west wall, each with deep embrasures.
south of the main hall was a room with a plain
barrel-vault of rubble and a window in the
south wall. a doorway with a round-headed
brick arch opened from the main hall into the
smaller eastern hall. this, like the west hall,
had one window and embrasure in its north
wall and three in the end (east) wall. the apse
in the south-east corner of the keep contained
a barrel-vaulted room with a half-domed
apsidal end with window. across its west end
was a cross vault groined into the main vault
and with a window at its south end (rChme
1922, 51; CAR 1, fig 67; Drury 1982, 318). the
ground floor of the keep was thus poorly lit
and appears to have lacked fireplaces, lending
support to the idea that the original intention
was to build more than one storey.
although the north-east and north-west
corner towers were solid at ground-floor level
hull has suggested that the latter was raised
above the height of the battlements at the
end of the construction of the first-phase
keep to overlook a ‘sally-port’ stairway. this
turret contained two garderobes and a small
chamber with an arrow-slot commanding the
position of the external stairway (ibid, 321).
the large south-west tower contained at least
216
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
one barrel-vaulted room with two garderobes
and two or three embrasures (ibid, 320).
Outer buildings of the first phase
During the first phase of the castle’s construction
a late anglo-saxon masonry chapel (mon824)
was still standing on the site with its apsidal
end only 2m from the south-east corner of
the keep (see previous chapter). it may have
been retained to serve the spiritual needs of
the castle builders and, later, its garrison, or
was perhaps such a significant religious site
that it could not be removed despite detracting
from the keep’s defensive strength. a second
building, located to the south-east of, and
aligned with, the chapel, was a domestic stone
hall (mon826), measuring 6.1m by 5.8m (20ft
by 52ft), which formed the western block of a
larger ‘double pile’ building. original features
included two external doors and, possibly,
one internal doorway on the east side. Walls
were built of septaria with quoins of reused
roman tile. Dating for the hall is uncertain,
but it appears to have been built before or
during the early stages of the construction
of the keep and Drury has suggested that its
awkward position in the corner of the later
bailey defences supports a pre-keep date (1982,
396). the buildings probably formed part of
the living quarters of the first-phase keep.
Bailey defences of the first phase
although there is no historical evidence for the
construction of the upper bailey, the charter of
henry i granting the castle to eudo Dapifer
distinguishes between ‘turris’ and ‘castellum’,
indicating that, by 1101, bailey defences
had been built. these defences consisted
of a substantial bank and ditch earthwork,
presumably crowned by a timber palisade,
which, in their completed form, encircled the
keep. the northern and eastern arms of the
upper bailey defences survive as landscaped
earthworks within Colchester Castle Park and,
to the west, a slight rise beneath ryegate road
suggests surviving remnants of the rampart.
south of the castle the earthworks have been
totally levelled but have been revealed by
excavation. the most complete investigation
of the rampart took place to the north-east
of the keep: the upper bailey bank was found
to have been approximately 28.5m wide and to
have stood to a height of at least 4m. it was
based on a layer of white chalk or lime, which
formed a level surface over the top of the
surviving roman walls and the post-roman
robbing debris. the bank was built up of
compact layers of sand and gravel probably
derived from its adjacent ditch, which was of
an unknown depth and width (Cotton 1962,
57–9).
excavation has shown that, prior to
the construction of the norman bailey
defences, the remains of the roman structures
surrounding the temple precinct stood in
places to a considerable height and may have
survived as an unbroken enclosure (hebditch
1971, 124). although it is conceivable that these
upstanding walls served as temporary outer
defences during the keep’s earliest years (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 244), there is no evidence
to show that they were modified for this
purpose. however, shallow features (grP30)
excavated at 98–99 high street, which have
been interpreted by Drury as late saxon reuse
of the precinct’s blind arcade (1982, 341), could
belong to the early norman occupation of the
site. excavations have also revealed that before
the earthworks were built the remains around
the temple precinct were slighted, although
substantial fragments of superstructure were
left intact to be buried beneath the ramparts
(hull 1958, 171–7; Cotton 1962, 57; hebditch
1971, 121). it has been suggested that these
structures were not robbed more thoroughly
during the erection of the keep because the
keep and earthworks were raised together as
part of the same scheme (CAR 1, 32).
Both Crummy and Drury have dismissed
Cotton’s 12th-century date for the construction
of the northern bailey bank and Drury has
argued that, like the keep, the bailey defences
were developed in two main stages, with the
area to the north of the keep enclosed first.
this is suggested by dating evidence from
excavations of the rampart, together with the
unusual shape of the earthwork’s east side,
which turns in to hug the south-east corner
of the keep and may indicate a change to
an original plan brought about by the threat
of invasion (Drury 1982, 398). the pottery
recovered from the northern rampart in 1950
all dated to the late 11th century (Dunning
1962, 62), while the material excavated from
the ramparts to the south of the keep in 1964
(niblett 1982, 342–6) and 1969 (niblett 1982,
346–7) was post-c 1100 and may relate to the
construction of the second-phase keep.
217
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
Construction of the second-phase keep
The terminology of the Henry I charter
granting Colchester and its castle to Eudo
Dapifer shows that the keep and its bailey
defences were in existence by 1101, but cannot
be taken as proof that they were completed.
This has led Drury to suggest that the second
phase of construction of the Norman castle
was undertaken by Eudo himself soon after
the grant from the king (1982, 399). Crummy
has proposed an alternative date of c 1076 in
keeping with his hypothesis of an earlier start
date for the first-phase keep (Crummy 2001,
147), but several architectural elements of the
second-phase indicate a date of c 1100 (Drury
1982, 399).
During the keep’s second phase of construction, the earlier battlements were retained and
incorporated into the outer walls, which were
then raised to the height of the corner towers
to create the keep’s first-floor storey. the
masonry and mortar of these walls is of a very
different character to that of the ground floor,
with quoins constructed using mainly roman
tile; the positioning of putlog holes for external
scaffolding also differed. the second phase
of construction also included the insertion of
the present ground-floor doorway, which has
been dated stylistically to the end of the 11th
century (CAR 1, 80), although Drury argues
that the bases could be consistent with a date
before 1087 (Drury 1982, 398). however, a
late 11th-century date is supported by the
fact that provision was made for a portcullis
when the door was inserted, a feature generally
seen as an innovation of henry i’s reign. the
great staircase in the south-west tower was
also inserted during this second phase of
construction and appears to have been integral
with the build of the main doorway (Drury
1982, 322).
a secondary entrance was provided in the
keep’s north wall. this was accessed via a
flight of timber steps and was commanded
by a narrow loop in the north-west corner
turret. a masonry fore-building also appears
to have been added at this time to protect the
new ground-floor entrance. this structure was
examined in 1932 and shown to have rubble
walls 1.42m thick comprised mainly of robbed
materials laid in courses. the east wall returned
against the keep and contained a doorway
1.72m wide with tile-built external jambs. the
base of a draw bar slot survived in the south
reveal (Drury 1982, 316).
at first-floor level the second-phase keep
was generously provided with windows,
fireplaces and latrines, and was clearly meant
to be the principal residential floor. the
large western compartment had two doubleflued fireplaces; three pairs of windows with
embrasures in its west wall; four windows and
embrasures similar to those on the ground
floor, but larger, in its north wall; and two
windows in its southern wall. the latter may
have belonged to other rooms that have since
been removed (CAR 1, 80). this compartment
was probably utilised as a great hall and was
linked to a narrow central apartment by an
arcade. a third compartment to the east
was accessed via a round-headed doorway
set within a partition wall of herringbone
brickwork. this compartment was also well
lit, with four windows similar to those in the
main hall set in its east wall and a single window
with embrasure in the north wall. the east wall
also contained a garderobe in its thickness,
with a small barrel-vaulted lobby adjoining
it and nearby, in the main compartment, two
double-flued fireplaces of the type in the main
hall. the design of these fireplaces is distinctive
and also appears in the first floor of the keep at
Canterbury, where they are dated c 1100 (renn
1982). the north-east turret contained a barrelvaulted room with three loop windows (CAR
1, 80). in the south-east corner of the keep the
‘crypt’ had a barrel vault with a half-dome over
the main apse and groined cross vaults over the
side apses, also with half-domes. the room’s
original entrance was in the western apse on
the north side (rChme 1922, 51). a circular
staircase leading to the floor above was added
to the north-west tower.
all that survives of a possible second floor
are the bases of the walls from a seemingly
continuous mural or intramural gallery. this
gallery is best preserved along the southern
curtain wall, although the base of a window
is still visible on the north-west turret and
small rooms are visible above the ‘gateway’
tower and south-west tower. the walls of
the so-called ‘chapel’ in the south-east angle
stand to approximately 1.8m high, and its base
was of stone and formed the vaulted roof
of the ‘crypt’ below. a projecting turret on
the south side of the ‘chapel’ apse contains a
218
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
possible small side chapel with an eastern apse.
Excavations in 1988 failed to provide further
evidence of the chapel’s existence (Crummy
1988c, 1).
Outer buildings of the second phase
Excavations in 1933–34 and 1977 (Drury 1982,
323–33) exposed the remains of a masonrybuilt chapel (MON827), with a simple apse at
the east end, which was constructed to replace
the late Saxon chapel that previously stood on
the site. The building was 14.9m long and c
6.8m wide. The 0.8m-thick walls of its nave
were built of septaria, Kentish rag and Roman
tile fragments set in a sandy mortar. The
walls of the apse were of the same build, but
were slightly wider (0.9m thick) and had been
constructed on a more massive and irregular
foundation. The chapel was built at a higher
level than its late Saxon predecessor because
of a rise in ground level resulting from the
construction of the keep; this was presumably
the reason that a new chapel was required.
The chapel’s foundation level also rose from
west to east, suggesting that its construction
post-dates that of the adjacent bailey rampart.
Drury dates the chapel’s construction to the
late 11th or early 12th centuries and believes
it accompanied the second-phase keep (Drury
1982, 396). The stone hall (MON826) to the
south of the keep also underwent alteration at
this time, with the addition of a fireplace in its
west wall. this was of the same double-flued
design as those on the keep’s first floor.
Bailey defences of the second phase
remnants of the southern section of the bailey
rampart (mon764) and bailey ditch (mon676)
have been recorded during investigations at 5
maidenburgh street (niblett 1982, 342), the
methodist Church site in maidenburgh street
(ibid, 346), 98–99 high street (hebditch 1971,
121) and the norfolk’s house (hull 1958, 169–
70) and Kent Blaxill sites (ibid, 171–7) along
the high street. the bailey ditch has also been
located in an excavation and trial trenching
at the high street War memorial in 1921–2
(Drury 1982, 342) and during observation of
service trenching in Castle Park (CAR 6, 372).
as with the northern section, the norman
builders had constructed the rampart over the
ruined remains of the roman temple precinct,
while the ditch was mainly dug into the roman
streets surrounding Insula 22, including the
former high street that had continued in
use into the late saxon period. although no
complete section of the bailey ditch has been
examined, excavations at 5 maidenburgh street
revealed that it was approximately 22m wide
and augering showed it to be over 5m deep.
Drury has argued that the south side of
the upper bailey defences were added to the
castle during a second stage of construction,
presumably as part of the second-phase keep.
this would have completed the circuit of
the bailey’s bank and ditch earthwork (Drury
1982, 398). the evidence to support this
putative second stage comes from the pottery
recovered from the ramparts to the south of
the keep during excavations in 1964 (niblett
1982, 342–6) and 1969 (ibid, 346–7). this was
post-c 1100 in date and contrasted sharply with
material from the ‘dark soil’ beneath (Drury
1982, 398). the ditch to the south of the keep
also appears to have been narrower than that
to the north (ibid, 397).
morant wrote that there were two gates into
the castle bailey (morant 1768, bk i, 7–8). the
main entrance into the completed upper bailey
appears from speed’s 1610 map of Colchester
to have been located in the south-west corner,
although a gate was not recorded there until
the 1240s (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 245) and its
earliest form remains unknown.
Later changes to the keep, bailey buildings and
defences
eudo Dapifer held the castle and town until
his death in 1120, when they passed to the
Crown. there are documentary references to
the castle throughout the 12th, 13th and 14th
centuries, which mostly relate to its constables,
arrangements for its garrison or works to the
castle buildings and defences. although it is
difficult to relate these recorded works to the
castle’s structures some attempts have been
made to link them together (Brown and Colvin
1963, 615–16; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 241–5;
Drury 1982, 403–4).
reference to the formation of a new bailey
shortly before the rebellion of 1173–4 may
relate to a stone wall that is known to have
enclosed the west and south sides of the upper
bailey until its removal in the 17th century
(morant 1768, bk i, 8; round 1889, 146).
the wall was certainly in place by 1182–3,
when money was spent on its repair (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 244) but no physical trace
219
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
of it has been found, indicating that it was
set on top of the ramparts. Alternatively, the
reference to a new bailey could correspond to
the construction of the ‘nether’ bailey (Drury
1982, 398), which was located between the
northern defences of the upper bailey and the
town wall to the north. The southern end of
the ‘nether’ bailey’s eastern arm survives as a
landscaped ditch between the putting green and
the Park Café in Castle Park, and the western
arm is marked by the course of Ryegate Road.
The buried remains of the ‘nether’ bailey’s
eastern bank and ditch were located during
observation of a sewer pipe trench in Castle
Park in 1983 (CAR 6, 376). The shallow ditch
(MON676), which was located at two points
65m apart, was found to be approximately 1m
deep and 10m wide. A denuded sand and gravel
bank (MON678) measuring approximately
5.5m wide and 0.6m high was recorded to the
west of the ditch. The ‘nether’ bailey’s western
ditch may have been located in 1977 during a
geotechnical investigation at 28 Maidenburgh
Street, and its bank appears to survive as a
rise within the south-west corner of Upper
Castle Park. Thirteenth-century references to
a palisade were probably in connection with
the ‘nether’ bailey, implying that its banks were
crowned with a timber fence (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 245).
Records show that substantial sums of
money were spent on the repair of the castle
in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Some
of this expenditure may relate to the visits
of King John, recorded in 1203, 1205 and
1209, and could have included work on the
bailey buildings, which excavations in 1931–2
showed were remodelled during the early 13th
century (Drury 1982, 337). This remodelling
the alteration of the eastern end of the bailey
chapel from an apse to a straight wall at right
angles to the north and south walls of the
building (ibid, fig 2). the rooms to the east of
the stone hall were also demolished around this
time and were replaced by new buildings set
into the tail of the bailey rampart to the west
and north-east (ibid, 337, 401).
an alternative reason for these works may
have been damage sustained by the castle
buildings during fighting recorded in 1215 and
1216. in 1214–15 efforts were made during the
civil war to strengthen the castle, but a french
force captured it in 1215. Carvings of soldiers
and a fleur-de-lis in the east court of the castle
may have been executed by french soldiers
who garrisoned the castle in support of the
barons against King John (stephenson 1978,
44). the castle was recovered in 1216 after
a short siege which led to much devastation
(round 1882, 41). repairs undertaken in 1218
and 1219 were presumably carried out as a
result of damage sustained during this conflict
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 245). further works
were carried out between 1223 and 1225 and
then from 1227 to 1229 (Drury 1982, 403).
During the 13th century, the main entrance
to the keep was strengthened by the addition
of a masonry barbican (mon825), which
incorporated the earlier fore-building. this may
have been constructed as part of King John’s
response to the civil war (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 245) but Drury favours a mid–late 13thcentury date (Drury 1982, 403), and a record
of the expenditure of 100 marks on the keep in
1253 may indicate its construction (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 245). the structure abuts the keep
and its south wall was clearly laid out to respect
the approach to the chapel’s west door. its
south-east angle clasps the north-west corner
of the norman stone chapel and contained a
feature which may have been a cupboard or
some means of communicating between the
two buildings, while its west wall is 1.5m thick
and contains a small rectangular chamber at
its north end in which are the remains of an
intramural stair. to the south of this chamber
are three loopholes. the main door lay in the
south wall and was flanked by two solid Dshaped towers. east of the door there were
originally seven loopholes and in the east wall
was a loophole and doorway. the barbican
was divided internally into two compartments
by a wall 1.6m thick with a doorway at its
north end. its walls were built of uniformly
small stones and mortar, and included some
reused roman tile and large glazed medieval
roof tiles in bonding courses. Quoins were of
greensand, septaria and tile (Drury and hull
1982, 316–17)
the main gate (mon820) in the south-west
corner of the upper bailey is depicted on speed’s
map of 1610 as a twin-towered barbican and
is known as the ‘Dunbarr gate’ from an 18thcentury manuscript (Drury 1982, 403). the
gate was presumably built at the same time as
the bailey wall, and records exist for repairs to
the gate in 1256 and 1300 (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 245). excavations in museum street in
220
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
evidence for the continued maintenance of
the castle defences was provided by excavations
at 5 maidenburgh street which showed that
the upper bailey ditch had been recut in the
early 14th century (niblett 1982, 342–6).
further work may also have been carried out
on the bailey buildings at this time, with a third
phase of construction characterised by several
poorly built rubble walls, the insertion of a
door and the blocking of the 12th-century
fireplace (Drury 1982, 337–8). the hall may
have been destroyed in 1334 when ‘the house
in Colchester Castle, where the justices used
to sit for their deliberations’ was demolished
by the constable (Cal Inq Misc ii, 346–7). in
the same year the constable removed the
keep’s portcullis and possibly other parts
of its entrance (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 245),
suggesting that by the 14th century the castle’s
military role had diminished.
Town defences
Fig 10.3 Although the
present Scheregate only
dates to the 17th century,
it is retains the feel of a
medieval gateway, the only
point on the circuit of the
town wall where this is
possible (Tony Nichols).
1986 revealed massive masonry foundations
built of reused septaria and Roman tile set in
a yellowish mortar (CAT Report 6/86a). A
large foundation (ELM941) at the southern
end of the street on the projected line of the
bailey ditch was thought to be associated with
a passage, perhaps incorporating a bridge
abutment, which crossed the bailey ditch.
Another large piece of masonry (ELM942)
located outside 5 Museum Street, adjacent
to the location of the ‘Dunbarr Gate’, had a
number of well-defined faces, suggesting the
edge of a building, perhaps the jamb of a gate
or door.
the castle at Colchester is a conspicuous
exception to the generally held rule that
norman castles implanted into existing towns
were located against the town’s perimeter
defences, with access to the open countryside
(Pounds 1990, 207). however, from the 12th
or 13th century the castle’s ‘nether’ bailey
would have extended as far as the roman
town walls (mon570) and presumably utilised
a section of them as the northern arm of its
defences. the roman walls were clearly deemed
sufficient for the defensive needs of the rest of
the town and during the early medieval period
they were maintained on the original lines.
our knowledge of what happened to them
is limited, however, and comes mainly from
historical records. major repairs were carried
out in 1173–4 at the time of the rebellion of
henry the younger, the eldest son of henry
ii. no further work appears to have been
undertaken during the 13th century, but the
court rolls of the early 14th century record
charges made on the whole community for
repairs to the walls and gates. By the middle of
the 14th century houses had been built against
the walls, which were also being robbed for
building material, suggesting that they were no
longer held in high regard and that the military
significance of the town defences, as of the
castle, had declined (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 248).
archaeological investigations of the walls have
221
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
so far failed to identify repairs that can be dated
to this period, but excavations in Vineyard
Street and Priory Street did reveal an 11thcentury (c 1050–75) defensive ditch (MON512;
ELM1256) along the southern section (Holbert
1965, 44–9; CAR 1, 53). This may have been
dug in response to the same threats of invasion
that led to the temporary embattlement of
the first-phase keep, although a pre-Conquest
date is favoured by the excavator (Crummy
2001, 140).
During the middle ages there were four
main gates into the walled town, but we know
little about their early medieval forms. the
principal entrance was head gate (mon765),
situated in the south wall near the south-west
corner of the town and first recorded as
‘havedgate’ in 1207. south gate (mon924)
was also located in the south wall and was in
existence by 1197 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 248).
east gate (mon835), recorded as ‘estgate’
in 1311 (reaney 1935, 369), was located in
the east wall, and north gate (mon850),
first recorded during the 13th century, was in
the north wall. there were also two or three
pedestrian gates providing convenient access
to the suburbs. the gate at st mary’s steps
(mon570) in the west wall was of medieval
origin, but had been formed from a roman
masonry drain. excavations in 1972 failed
to date it to earlier than the 15th century.
scheregate (fig 10.3; mon926), in the south
wall, led out to the southern suburbs and st
John’s abbey, and ryegate (mon927), in the
north wall, gave access to the river bank and
middle mill. these two gates may also have
originated as roman drains, but the site of
the latter has not been located archaeologically
(CAR 6, 324–8).
head gate, north gate, east gate and,
perhaps, south gate were roman in origin,
and no trace of medieval work has been found
during examination of the roman remains of
the first three. speed’s 1610 map of Colchester
shows that north gate, head gate and south
gate each comprised a single large arched
or square-headed gateway, suggesting that
they had been rebuilt at some point during
the middle ages (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 250).
speed’s map also shows head gate to the
north of the roman wall, and an early tudor
cellar revealed during construction of a drain
on head street in 1913 may indicate that the
medieval gate was indeed located to the north
of its roman predecessor (Jarmin 1915, 107).
in 2008 a very limited investigation in Queen
street revealed evidence for the south gate
which indicated that it had been extensively
remodelled in the medieval period (Crummy
2008c, 34).
Streets
at the time of the norman Conquest, the
intramural street network that was fed by the
town’s main gates was made up of a combination
of fossilised roman thoroughfares and the
results of late anglo-saxon town planning. the
next significant alteration to the street system
came with the construction of the castle and,
in particular, the upper bailey defences, which
could not fit comfortably between the keep
and the high street. this necessitated the
diversion of the high street in a gentle curve
to the south of the castle and the deflection
of the southern end of maidenburgh street to
the west (Drury 1982, 389).
the streets of the town have been studied
by nina Crummy (CAR 1, 79) and Pamela
studd (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 372–4). eighteen
streets have a documentary reference earlier
than 1350 (see table 4). in a few instances
the fabric of the streets themselves has been
dated and, in some parts of the walled town,
excavation has given clues to the evolution of
the street system by revealing the development
of post-Conquest occupation along the street
frontages. for example, lion Walk (mon510)
was first recorded c 1320 and Culver street
(mon961) in 1334, but the location of the
stone house on the corner of Culver street
and lion Walk demonstrates the existence of
both streets by the 12th century. the earliest
metalling on lion Walk sealed post-roman
topsoil and an absence of peg tile in the street’s
surface was consistent with a date prior to the
13th century. Pelham’s lane (mon41) was
first recorded in 1345 as ‘Whitefotes lane’,
but the stone house on Pelham’s lane has been
tentatively dated to the 12th century, indicating
the thoroughfare’s earlier existence. Cess pits
of the 11th to the 14th century excavated at
the Co-op site in long Wyre street (mon960),
recorded as Wirstrate in 1277, presumably
relate to buildings along its western street
frontage (CAR 9, 9).
outside the town walls relatively few of
the roads have records from this period (see
222
Fig 10.4 St John’s Abbey
church from the south; a
late 15th-century view,
as shown in Morant’s
‘History of Colchester’
of 1748, appears to show
a Norman building with
later Gothic additions.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Table 4), but the Colchester Cartulary of St
John’s Abbey provides an early example of
the deliberate creation of a road. In 1272
the Cartulary records that: ‘The Abbott and
Convent shall, at their own expense, cause a
hedge to be planted lengthwise from the first
gate (on ‘magdeleyn lane’) up to the second,
so that the place may become a lane (venella)
between the two gates … taking branches
from the trees growing in the said hedge to
maintain the hedge’ (rackham 1986b, 264). in
the suburbs, as in the walled town, mapping the
development of settlement through excavation
has provided clues to the early existence of
streets. for example, at osborne street, outside
the town’s south gate, excavations revealed
well-preserved remains which were presumably
associated with properties on the western
frontage of st Botolph’s street (shimmin
1994, 46). st Botolph’s street (mon970) and
Queen street (mon1024), its continuation
within the town walls, were first recorded as
south street in 1339 (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
373). further from the town walls, a hollowway (grub street) excavated at magdalen street
has been dated to between the 11th and 15th
centuries (mon649). the town’s northern
suburb, middleborough (mon1023), was first
recorded in 1352 (ibid, 373) and excavations
have revealed 14th-century buildings fronting
onto the western side of the road (CAR 3,
189–209).
Monasteries and churches
although Domesday reveals little about the
extent of church provision in Colchester
during the 11th century (Darby 1957, 254), as
many as 12 places of worship may have been
located within or near to the town walls by the
time of the Conquest. following the Conquest,
this pattern of churches and private chapels
was quickly transformed by a spate of late
11th- and 12th-century foundations, including
223
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
several large institutions established by the
monastic orders and developed under the
patronage of wealthy benefactors such as Eudo
Dapifer. In addition to changing the religious
map of Colchester, these new stone buildings
significantly altered the physical appearance of
the town, attracting lay settlement into their
immediate vicinity and fuelling the growth of
the town’s suburbs.
Probably the earliest, and certainly the
most significant, of the norman foundations
was st John’s abbey (mon367), established
in 1095–6 under the benefaction of eudo
Dapifer (fig 10.4). the Benedictine abbey
occupied a site to the south of the town on
the north-facing slope of a small valley and
was one of two monasteries which were to
dominate this side of medieval Colchester.
speed’s map of 1610 depicts a number of
the monastic buildings, but little is known of
them as they were mostly destroyed during
the Civil War siege of 1648. Drawings of the
pre-Dissolution monastic church exist, but
show nothing of the cloistral buildings. the
early years of the abbey are chronicled in four
key historic texts that have been discussed by
stephenson (CAR 1, 28–30). although much
of the content of these documents is of
questionable value, Crummy has attempted
to reconcile the archaeological evidence with
written sources (ibid, 45–6).
Prior to the abbey’s foundation the site was
reportedly occupied by the house and church of
a priest called siric, which stood on the northern
slope of a small hill, was built of timber and
dedicated to st John the evangelist (Bl Cotton
ms nero D, viii, fols 22–5; translated in astley
1903, 131). excavations in 1972 within the
abbey precinct revealed the rubble foundations
of a three-celled church (CAR 9, 213–15),
which Crummy took to be the church of siric
(mon345). Dating evidence suggested that
this building had been demolished during the
11th century, presumably on the foundation
of the abbey. the destruction debris of the
church was covered with a large dump of soil
which was cut by 15 lined and 18 unlined early
medieval graves. all were orientated with heads
to the west and the graves appeared to have
been laid out in rows. the dead comprised
a mixture of men, women and children and
so must have belonged to a lay burial ground
(mon375), which was probably in use
between the demolition of st John’s Church
(c 1095) and the 12th-century foundation of
st giles’s Church, when the latter’s graveyard
took over (ibid, 218). although a short length
of north–south ditch (elm59) discovered to
the west of the church may represent an early
medieval boundary, it was found to post-date
the burials (ibid, 217–18) and the extent of the
cemetery is unknown.
Crummy has attributed the dump of soil
which overlaid the demolished church to the
reported removal of a small hill that stood
next to the abbey church, the site of which was
then utilised as a cemetery (astley 1903, 133).
excavations in 1973 revealed that the dump
also covered the remains of a burnt wall of
sun-dried sandy clay bricks (elm60) which
Crummy has equated with monastic buildings
on the north side of the church that were burnt
during a fire in 1133 (CAR 9, 221). this fire is
reported to have destroyed the monastery and
a large part of the town only 18 years after the
first abbey church was dedicated. it resulted
in the rebuilding of the abbey church and the
transfer of some of the monastic buildings
from the north to the south side (Bodl. ms,
gough, essex, 1; rickword 1923, 124).
a 15th-century drawing of the church
shows that it was rebuilt on a cruciform plan
with a large central tower and a west front
flanked by south-west and north-west towers
(fig 10.4). the church is shown with a 14th- or
15th-century chapel on the south side of the
nave, suggesting that, after the 1133 fire, the
cloister remained on the church’s north side
(astley 1903, fig 2; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 303).
the chapterhouse also appears to have stayed
on the north side, as eudo’s body allegedly lay
undisturbed in it from 1120 to 1320. Building
was still in progress in 1235 and the chancel
may have been further modified in the 14th
century, for the presbytery was apparently
new when the body of eudo Dapifer was
transferred there in 1320 (ibid, 303). the
location of the monks’ cemetery (mon378)
is uncertain, although skeletons have been
recorded from two other locations within
the precinct, including the former ‘pinnacle
garden’ (Wire nd, 26/01/1843) and an area
close to the officers Club squash courts
(Cat report 11/86a). the 1986 watching
brief for the squash courts’ extension also led
to the discovery of a section of gravel wall
foundation 4.6m wide with intact walling on its
north side (elm797). a 19th-century map by
224
Fig 10.5 The west front of
St Botolph’s Priory contains
the traces of the earliest
major round window in
England, c 1150 (Tony
Nichols).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Cutts shows the location of wall foundations
to the south of the abbey gate in the ‘pinnacle
garden’ (Cutts 1889, folio facing 34) which Hull
considered to be part of the abbey (Hull 1958,
295). More recently, trial trenching in 2007 in
advance of the redevelopment of the Flagstaff
House compound, revealed a substantial
medieval wall foundation some 7.7m long. This
was right-angled and possibly representing the
south-west corner of a monastic building with
an internal clay floor (Brooks et al 2008, 13).
another structure was a lime kiln/pit probably
contemporary with the rebuilding of the abbey
after the major fire of aD 1133 (ibid, 12).
architectural fragments from the abbey
buildings have been found in the abbey grounds
and on the south side of the town. late 12thcentury ‘waterleaf ’ capitals found close to the
abbey at 2–3 stanwell street are probably from
the abbey church or chapterhouse (CAR 6,
373–4), and the carved base of a quatrefoiled
shaft of 13th-century date may have come from
the abbey’s cloister arcade (Clapham 1926,
450). further fragments of carved stone were
discovered incorporated into a late medieval
refacing of the precinct wall and other pieces
were found in 1973 during excavations in the
graveyard of st giles’s Church (CAR 9, 220–1).
the rChme records that the churchyard wall
of st giles’s had many worked stones from
the abbey, including several portions of a wall
arcade of the 12th century. the walls of the
abbey’s 15th-century gatehouse also contain
reused worked stone (rChme 1922, 48).
other than the 15th-century gatehouse, the
only part of the abbey to survive above ground
level is the 2.75m-high precinct wall, which
originally enclosed an area of approximately
5.6ha. the wall is depicted on speed’s 1610
map of Colchester and much of the original
course is known. several lengths of the wall
survive, but later refacing and repairs have
modified these stretches to the point that
sparrow concluded that little remained of the
original (1943, 67). however, examination in
1972 of a 140m-long stretch of wall in the
north-east corner of the precinct revealed that
the original structure, which was preserved
beneath later refacings, was built from reused
roman building materials including tile,
septaria and Kentish ragstone. the rear face
was well preserved and contained many putlog
holes. the wall pre-dated the 13th century and
the fact that the soil dump of 1133 appeared
to have been deposited directly against its rear
face suggests that it was an original feature of
the monastery (CAR 9, 219).
the augustinian Priory of st Botolph
(mon364), located on the south-facing
terraced slope of a small valley outside the
town’s southern gateway, may have been
founded in response to the establishment of
st John’s abbey (fig 10.5). it was preceded
by an earlier church (mon1018), which was
served by a community of secular canons who
decided to adopt the rule of st augustine.
the church was refounded sometime during
the late 1090s as a house of augustinian
225
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
canons and was the first such foundation in
the country, for a time holding authority over
all later augustinian establishments in Britain.
the priory church was built in the 12th century
and was presumably finished by the time of its
dedication c 1177 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 304).
only part of the monastic church survives
above ground level. the ruins comprise the
remains of seven bays of the aisled nave
and of the elaborate west front flanked by
north-west and south-west towers, which
only partially survive. the church, which was
cruciform and aligned east–west, with the nave
separated from the presbytery to the east by
the monastic choir, was 59m in length and
27m wide at the crossing. it was built of flint
rubble and reused roman bricks with dressings
of roman brick and some Barnack and Caen
stone. the exterior would have originally been
rendered with a layer of lime mortar to give
the impression that better-quality materials
had been used. Painted mason’s lines on plaster
survive on the north wall in the north aisle, and
are probably 14th century in date (rChme
1922, 50). trial trenching in 1986 (Cat
report 1/86b) revealed traces of a previously
unrecorded north transept, and excavation in
1991 (Crossan 1992, 103) at the east end of
the nave revealed the position of the south
transept and a short, square-ended presbytery.
a crypt or undercroft discovered beneath the
south transept extended under the crossing
and presumably under part of the chancel, but
does not appear to have reached beneath the
north transept.
the richly decorated west front of the
church is 19m across (fig 10.6). the western
façade contains an intricately carved central
doorway with a round arch of five orders and
the remains of two side doorways that led into
the aisles. above the doorways are two rows
of intersecting blind arcading and above that
are the remains of a large rose window that
was originally flanked by two round-headed
windows. over these was another row of
intersecting blind arcading which partially
survives. a drawing of the church by William
stukeley in 1718 shows that this wall arcade sat
beneath three round-headed windows with the
apex of the gable above and turrets on either
side (Bodl ms top. gen. e 61 [unpubl]). inside
the façade a passage runs on the first floor from
one tower to the other. in the 14th century
new windows were inserted into all but the
easternmost bay of the north aisle (rChme
1922, 48).
to the south of the church all that is
visible of the domestic buildings is the base
of the cloisters’ northern arcade wall, which
is terraced into the slope below. some of the
cloistral buildings were still standing in the
mid-18th century, when they formed part
of a brew house (morant 1768, bk ii, 148),
and evidence for the southern cloister was
uncovered when the present parish church of
st Botolph was built in 1838 (Peers 1964, 17).
a small trial trench dug in 1999 within the
projected south-east corner of the cloistral
Fig 10.6 Detail of the
architecture of the west
front of St Botolph’s Priory
(Tony Nichols).
226
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
complex exposed only dark earth (Crossan
1999a).
Although the extent of the priory precinct is
unknown, further details of its layout have been
gleaned from historical maps, excavation and
observation. Speed’s 1610 map of Colchester
shows that a stream bounded the priory to the
south and that there were outbuildings to the
south-east of the priory church. Excavations
in 1987 revealed waterlogged deposits and
two foundations (ELM1259; ELM1260) with
adjacent floors situated south-east of the
church (interim report in Essex Archaeol Hist
19 (1988): 264). These may have belonged
to the infirmary, which typically would be
located to the south-east of the church,
or could have represented other service or
industrial buildings related to the economy of
the priory. speed’s map also depicts buildings
to the south-west of the priory, including
what appears to be a gatehouse and precinct
wall. Part of this may have been recorded
by major Bale in 1898, when he observed a
short length of thick rubble wall incorporated
into the building at 37 st Botolph’s street
(Colem:1967.69.60). short lengths of three
parallel walls (elm1261) recorded in the
south-west corner of the site in 1944 (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 305) and a possible medieval
timber drain (elm1014) revealed during trial
trenching at the rear of 31a st Botolph’s street
in 1989 (Cat report 11/89a) may also have
belonged to priory outbuildings. observation
and excavations around the east end of the
church have revealed numerous inhumations
which probably belong to the private cemetery
of the canons (elm938; elm939).
Whereas Colchester’s earliest monastic
communities found the requirements of their
spiritual life a discouragement to settlement
within the town, the mission of the mendicant
friars, who arrived during the 13th century, was
directed towards the urban centre and it was
here that the franciscan grey friars founded
their convent. the house of greyfriars
(mon971) stood on the north side of high
street between the castle and east gate.
the house had been established by 1237
and documentary evidence suggests that its
precinct continued to grow in size throughout
the 13th and 14th centuries until it covered a
block of land between high street, the castle
bailey and the town walls to the east and north
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 306). Key components
of the friary were the church and cloister,
the hall, the infirmary house, the chambers,
the kitchen, bakery and brewery, and two
small gardens and additional lands within a
walled precinct which was entered through a
gatehouse in friar street (the continuation of
high street beyond the castle to east gate).
two ponds recorded at the north end of Priory
field in 1794 were probably former fishponds
(ibid, 306–7). little is known about the precise
layout of the friary, although an early 18thcentury drawing by William stukeley shows
that the cloister and domestic buildings were
on the north side of the church, which was
set back from the high street and contained
13th-century lancet windows (Bodl ms top.
gen. e 61). the monks’ cemetery (mon989)
was probably discovered in 1847, when William
Wire recorded on a site plan the discovery of
several skeletons with heads to the west situated
to the north-west of the 18th-century house
‘grey friars’, on the high street (evt3833,
vCh 1994, Essex IX, 307). Wire also recorded
a flagstone floor (grP127) at the north end
of the precinct (Wire nd, 18.6.52) and the
discovery of carved stone including part of
a window and a capital, mullion and windowhead (ibid, 11.9.52), presumably derived
from the monastery buildings. a watching
brief undertaken at 67 Castle road in 1997
revealed an undetermined medieval feature
and quantities of food waste which may have
come from the friary (Cat report 7/97/C).
in 2006 a series of six trial trenches was dug
in the car park to the rear of the existing grey
friars College, the main discovery being part of
a large east–west foundation some 2.4m wide
which was interpreted by Philip Crummy, on
the basis of historic map evidence, as part of
the friary church (Crummy 2007b, 24–5).
a second community of friars, belonging
to the smaller order of the friars of the holy
Cross or Crutched friars, was established in
a suburb outside the south-west corner of
the town. the house of the Crutched friars
(mon383) was situated on the south side of
Crouch street, just west of its modern junction
with maldon road. the friary is first recorded
in 1251 and originated in the 13th century as
a hospital and chapel (sometimes called st
Cross hospital and st Cross Chapel) founded
by the lords of stanway (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
307). the precinct and its related buildings are
shown on speed’s 1610 map and appear to
227
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
have occupied a triangular plot extending from
the west side of Maldon Road to what is now
the rear wall of properties on the west side of
Wellesley Road.
In 1928 Rudsdale noted various foundations
on the site of 42 Crouch Street (CMR 1929,
50–2) and an excavation in 1988 revealed
part of a large east–west building (MON381)
which fitted well with rudsdale’s plan. two
large foundations defined the structure. these
were 6.5m apart, with a probable range of
3m-wide rooms of lighter construction to the
south. the main foundations were shallow and
of stone and mortar construction with some
peg-tile fragments and in places a bedding
layer of gravel. another foundation observed
in section further to the east consisted of an
upper part of stone and mortar which was
1.5m wide and 0.8m thick, and a lower part
which was 1m deep, 2m wide and comprised
alternating layers of sand/gravel and topsoil.
further walls were identified by robber
trenches, but dating evidence for the structure
was sparse. Conclusive evidence for the plan
of the friary church was recovered during
further excavations in 2006. these revealed the
remains of similar wall foundations to those
found in 1988 and two massive square pier
bases. it is now known that the church was of
cruciform plan with square-ended transepts
and chancel, and a central crossing tower. very
little of the church’s floor levels had survived,
although in the south transept there was a small
area of mortar bedding bearing the imprint
of a tiled floor. Ex situ plain glazed floor tiles
were found elsewhere (elm1355; Benfield
2007, 21–3).
observations in the vicinity of 32–46
Crouch street in c 1895, 1928 and 1977,
together with a rescue excavation in 1988,
have recorded numerous medieval east–
west inhumation burials situated along the
street frontage (CAR 9, 245–56). these are
thought to belong to the friary’s burial ground
(mon382). During the 1988 excavation by
Cat there was no evidence that any of the
bodies had been buried in coffins or with grave
goods and dating evidence for the cemetery
was insufficient to determine whether they
were burials from an earlier phase of use by
the friars themselves or from a later phase by
the laity from the surrounding neighbourhood.
the friary’s chapel was granted burial rights in
1402 and the intercutting of graves and large
quantities of human bone recovered from the
1988 excavation indicate that the cemetery was
long-lived and had been used intensively (ibid,
248). further investigations in 2006 recovered
disturbed human bone from upper levels,
but lower down some 60 in situ burials were
recorded from the area of the north and south
transepts. as before, there was no evidence for
coffins or grave goods (Benfield 2007, 22–3).
other disturbed inhumations were observed
at 32 Crouch street in 1981, but could not be
dated and may have belonged to an adjacent
roman cemetery (Cat report 3/81; CAR 6,
975–6).
the st Cross hospital was one of four
extramural medieval hospitals known to have
existed at Colchester. another was the hospital
of st mary magdalen, which was probably
founded in the early 1100s by eudo Dapifer
as a semi-monastic isolation hospital for lepers.
the hospital complex stood on the north side
of magdalen green, north of the road leading
to the medieval port of the hythe, and is a
useful indicator of the limits of settlement on
the east side of Colchester at this time. in its
earliest form the hospital comprised a 12thcentury chapel (mon344) and at least one
utilitarian building (mon968). the chapel is
known from excavations that took place in
1989 on the site of the demolished medieval
parish church of st mary magdalen (mon344).
the hospital chapel had been converted in the
early 13th century into the church, with the
latter’s nave resting on the earlier building’s
12th-century foundations. these foundations
were composed of alternating layers of light
clay and compact mortar, a distinctive building
technique found on a number of Colchester’s
monastic sites, such as st John’s Church
(mon345; Crossan 1990, 10). the other
hospital building (mon968) lay directly to the
east of the chapel, but only a few remnants of
early medieval wall foundation survived, giving
no indication of its function.
in 1237 the hospital was placed in the
charge of st John’s abbey and by this time had
given its name to the new parish of st mary
magdalen, with the master of the hospital
taking on the responsibilities of parish rector.
seventeenth-century and later depictions
of the parish church of st mary magdalen
(mon344) show that it comprised an aisleless
nave and chancel, and the excavations in 1989
revealed the much-altered nave, chancel and
228
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
porch of the medieval church. A grave found
under the floor of the parish church contained
the remains of a male skeleton with a pewter
chalice laid on his chest, a strong indication
that he was an early master of the hospital
(Crossan 1991, 20).
When the chapel of st mary magdalen
achieved parochial status, the hospital was
provided with a new chapel, known from
speed’s map of 1610 as the maudlin Chapel.
this was discovered in 1995 when excavations
revealed the chapel (mon994) and a later
medieval building (mon995), interpreted
as a dormitory or living quarters (Crossan
1996, 8–11). the 13th-century chapel was
built largely of reused roman materials and
had a simple earth floor and glazed windows
decorated with a variety of red-painted foliage
designs. it was almost six times the size of its
12th-century predecessor, with a floor area
of almost 150m2. the other hospital building
(mon995) was also built from recycled roman
material and had earth and clay floors with a tile
hearth prominent at its western end. two areas
of the building had been used for the repeated
melting of lead, suggesting that objects were
being cast within it. no obvious medically
related glassware, pottery or instruments were
recovered from the site, but preliminary work
on the skeletons recovered from the graveyard
(mon991) revealed details of the illnesses
suffered by the hospital’s inmates (Crossan
1991, 20).
very little is known about the town’s
other two medieval hospitals. one, located in
Crouch street, was dedicated to st Catherine
and had been set up somewhere along the
street’s north side by 1352. By 1379 another
hospital had been established at the site of st
anne’s Chapel (mon346), on the south side
of harwich road and alongside st anne’s
holy Well (mon908); it was approximately
1km from the town’s east gate within the
parish of st James and was probably in
existence by 1344. nothing is known about
the archaeology of the site, which has been
built over.
the exact number of other early medieval
chapels in the uaD study area is also unknown,
and the locations and form of those that have
been documented remains obscure. Within
the town walls, the best-known example
is st helen’s (mon305), on the corner of
maidenburgh street and st helen’s lane.
according to the Colchester Chronicle, the chapel
was restored by eudo Dapifer in 1076, when it
was granted to st John’s abbey, but the present
single-celled structure shows no structural
evidence earlier than the 13th century. the
chapel measures 10m by 4.2m and has walls
built of rubble with bonding courses of
modern brick and dressings of limestone. two
lancet windows in the north wall date from the
13th century (rChme 1922, 50), and repairs
are recorded in 1265. the chapel appears to
have fallen into disuse by the end of the 13th
century, but was refounded in 1322 (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 337).
a second intramural chapel (mon976)
was located in the triangle of land formed by
Church street, head street and Church Walk.
the chapel was dedicated to st andrew and
formed part of an estate belonging to the
bishop of london in 1086 (ibid, 39). outside
the town walls a chapel dedicated to st thomas
(mon354) was recorded from the early 13th
century and may have been located on st
John’s green, where a chapel with the same
dedication was known to exist in the 15th
century. a second chapel on st John’s green
was dedicated to st mary (mon353), but was
not recorded until the second half of the 14th
century (ibid, 338).
in addition to the extramural chapels that
were established during this period, new
churches were also founded within the town’s
developing suburbs. the parish church of
st giles (mon342) was erected sometime
between 1133 and 1165–71 on made ground to
the north of st John’s abbey church (CAR 9,
223), within an existing cemetery. the church
was appropriated by the abbey c 1220 (vCh
1994, Essex IX, 315), possibly for the use of
its servants and tenants. excavations in 1973
and 1975 revealed that the foundations of the
norman church were about 1.1m wide and
0.8m deep, and had been dug through the
thick deposit of dump material dating from
the 1133 demolition of the abbey buildings.
trenching in 1972 revealed a straight north–
south foundation belonging to the original
east wall of the chancel, indicating that it was
square-ended rather than apsidal (CAR 9, 225).
a lancet window recorded in the southern side
of the existing chancel suggests that it was
rebuilt in the 13th century (rChme 1922,
43). excavations in 1975 within the nave of
the church exposed the northern wall of the
229
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
original nave. This had been replaced with an
arcade when the northern aisle was added,
probably in the late 14th century (ibid, 42–4).
Therefore, the church originally comprised a
long narrow nave measuring 19.7m by 6.3m
internally and a rectangular chancel some 7.5m
long. Reused Roman brick was used extensively
throughout the Norman building. Close to
the west end of the nave the lower parts of
the south doorway survive from this Norman
phase and to the east is part of a blocked
narrow round-headed window (CAR 9, 223).
Late medieval burials discovered in 1971
to the west of St Giles’s recent graveyard are
thought to have been part of its cemetery
(MON377), indicating that it originally extended
beyond the boundaries of the graveyard walls
(ibid, 221). The excavations in 1975 also
uncovered several burials to the north of the
nave that were concealed by the construction
level of the 14th-century aisle. This implies
that the abbey’s precinct wall originally ran to
the north of the church so that St Giles’s lay
wholly inside the cemetery (CAR 1, 41).
The foundation of St Leonard’s church, on
the north side of Hythe Hill, must be directly
linked to the development of the early medieval
port at the Hythe and the settlement that grew
up around it. The earliest record for a church
on the site is c 1150, when the church of ‘Hethe’
was given to St John’s Abbey (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 319), but the earliest identified components
of the existing structure all date to the 14th
century, including the chancel, the north nave
arcade and the north aisle, dated to c 1330–40.
the north vestry was also added at this time or
shortly afterwards. the church’s walls are built
of mixed rubble, septaria, flint, pebbles and
freestone, with dressings of limestone.
many of the walled town’s anglo-saxon
churches were probably rebuilt in stone during
the 12th century, but they appear to have been
relatively small and unimposing. they were
mostly constructed using masonry rubble and
reused roman tile and brick (CAR 1, 47–8). By
the late 11th century the parish of st Peter’s
(mon336) was the most prosperous in the
town and its reference in Domesday indicates
that the church was well established and richly
endowed by 1086. unfortunately the surviving
church shows no evidence of an early building
other than the ornamental metalwork on its
south door, which dates from the 13th century
(rodwell and rodwell 1977, 28–9). By the
11th century, st martin’s church (mon324)
in West stockwell street was probably a
cruciform building with chancel and a nave
with north aisle and transepts. the rChme
assumed that the oldest surviving work was
of an early 12th-century date (rChme 1922,
37), but rodwell and rodwell believe that it
could be anglo-saxon (rodwell and rodwell
1977, 29). the west tower is a rare norman
survivor containing much reused roman brick.
all saints church (mon327), on the south
side of the high street, is a simple structure
of which the nave and chancel are the oldest
parts, with proportions characteristic of a
norman date. no early medieval detail now
survives, although the doorway in the centre
of the south wall of the chancel may have been
norman, and rodwell and rodwell identified
its early medieval form as that of a three-celled
norman church (ibid, 30). also on the high
street, st nicholas’s church was recorded
as 14th century by the rChme (1922, 39)
although its earliest surviving detail was a
12th-century piscina (rodwell and rodwell
1977, 31). st runwald’s church (mon48)
is believed to have been an anglo-saxon
foundation. Demolition of the building in 1878
showed that its walls were built of coursed
rubble (rodwell and rodwell 1977, 33) and its
prominent position on the high street would
favour a post-Conquest rebuild. its medieval
chamfered stone altar now stands in st James’s
church (gant 1960a, 47). the present building
of st James’s church (mon329) appears to
have originated in the 12th century and, despite
much alteration in later centuries, architectural
elements from this period are evident in the
north-west angle of the nave. the walls are
of flint and septaria rubble. the town wall
forms the northern boundary of the church’s
graveyard (mon330), but several watching
briefs within the graveyard have added little
to our knowledge of this site.
During the 13th and 14th centuries
Colchester’s wealth was partly channelled into
alterations and additions to the fabric of the
existing church stock, although this work was
relatively insignificant in comparison to the
earlier foundations and much has been hidden
by later remodelling. the chancel of st martin’s
was rebuilt in the earlier 14th century and,
during the 14th or 15th century, the nave, north
aisle and transepts were rebuilt and the south
aisle added (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 323). holy
230
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Trinity (MON340) and All Saints churches
(MON327) also underwent alterations in
the 14th century, both buildings having their
chancels rebuilt. In St James’s church, the two
east bays in the nave’s southern arcade date
to the late 13th century and there is some
structural evidence to suggest that the church
had transepts at this time. The tower may also
have been added during the 13th century. Early
14th-century alterations included the addition
or rebuilding of the two east bays of the nave’s
north arcade (RCHME 1922, 35).
Colchester’s small medieval Jewry was served
by a synagogue (MON966), which was first
recorded in 1268 when it was contained within
a house located in either east or West stockwell
street. By 1285 it had moved to a solar at the
west end of high street (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
28). the fact that the synagogue was contained
within a private house means that it is unlikely
to be traceable in the archaeological record.
Public buildings and works
the most prominent public building was the
lavishly decorated moot hall on the high street
(mon974), first recorded in 1277, which
survived until its demolition in 1843. the plan
of the building complex cannot now be restored,
but several pictures of the hall survive which
show its southern elevation (Colem:1968.108.
a13 and Colem:1985.155.a1.32a). these
depict a fine raised hall aligned east–west, the
floor of which was elevated 1.8m above the
street level, suggesting that the basement must
have been partially sunk below ground level.
the hall had doorways in both its northern and
southern walls. the southern round-headed
door was centrally placed and flanked by two
round-headed windows, the sills of which
were 0.9m above the floor of the hall. a third
round-headed window was situated in one of
the end walls and has been used by george
Zarnecki to date the building to c 1160, a
conclusion based on similarities with ornament
at rochester Cathedral and the Priory Church
at Dover (CAR 1, 63–7). the moot hall would
have been in existence by the time of the town’s
first charter in 1189.
historical sources reveal that a grammar
school (mon977) was founded in the early
12th century on a site adjoining st mary’s
churchyard and to the east of the gate at st
mary’s steps (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 352). By
1285 the town’s bailiffs had the use of a gaol to
imprison suspected offenders (ibid, 275), but its
location is unknown. no major public building
work appears to have been undertaken by the
borough in the early 14th century apart from
the repairs to the town walls already noted.
however, in 1321 the burgesses petitioned
edward ii to allow them to increase the income
of the borough by developing waste spaces in
the town (Britnell 1986b, 116). the petition was
successful and as a result the burgesses tried
to develop certain areas, such as maidenburgh
street and eldland, through the rental of plots.
these sometimes had leases requiring the new
tenant to build a house (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
42). the burgesses were also responsible for
the maintenance of at least two stone bridges:
east Bridge (mon923), first recorded in 1238,
and north Bridge (mon922), first recorded in
1189 (ibid, 234–5). no trace of these structures
has been recorded.
aside from the wells located on private
property, water was supplied from wells and
springs within and around the town walls. a
number of named wells, including stanwell,
stockwell, Chiswell (outside the north-west
corner of the town) and Childwell (near
magdalen street), are recorded in the 14thcentury court rolls and appear to have been
placed close to spring heads (CAR 3, 26). these
would presumably have been relatively shallow,
but to date no structures associated with the
wells have been recovered.
Domestic architecture
Stone houses
in the early medieval period several secular
buildings were constructed using building
materials robbed from the ruins of the roman
town. excluding the moot hall and castle with
its associated structures, at least five masonry
houses that were built in this manner are
known, all of which were concentrated near
the commercial centre of the walled town and
in particular along the high street (fig 10.7).
they belong to a tradition of prestigious stone
houses in towns across england by the late 12th
century. the owners of these stone houses are
likely to have been wealthy and we know that the
13th-century owner of the Pelham’s lane house
in Colchester (mon981) was Joan, daughter of
richard marcian, one of the town’s leading men
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 41). Platt has suggested
231
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
Fig 10.7 A plan showing
the medieval stone houses
recorded in the town centre
(from CAR 1, fig. 53).
Fig 10.8 The Norman
house at Foundry Yard
photographed during
its demolition in 1886,
showing the exterior
western wall and the
interior of the building
beyond (Colchester
Museums).
that the main campaign of stone building in
the towns coincided with the confirmation of
the town’s liberties, or freedom from outside
control, although security and fire safety are
other likely reasons (Platt 1976, 59). in some
towns, stone houses have been linked to Jewish
financiers, who might especially benefit from the
additional security afforded by such a structure.
a reference of 1275 to two stone houses in st
runwald’s parish in Colchester confirms that a
Jew owned them (stephenson 1983–4, 50). the
number of stone houses in Colchester is similar
to that of Canterbury, where at least 30 such
buildings, that were thought to have been built
largely by Jewish financiers, existed by the early
13th century (CAR 1, 69). all the stone houses
along Colchester’s high street were set back
from the street frontage, implying that it was
already occupied by lesser houses and shops by
the time of their construction (ibid, 53–70).
at foundry yard, 70m west of the moot
hall, a stone building (mon980) survived
until demolition in 1886, when a ground plan
and elevations were drawn, photographs were
taken and a painting was made of the basement
(fig 10.8). rudimentary excavations carried
232
Fig 10.9 The cellar
beneath 35–37 High
Street showing a rubble
wall with surviving 14thcentury features (Philip J.
Wise).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
out on the structure by Dr J H Round led him
to suggest that it formed part of a group of
tenements off the High Street (Essex Standard
of October 1886). Using these sources,
Crummy constructed an isometric plan of the
building (CAR 1, fig 51), which shows it to have
consisted of a first-floor hall containing at least
three round-headed openings, two of which
were probably doorways and one of which was
a window. to the south was a narrow east–west
room which contained a tall round-headed
window in its eastern wall. the hall lay over a
barrel-vaulted basement sunk partially below
ground level and contained four or five loop
windows, three original doorways and seven
round-headed recesses.
the remains of a second stone building
(mon643), situated between foundry yard
and the moot hall and set back from high
street, were uncovered following excavations
on the site of the Cups hotel in 1973–4.
only the building’s eastern and southern walls
survived, together with three parallel north–
south foundations which lay on the south side
of the eastern wall. these indicated that the
building probably took the form of a central
hall with two wings, one on the south-east side
of the hall block and one on its south-west side.
the walls were built of reused roman building
material and the structure was tentatively dated
to the early medieval period on the basis of
an absence of peg tile. the walls rested on
foundations more than 0.8m deep, which
consisted of horizontal layers of septaria and
sand, mortared septaria, chalky mortar and,
at the bottom, septaria in sand and loam. no
floors of the building survived, but a latrine
pit (grP13) inside its east wing may have been
associated with an early phase of the structure
(CAR 6, 338). on the opposite side of the high
street, at its junction with Pelham’s lane, stood
another of the town’s stone buildings. the rear
part of this 12th-century house (mon981)
consisted of a first-floor hall with three southfacing windows over a barrel-vaulted basement.
the basement may have been at ground level
233
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
and contained a wall fireplace in its northern
wall, although this was probably a later addition.
the building was demolished in 1730, but a
drawing of the elevation of the rear wall and
a measured ground plan made at the time have
enabled the production of a reconstruction
drawing (CAR 1, fig 52). stone-built walls were
found on the site during redevelopment in 1935
(Cmr 1935–7, 45).
Perhaps the most important of all the stone
buildings for our knowledge of domestic
housing in early medieval Colchester was the
12th-century stone house (mon492) recorded
during the excavations at lion Walk in 1972–3 at
the corner of lion Walk and Culver street. Part
of one of the building’s walls survived above
ground until its demolition in 1971 (rChme
1922, 64), when it was found to have originally
contained a round-headed doorway of 12thcentury date in its centre, another round-headed
opening at its west end and a small recess in its
south side. a two-centred doorway had been
inserted into the east end of the wall in the
13th or 14th century and additional alterations
were made to the wall between the 14th and
16th centuries. During excavation the building
was found to have witnessed three main phases
of use, the first of which was dated by the
excavators to between c 1150 and c 1500. it
probably originated as a single-roomed firstfloor hall-house with a basement at ground
level. the wall that survived until 1971 had
formed the northern side of the hall’s basement
and consisted mainly of coursed roman rubble.
externally there were several pits, including a
large 12th-century cess pit and a large timberlined pit, and a yard area surfaced with gravel.
the original hall had two rooms added to its
south side during the 12th century. internal
features of these rooms included hearths, small
pits and the shallow, uncoffined burial of a baby.
a sixth stone-built building has been tentatively
identified at 7 east stockwell street (mon170).
the present building is 17th century in date but
contains a rubble wall orientated north–south,
suggesting that it occupies the site of another
stone house, albeit one that cannot yet be dated
(rChme 1922, 63).
Cellars
that the use of stone in domestic building
extended beyond the norman period is clearly
illustrated by the large number of medieval
cellars or undercrofts within the walled town
that have rubble walls. houses with cellars below
the shops are recorded in the market area of the
high street by the late 13th century, reflecting
the importance of this area as the commercial
centre of the town, where burgesses would have
required space beneath their shops in which
they could store merchandise prior to its sale
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 41).
three of the cellars situated along the
high street contain two-centred door heads
and are datable to the 14th century. the cellar
at 45–47 high street (mon35) has rubble
walls and a cross-wall with the 14th-century
doorway within it. to the west of the doorway
is a pointed niche. that at 35–37 high street
(mon31) is a particularly interesting cellar as
it has a north-facing rubble wall incorporating
a moulded door arch with carved heads, a
moulded window and a pointed niche set back
some 4m from the high street frontage (fig
10.7). the cellar at 137 high street (mon39)
has rubble walls with a 14th-century doorway
and a round stone well-shaft in one corner. two
other cellars with rubble walls survive at 34
high street (mon30) and 48–49 high street
(mon36). the former incorporates a section
of roman walling, but they are otherwise
undated (rChme 1922, 56–60). another
early stone cellar (mon609), belonging to a
house that once fronted onto head street, was
revealed during the Culver street excavations.
the surviving walls were built of roughly
coursed ragstone, reused roman tile and peg
tile. features set within the walls included a
socket and three niches with pointed heads
formed from peg tile. the cellar’s construction
date was placed somewhere within the 13th to
15th centuries (CAR 6, 125–6).
Non-masonry domestic buildings
the structural evidence for non-masonry
domestic buildings dated to this period is poor,
although other physical remains indicative of
domestic activity are reasonably plentiful. as
many as 15 buildings belonging to the period
have been identified within the study area, but
the dating evidence for these structures is rarely
unequivocal.
almost nothing is known of the earliest nonmasonry dwellings within the post-Conquest
walled town, but excavations at Culver street
revealed the base of an early medieval sunkenfloored hut (mon610). this took the form
of a rectangular pit with three evenly spaced
234
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
postholes along each of the sides. The pit
measured 5.5m by 2.8m and was 0.4m deep,
although it had probably been truncated by
later cultivation. The building appeared to
belong to the 12th century, but could have
been Anglo-Saxon (CAR 6, 120–2). A second
early medieval sunken feature (GRP6) was
recorded outside the town’s North Gate during
excavations at Middleborough (CAR 3, 189).
An earth-fast building (MON611) of
possible 11th- or 12th-century origin was also
found during the Culver Street excavations.
This was represented by a number of post pits,
several of which formed a rectilinear plan which
was interpreted as a utilitarian building standing
at the rear of a tenement which fronted onto
Head Street (CAR 6, 122–3). Considerable
quantities of 12th-century pottery found in
pits and robber trenches on the south side of
the site may have derived from the building or
could represent dumping to the rear of houses
on Head Street.
Our knowledge of 13th-century housing
within the town is equally poor despite the
development of masonry foundations at this
time, which can be viewed as part of a national
trend towards the increased use of stone for
building from the early 13th century (Platt
1976, 59). Excavations at the Cups Hotel in
1973–4 revealed the remains of a c 13th-century
stone-founded building (MON641), a shallow,
patchy foundation of mortar and septaria
which appeared to be the base of a rear wall
from a house fronting onto High Street. To the
rear of the building several shallow pits dug
into the dark earth indicated the existence of a
garden (CAR 6, 335; CAR 7, 9). Documentary
evidence suggests that the building’s position
on the High Street would mean that it is likely
to have been two-storeyed, mirroring the stonebuilt houses in the immediate vicinity. A house
with upper and lower rooms was recorded in
East or West Stockwell Street in 1258 and a
tenement in the High Street with a room under
the solar was recorded in 1263–4 (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 41). Evidence for another 13th- or
14th-century building (MON181) was found
on the west side of the 12th-century masonry
house at Lion Walk. The earliest traces of
occupation on the site consisted of a gravel
floor cut by several stakeholes, but with no
clear evidence for walls. these remains overlay
12th-century robber trenches and some 13thcentury pits (CAR 3, 82).
our knowledge of 14th-century houses
within the town is significantly better than that
of those from earlier centuries thanks largely to
the redevelopment of angel yard in 1986 and
detailed documentary records. excavations at
angel yard revealed at least four 14th-century
or earlier buildings that formed a distinctive
settlement pattern within this part of the
town centre, consisting of crowded frontages
with long straggling buildings reached by
narrow alleyways and enclosing gravelled yards
(shimmin and Carter 1996, 63). two houses
along the high street frontage (mon54
and mon55) and two buildings extending
back from the West stockwell street frontage
(mon57 and mon58) were investigated.
none of these buildings could be dated earlier
than 1300 and they were seen to represent a
rapid expansion of building backwards from
both the high street and West stockwell
street frontages in the 14th century (ibid,
63). only two rooms were uncovered from
mon54, which is thought to have consisted
of a building fronting onto the high street
with a wing extending back to the north.
internal and external wall foundations were
constructed from septaria with some flint and
tile fragments set in mortar. these presumably
supported a timber-framed superstructure.
Within the building, one room contained a
series of ovens and hearths and was probably
a kitchen. multiple-phase floors were of daub
or peg tiles and cobbles. the other room had
daub floors and a hearth.
although there was little structural evidence
for the earliest phase of mon55 along its high
street frontage, it is thought to have consisted
of a two-storeyed hall-block set lengthways to
the street. such a wide frontage onto the market
place may indicate that the tenement belonged
to an early period, when plot areas were
relatively large. Behind the street frontage there
was an extensive north–south wing. fragments
of rubble plinths from the southernmost room
of this rear wing were found associated with
a daub floor and, further to the north, two
stone-and-mortar foundations indicated the
northern end of another room. external wall
foundations were constructed from stone and
mortar with an upper course of slate. internal
features included daub floors and a series of
large ovens that may have been in commercial
use; the large number of ovens in the rear
rooms suggests that the rooms were open to
235
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
the roof (ibid, 46). External features included
a gravelled yard area to the east associated with
gullies and pits, and a north–south foundation
along the western side of the building, which
may have supported a freestanding wall.
The presence of an east–west wing extending
back from the West Stockwell Street frontage
indicated the location of another building
(MON57). External foundations were of
stone and mortar construction and presumably
supported a timber-framed and, probably,
two-storeyed superstructure. Other associated
features included a well and a gravelled area
to the east. The fourth building (MON58)
survived as the remains of a rectangular block
or wing to the rear of the street frontage.
External foundations were constructed of
septaria and tile set in mortar. The building
included at least one demolished oven, a small
pit and a hearth. External features included
several fragmentary rubble foundations to
the east, which may have belonged to an
outbuilding, together with numerous pits.
Traces of a 14th- or 15th-century building
(MON627) were revealed during excavations
at Long Wyre Street Co-op site in 1979,
where stakeholes were found associated with
a possible masonry plinth as well as part of a
hearth or oven and several cess pits (CAR 6,
361). One unlined cess pit produced a stratified
group of pottery dated to c 1300–25 (CAR
7, 9).
the quality of early 14th-century accommodation in Colchester is best revealed by the
tax assessment of 1301. this record reveals
that the wealthier tradesmen in the town had
a hall, chamber and kitchen; a tradesman of
the middle status had a hall and a chamber;
and the poorest had just a single living room.
in the same year the tanner John menny is
reported as having a hall, chamber, kitchen,
granary, bake house and tannery, while roger
Dyer’s house consisted of a living room,
chamber, kitchen, brew house and probably a
separate dye house, and Peter le Wylde had a
hall, chamber, kitchen and a barn to store his
grain (Britnell 1986b, 10–11). thus differences
in status between the town’s tradesmen appear
to have been largely reflected in the size of an
individual’s dwelling and the number of rooms
within it, although some differentiation may
have been apparent as a result of the materials
from which the houses were built. Clearly most
14th-century houses would have been built
of timber and plaster, like the one near east
gate recorded in 1321 (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
41), but excavation has testified that the earlier
stone-built houses, such as the building at lion
Walk (mon492), continued in use throughout
the middle ages.
one class of evidence that might allow the
identification of wealthier dwellings in the
town is the ceramic louver, which first appeared
in Colchester during the second half of the
13th century (CAR 3, 211–14). Cotter has
tentatively identified a link between louvers and
the detached kitchens and hearths of houses
belonging to reasonably wealthy townspeople
such as merchants and government officials
(CAR 7, 165). Certainly, the use of such
elaborate ornaments indicates a change in
roofing materials from thatch to tiles and slate
which may have been a response to fashion, but
was probably also undertaken deliberately, as
fireproofing. louvers from the early medieval
period have been found mainly on high-status
sites and those along the town’s main streets.
they have been recovered from the castle
bailey, east stockwell street, long Wyre
street and the stone house on the corner of
lion Walk and Culver street (CAR 3, 211–14;
CAR 7, 65).
Other structural evidence for domestic occupation
the dearth of structural remains from the
walled town means that areas of domestic
occupation are best indicated by the numerous
rubbish and cess pits which have been recorded.
these are well represented from the late 11th
century and particularly the 12th century, but
appear to have been dug less frequently during
the 13th and 14th centuries. Cotter regards
this reduction in pit-digging as the reflection
of a national trend thought to be related to
plague prevention measures (Platt 1976, 72).
the distribution of pits is concentrated along
the main thoroughfares of the post-Conquest
town: Culver street, long Wyre street, lion
Walk, the Cups hotel site, angel yard, trinity
street and north hill have all produced pits
belonging to the 11th–12th centuries. at the
Cups hotel site on the north side of the high
street many pits (grP13) of 11th- and 12thcentury date were excavated. these were of
varying depth, the deepest being 2.7m, and
the largest were probably cess pits. the pits
were located to the north of an area of 11thand 12th-century robber trenches, giving the
236
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
impression that they were dug to the rear of
a building fronting onto High Street. Further
to the east, at Angel Yard, and away from the
High Street frontage, the dark earth was cut
by a large number of pits, most of which
were of late 12th- or 13th-century date. They
represent activity at the rear of buildings
which once fronted onto the High Street
and West Stockwell Street. Numerous pits
were excavated, the larger examples of which
included latrine pits and more mixed refuse
pits (Shimmin and Carter 1996, 38). Much of
the Culver Street development site, including
sites D, E, J, G and H, had been affected by
pit-digging during the early medieval period
(CAR 6, 34; CAR 7, 7), and some of these
may have been associated with horticultural
activities, but those that formed deep steepsided features were believed to be cess pits. A
large number of early medieval rubbish and
cess pits were found on the south-west side of
the site and probably belonged to properties
along the Head Street frontage. One large
group of shallow pits of probable 12th- to
13th-century date was found associated with
a 13th-century oven (ELM318).
At Lion Walk very few, if any, pits were
dug before c 1050–1100, probably because
the site was situated some distance from
the High Street (CAR 12, 9–10), but pits
dated to 1100–1150 and thus pre-dating the
construction of the stone house (MON492),
were found on site G. Pits containing pottery
dated to c 1150–1200, which pre-dated the
construction of the 13th- to 14th-century
building (MON181), were excavated on site
D (CAR 7, 4–5), although some of these
pits were 13th century in origin (CAR 3, 82).
Excavations at the Long Wyre Street Co-op
site revealed 11th- and 12th-century robber
trenches that were succeeded by an episode
of pit-digging in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Most of these pits were unlined and over 1.5m
deep with near-vertical sides, suggesting that
they were cess pits and pointing to occupation
along the street frontage (CAR 6, 361). Further
work on the site in 1999 revealed 13th-century
robber trenches followed by 13th- and 14thcentury pit-digging (Brooks 2004c, 32). Pits
of late 11th- and early 12th-century date were
found during excavations at 1 Trinity Street
in 1977, and provide the earliest evidence for
occupation along Trinity Street (CAR 6, 828).
Another early medieval pit was recorded during
investigative work at 21 North Hill, and pits of
13th- and 14th-century date are known from
East and West Stockwell Streets.
Other features, such as individual walls,
ovens, hearths and wells, also point to areas of
domestic occupation within the walled town,
but are often difficult to date accurately. three
early medieval ovens (elm314–16), two of
which could be dated to the 13th century, were
recorded during the excavations at Culver street
(ibid, 123). at angel yard, a hearth (elm1195),
gullies, a large number of stakeholes (grP3),
particularly in the north-west corner of the
site, and two stretches of foundation (elm32
and elm33) indicated ephemeral structures of
probable 13th- to 14th-century date (shimmin
and Carter 1996, 42). isolated floors that may
belong to this period have been recorded at
1–3 head street (grP95) and Castle inn, high
street (grP56). the head street example was
constructed from daub (CAR 6, 793), while the
floor at the Castle inn in the high street was of
clay and included evidence for a hearth (Cat
report 11/85b).
Water was supplied to the town by both
public and private wells. the wells that have
been found are usually lined with stone and tile
and are medieval or later in date (CAR 3, 26).
one early medieval well (elm786), discovered
during a watching brief at 12–13 high street,
was large with an internal diameter of 1.55m
and a stone lining built from roughly curved
and internally faced septaria blocks and reused
roman tile. the absence of peg tile in the
well’s construction was consistent with a date
prior to the 13th century (Cat report 1/86a).
other medieval wells have been recorded
during archaeological investigations at 70 high
street, 137 high street, long Wyre street, 17
north hill and 51 West stockwell, but dating
is less certain.
Open space
large parts of the land within the town wall
were cultivated and kept as pasture. the royal
demesne included land to the north-east of the
castle (morant 1768, bk i, 10) and accounts of
the manor between 1276 and 1281 indicate that
oats and rye were probably grown there, and
sheep and perhaps cattle may have been kept
on the land (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 30). in the
south-east angle of the town walls, an extensive
area of open land known as ‘Beryfield’ is
237
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
mentioned in various Colchester documents
(Laver 1923, 118–21), and crops were grown
there in the early 14th century (Britnell 1986b,
10). Even behind the main streets there were
still large areas of open space, like the curtilage
at Culver Street recorded in c 1270, and much
of this was probably used to grow foodstuffs
or to keep livestock. In 1271 a house in Wyre
Street was leased by the borough with two
selions (narrow strips of land caused by ridge
and furrow ploughing), a term which suggests
it was or had recently been arable, and in 1335–
6 another plot measuring 50ft by 20ft (15.3m ×
6.1m) was leased. There was still pasture land in
Maidenburgh in 1354–5 despite the borough’s
attempts to develop the area during the 1330s
by leasing plots 18ft (5.5m) wide for buildings
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 42).
Convincing evidence for intramural
cultivation in the 12th and 13th centuries was
found during excavations at the southern end
of the Lion Walk site (CAR 3, 92), and much
of the area south of Culver Street was under
cultivation (CAR 6, 122) in the medieval period.
At Culver Street, Cotter has noted an instance
of adjoining sherds dated to c 1175–1200 which
were found 50m apart in contemporary layers.
He suggests that the explanation for this may be
ploughing, or the carting of topsoil or manure
(CAR 7, 7). At the Long Wyre Street site, a layer
of cultivated soil containing pottery dated to
c 1300–1325 was found sealing the 11th- to
13th-century robber trenches and pits (ibid, 9).
Robber trenches of the 12th or 13th centuries
at the Gilberd School were similarly overlain by
a thick layer of dark earth, indicating that the
site was used primarily for cultivation (CAR 6,
139). Perhaps more surprising, considering its
central location, is the suggestion of an 11thto 14th-century cultivation plot (GRP120) at
22–24 High Street (Brooks 2004a, 67–8).
Suburbs
The physical evidence for domestic dwellings
outside the town walls consists of a handful of
excavated buildings and features and a single
standing building that has been dated to this
period. The most extensive excavation of one
of the town’s early medieval suburbs took
place at Middleborough, immediately outside
the North Gate. Houses are recorded here
as early as c 1242 and existed beyond North
Bridge by the 1270s (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 41).
Excavations at Middleborough in 1979 revealed
two 14th-century timber-framed houses and a
structure interpreted as a potter’s workshop on
the west side of the road leading out of the
walled town. The earliest of these buildings
(MON332) was constructed c 1300–25 and
started as a rectangular block consisting of
a hall with central hearth and a service room
to the south which contained a sequence of
three ovens. The building’s floors were of daub
and the walls were timber-framed and set on
surface-built mortared plinths of rubble and
tile (CAR 3, 189–90; CAR 7, 67).
situated adjacent to this house and
immediately to the north, a second building
(mon333) could only be defined by postholes
and a hearth, although some of the surfacebuilt walls assigned to a later building could
have belonged to this 14th-century structure
(CAR 3, 199). a third excavated building
(mon331) located to the rear of the site was
associated with a number of early medieval
pottery kilns but was of unknown function
and uncertain form. the excavated remains
consisted of postholes, stakeholes, slots and
a possible hearth. some of the postholes had
been set in a trench and formed a straight
line, but there were no floors associated with
the building (ibid, 189). other post-roman
remains on the site included a shallow subrectangular pit (grP6) which had a shallow
slot around its perimeter. the purpose of the
structure was unclear, although it may have
been the sunken floor of a building or hut
(ibid, 209).
the town’s eastern suburb also developed
around a river crossing, at east Bridge, where
settlement is documented from the mid-13th
century (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 41). this early
suburb probably had quays associated with
it like those recorded in later centuries (ibid,
41), and it was presumably the river frontage
that grew up first. By c 1300 settlement had
spread to a point some 200m east of the
bridge where the rose and Crown hotel now
stands. a survey by the rChme, including a
dendrochronological date, has shown that this
building incorporates the substantial remains
of a timber-framed house dating from 1267
to 1332. (http://www.heritagegateway.org.
uk/gateway/results_single.aspx?uid=mex1
006553&resourceiD=1001). the building was
originally three bays in length: the central bay
was a hall open to the roof, while the west bay,
238
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
probably the upper end, was storeyed from the
beginning. Substantial parts of the timber frame
survive up to tie-beam level and incorporate
passing braces and a mixture of notched-lap
and mortice-and-tenon construction. The
existence of such a substantial house in a
suburban location implies that the settlement
around East Bridge was of some importance
despite its apparent separation from the walled
town by the sparsely populated East Hill (VCH
1994, Essex IX, 41). The suburb’s significance
was presumably derived from advantages
provided by its riverside location.
the suburbs that developed to the south
of the town were first recorded in the 13th
century, although earlier settlement is implied
by the presence of the 11th-century churches
of st Botolph and st John the evangelist.
three houses outside the walls in head ward,
presumably in headgate or Crouch street, were
recorded in the 1220s, and settlement along
Crouch street is likely to have developed as
far as the house of the Crutched friars by
the time of its foundation in the mid-13th
century. houses were also recorded at lodders
lane (later abbeygate street), Berisland (later
vineyard street) and more street (later Priory
street) during the 13th century. in 1297 st
John’s abbey owned land and buildings in
stanwell street and on st John’s green, and
by that date there were houses outside schere
gate (ibid, 42). to the south-east, documentary
evidence suggests that magdalen street had
developed as an agricultural suburb by 1300
(ibid, 42), and excavations at 11 magdalen
street recovered features, including stakeholes
and pits (grP14), that could belong to this
period (CAR 6, 341–4).
excavations at osborne street in 1988
revealed a series of well-preserved wickerlined drains and fences (grP9) of 12th- to
14th-century date, which were presumably
associated with properties on the western
frontage of st Botolph’s street. elsewhere a
thick deposit of post-roman topsoil covered
much of the site, indicating that the area was
not heavily developed at this time (shimmin
1994, 46). on the opposite side of the street,
a possible medieval timber drain (elm1014)
was recorded during a watching brief in
1989, although this may have been associated
with the priory precinct rather than secular
settlement (Cat report 11/89a). further
to the west, along st John’s street, a single
medieval cess pit (grP44) was recorded at the
Cameo Cinema site (CAR 6, 984), and three
possible medieval wells (elm718–20) were
uncovered on the st John’s Car Park site (ibid,
876). outside the south-west corner of the
walled town, houses were recorded at the top
of maldon road by 1349–50. a large circular
oven (elm75) tentatively dated to the 13th or
14th centuries has been excavated at Butt road;
it was 2m in diameter with foundations laid
on a rectangular bed of clay measuring 3.5m
by 3m. although its exact use could not be
determined, a domestic function was deemed
most likely (CAR 9, 163).
The reuse of Roman materials
Colchester is a town with no local source of
naturally occurring stone. the quarrying of
surviving roman structures was, therefore, an
obvious response to the enormous demand for
construction materials generated by ambitious
norman building projects like the castle keep,
moot hall and great monastic houses (CAR 1,
47–8). the period also witnessed a shift from
wood to stone in wealthier domestic and church
buildings, and it is clear that the importing of
expensive french and english freestones had
little impact on the cannibalisation of the
roman town. the fabric of the surviving
masonry structures from this period illustrates
that much of the norman building work was
done with salvaged septaria, tile and brick, and
most of the robber trenches excavated in the
town have been dated to the later 11th and 12th
centuries (CAR 7, 1). in addition to buildings,
roman spoila was used in the construction of
a range of lesser structures such as lime and
pottery kilns (CAR 3, 88; CAR 7, 57), and for
grave linings (CAR 9, 218).
it can be assumed that, prior to the digging
of robber trenches, any visible surface remains
were stripped. this assumption is supported
by the inclusion of whole roman bricks in
medieval walls of this period, such as those of
st Botolph’s Priory church, which must have
originated from the superstructure of roman
buildings, their foundations usually containing
little or no brick (CAR 1, 48). however,
excavations at 98–99 high street revealed
that brick masonry, which would have been
visible to the norman builders, was not always
salvaged (hebditch 1971, 121) and it may be
that certain materials were prized above others.
239
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
The digging of pits at this site to recover the
limestone facing of Roman piers appears to
have taken precedence (Drury 1982, 339), and
several pieces of limestone veneer were used
in grave linings excavated at St John’s church
(CAR 9, 218). In other instances, as at Freda
Gunton Lodge, the early medieval workmen
were so thorough that the robber trenches they
left behind (GRP26) are the only indication of
the Roman buildings that once stood on the
site (CAT Report 6/95a).
Early medieval robber trenches are almost as
common as the dark earth through which the
work gangs had to dig to reach their plunder.
They have been found on most of the sites
excavated within the town walls and, in this
way, a substantial portion of the intramural
area was swept of remains, improving the
ground’s suitability for cultivation (for
example, at the Gilberd School) and easing
future redevelopment. Robbing also occurred
outside the walls in Roman suburbs such as
Middleborough (CAR 3, 189), where the need
for building stone would have increased as the
medieval suburbs developed. Although only a
few robber trenches can be dated to the 13th
and 14th centuries, early court rolls show that
the town walls were a commonly exploited
source of building material during the 14th
century (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 248), as they
presumably had been for centuries beforehand.
The section through the town wall at Lion
Walk showed that the wall had been stripped
of its outer facing by c 1400 (CAR 1, 48). It
is perhaps not unreasonable to speculate that
this late requirement for spoila can be linked to
the development of stone-founded housing
during the period, although the introduction of
stone-built cellars and 13th- and 14th-century
alterations to the town’s churches probably
also accounted for some of the demand. By
this time, of course, Norman as well as Roman
buildings may have been available for recycling,
and one documented instance of this can be
found in St John’s Abbey ledger, which records
the lease in 1312 of a plot of land in Colchester
with permission to remove the stone walls on
it (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 57).
The Hythe, commerce, trade and
manufacturing
The market
At the heart of the walled town lay the market
place, centred on a widened section of the
High Street and reaching from its junction
with North Hill and Head Street down to St
Nicholas’s church. In 1285 market days were
Wednesdays and Saturdays, but by the 14th
century there may have been a market every
day for the sale of goods including grain, dairy
produce, poultry, fish and meat (Britnell 1986b,
9). not all commodities appear to have been
sold on a daily basis, though, and at some stage,
areas of the market were divided up for the sale
of different products. the corn market, for
example, was held at the west end of the high
street, which had become known as Corn hill
by 1336. the sale of butcher’s meat was limited
to the market and the butcher’s shambles was
located in the middle, near to the moot hall.
By the later 13th century there were shops
around st runwald’s church (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 41) and further encroachments onto the
market area are recorded in the court rolls of
1339–40 (shimmin and Carter 1996, 63). these
encroachments may stem from the charter of
1321, by which the burgesses acquired the right
to develop and raise rents for the borough
from ‘waste spaces’ or vacant areas in the town
(Britnell 1986b, 116). it has been suggested that
several imprecisely dated foundations observed
in service trenches on the north side of the
high street may have been the footings for
shops or stalls (hull 1958, 159; CAR 1, 49–50,
fig 41c; CAR 6, 810; Cat report 3/75b;
shimmin and Carter 1996, 64). the demand
of traders for access to a good street frontage
is also illustrated by conveyances in part of a
messuage in the market during the 1240s and
a dispute over half a messuage in 1248 and
1285. these suggest the deliberate partitioning
of plots along the lucrative high street where
the demand for space was greatest (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 41). excavation has so far failed to
identify such division of properties and much
of the significant archaeological information is
likely to have been destroyed by later activity
such as the digging of cellars.
although the high street was clearly the
commercial centre of the town, copper-alloy
balance arms found during the 1978–9 long
Wyre street excavations and at lion Walk
provide evidence of trade along Colchester’s
secondary streets (CAR 5, 67). there is no
archaeological or documentary evidence for
the concentration of different trades in specific
areas of the walled town during this period, but
240
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
cobblers’ shops were recorded at the south end
of East Stockwell Street in the 13th century
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 40).
Fairs
St John’s Abbey held an annual four-day
fair (St John’s) each June from the year of
its foundation in 1095–6. This may have
subsumed an earlier fair run by the burgesses.
Following a grant by Richard I in 1189 a second
annual fair (St Mary Magdalen) was held in July
by the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalen, and
in 1319 a third fair was granted to the town’s
burgesses by Edward II, to be held annually in
October. This grant may have formalised a fair
(St Denis’s) that was already being held outside
the precinct of St Botolph’s Priory. The fair
at St Mary Magdalen’s is recorded as having
attracted merchants from Suffolk, Norfolk and
Kent in 1318, and others from London and
Cambridge attended the three fairs in the 14th
century. None of the fairs seem to have been
significant enough to entice foreign traders,
however (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 272–3).
The Hythe
the port and settlement at the hythe was
a detached community situated on the west
bank of the river Colne, 1.5km to the southeast of the walled town. that the settlement
was separated from the walled town by open
land can be inferred from the presence of the
leper hospital of st mary magdalen, which
was located roughly halfway between town
and port. the first documentary record that
refers to the settlement relates to a tenement
there in 1160, but Cooper has suggested that
the port’s relocation from the former landing
place, downstream at old heath, probably
occurred in the 11th century (ibid, 47). this
move was presumably spurred by the growth
of Colchester’s fishing industry and sea-borne
trade, and probably included the construction
of wharves and improvements to the river.
although no physical evidence for quays from
this period has been discovered, a cut across
the marshes in Wivenhoe parish, opposite old
heath, appears to have been made before the
early 14th century (ibid, 47).
old heath derives its name from the old
english Ealdehethe, meaning ‘old landing place’
(reaney 1935, 376–7) and the hythe, or new
hythe as it was known, takes its name from
the same root (ibid, 376). an indication that
the hythe was a planned settlement may be
inferred from the alternative name Heia, by
which it was also known in the 12th and 13th
centuries. this name may refer to enclosures
or plots dating from when it was laid out
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 47). Whether or not the
settlement was planned, it was almost certainly
the riverfront that developed first, with the
earliest dwellings and warehouses located
behind the quays. Development would have
then spread to the west along hythe hill, and
st leonard’s church probably denotes the edge
of the settlement at the time of the church’s
foundation in the 12th century. historical
sources reveal that the hythe’s facilities as
a port were further developed in the 14th
century, the borough leasing plots of land for
new quays and quayside buildings (presumably
granaries and warehouses) in the 1330s and
1340s (ibid, 31; Britnell 1986b, 18). By 1352 a
back lane existed on the north side of hythe
hill (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 47). those owning
property at the hythe during the early 14th
century ranged from local wool merchants to
fishermen (Britnell 1986b, 18–19).
archaeological evidence for settlement at
the hythe comes from a number of recent
excavations along hythe hill. in 1994 a watching
brief recorded a small section of unbound
wall seemingly built from reused septaria and
peg tile. the wall was located 40m from the
modern quayside and may have belonged to a
warehouse or other quayside building dated to
the 14th century or later (Cat report 12/94a).
on the former Colchester tractors site at 79
hythe hill, 13th-century dump layers may
have originated as refuse accumulation from
adjacent properties (Brooks 2000, 112). similar
levels were encountered further up the hill
during excavations at 64–76 hythe hill, where
the earliest medieval activity dated from the
12th or 13th to the 14th century and included
a number of large pits, a cultivated soil and a
possible earth-fast structure (interim report in
Med Archaeol 44 (2000): 260). on the opposite
side of hythe hill, evaluation trenches dug on
the site of 117–119 and 124–125 hythe hill
revealed 14th-century deposits (austin 1998).
the settlement’s involvement in commercial
activity during this period is shown by a 14thcentury pottery measure discovered in Back
lane (Colem:1322.1907) and a reckoning
counter dated between 1321 and 1343 (n
Crummy 2000, 122).
241
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
Fishing industry
Colchester’s charter of 1189 confirmed the
borough’s ownership of the Colne fishery,
and the town’s historical sources make clear
the importance of the fishing industry to its
economy. in 1285, 23 weirs were recorded in
the river and estuary between Colchester and
the sea; some were probably used to catch
fish, while others might have been associated
with the oyster fishery (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
238). eels, flatfish and small fish such as smelt
may have all been trapped in this way and,
in the medieval deposits at Culver street, eel
were found to be one of the most common
species, while flatfish were of less importance
(CAR 6, 279). although there was no herring
render recorded for Colchester in Domesday
(Darby 1977, 286), herring and cod were well
represented in the Culver street medieval
deposits. locker has speculated that a more
specialised offshore fishing industry based on
netting for herring and line fisheries for cod
evolved during the 13th and 14th centuries
(CAR 6, 279). the detailed tax assessment of
1301 reveals that 17 taxpayers had ownership
interests in boats, four of whom owned
fishing tackle, and there were a further two
fishermen without boats (Britnell 1986b, 15).
a few cut-marks found on the medieval fish
bones at Culver street provide evidence for fish
processing in the vicinity (CAR 6, 279) but this
was presumably at a domestic level. oysters
were probably sold throughout the period and
an oyster stall was recorded in the market in
1337 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 35).
Foreign and internal trade
some Colchester merchants were also ship
owners (Britnell 1986b, 17–19; vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 31) involved in both import and
export through the hythe, although Colchester
did not have a large enough market to support
extensive overseas trade. this was compounded
by the fact that larger vessels could not reach
the port and had to load their goods on to and
off smaller boats some distance downstream.
the limitations placed on waterborne traffic,
combined with an increase in seaborne trade
from the second quarter of the 14th century,
led to an arrangement whereby goods could
be off-loaded from larger ships at old heath,
where docks for ship-building and maintenance
were provided by the borough (Britnell 1986b,
18; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 31). most goods that
left the town from the hythe were transported
by ship across the north sea to france,
germany and the low Countries, and around
the south and east coasts of england as far
as Cornwall, Wales and northumbria (ibid,
27). incoming goods came both directly from
foreign ports and by way of other english
ports. unfortunately, the physical evidence for
incoming trade does not encompass the range
of goods known from documentary sources
and even less evidence survives for exports.
imported foreign pottery discovered in the
town appears to have been of little significance
to Colchester’s economy, but provides evidence
for continental trading links in support of the
historical sources. rhenish and low Countries
wares were the dominant foreign wares in early
medieval Colchester, as in later periods, and
contact with the low Countries is attested
by finds of imported wares such as andenne
ware and low Countries red earthenwares.
there were flemings among the borough’s
population by the 13th century (Close R 1261–4,
91), and flemish ships are recorded calling
at the hythe by at least the 1340s (CAR 7,
265–6; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 31). imported
Pingsdorf-type and Paffrath-type wares from
germany are relatively common finds in the
town (CAR 7, 276), but would also have come
via the low Countries, presumably in Dutch
shipping (ibid, 355).
Blocks of Caen stone were brought into
Colchester from france in the norman period
to be used for detailed architectural carvings
(CAR 1, 1). french merchants from amiens
and st omer were also reported trading in the
town in the early 13th century, while a group
of Colchester ship owners and vintners were
involved in the importation of wine during
the early 1300s (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 30).
gascon wine shipped directly to the hythe
was probably the town’s most commercially
significant import during the period (Britnell
1986b, 19), and several finds of saintonge ware
from Colchester may reflect this trade (CAR 7,
258; Walker 2000, 118). other french wares are
rare in the town. Woad was probably imported,
as it was readily available from the english
possessions in gascony, and it is a recorded
commodity in Colchester during the period
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 28).
Contact with norway is indicated by the
finds of widely dated schist hones from the
town (CAR 5, 76–8; n Crummy 2000, 121).
242
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
These are thought to belong largely to this
period, as their numbers have been shown to
escalate during the 12th and 13th centuries in
other east-coast towns (Davey and Hodges
1993, 9) and Crummy has suggested that
they indicate a medieval trade (CAR 5, 77).
The ragstone hones were derived from the
Eidsborg quarry near Telemark, while those of
phyllite came from a source in either Norway
or Germany (ibid, 77–8)
A local merchant, Adam of Colchester, was
recorded at Falmouth in 1226 (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 27) and finds of slate roofing tiles, most
probably from the south-west of england,
have been made in the town (Drury 1982, 348;
Brooks 2000, 123). Quarr stone, used in the
building of the castle, and several fragments
of Purbeck marble mortars discovered in
Colchester (CAR 5, 40; n Crummy 2000,
122), were probably brought into the town
via the hythe as both are known to have been
exported widely by sea (Dunning 1977, 325;
tatton-Brown 1980, 213–15). grimston ware
dated to the 13th and 14th centuries found at
the hythe (Walker 2000, 117) is likely to have
reached Colchester via the port of King’s lynn,
and merchants from the east coast ports of
norwich, King’s lynn and yarmouth were
recorded trading in Colchester in the late 13th
century (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 30). thetfordtype ware dating to the 11th century implies
trade with ipswich and perhaps thetford and
norwich.
Colchester merchants are known to have
sold cloth at Boston fair in 1248 and ipswich
in 1249 (ibid, 28). Coastal villages to the
south-west of Colchester probably supplied
the town with wheat (Britnell 1986b, 44) and
other agricultural produce, some of which
was then presumably shipped on. in 1198
grain was being exported to flanders and in
1206 oats and other cereal crops were bought
at Colchester for shipment to other parts of
england (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 27). in 1327
wheat destined for newcastle-upon-tyne was
carried in small boats from the hythe to the
port at Brightlingsea (ibid, 238). Colchester
also had a small stake in the export of wool
and cheeses (Britnell 1986b, 18).
the number of coastal find spots of
locally produced Colchester-type ware is also
suggestive of coastal trading (CAR 7, 177)
and Britnell has argued that a comparatively
rapid growth of coastal trade through minor
market centres was a feature of commercial
development in 13th-century essex (Britnell
1981, 19). the export potential of the local
pottery industry appears to have been limited,
however, as distributions of these wares are
largely restricted to north-east essex and parts
of suffolk. the late 13th- and 14th-century
louvers are exceptions to this, and have been
found at Chelmsford, great easton and
possibly rickmansworth (herts) (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 29; CAR 3, 211–14; CAR 7, 165).
the small quantities of non-local english
wares discovered in Colchester indicate that
the inland trade of pottery to the town was
also a relatively insignificant commercial
activity (ibid, 354). Pottery ‘imports’ from
the eastern region included stamford, st
neots and london types, which were being
brought into the town in the 11th and 12th
centuries. however, the majority of non-local
wares brought into Colchester consisted of
glazed essex wares, principally hedingham
wares, from kilns located 24km to the west
of the town, and mill green wares from mill
green, near ingatestone, in central essex (ibid,
354). growing trade along the route between
london and Colchester in the 13th century is
perhaps indicated by the founding of seven
weekly markets along it between 1199 and 1312
(Britnell 1986b, 12).
Pottery industry
Colchester’s own post-roman pottery industry
had developed by the second quarter of the
11th century with the production of early
medieval sandy ware (CAR 7, 40, fabric 13).
the industry continued after the norman
Conquest and was to become the dominant
pottery in the town in the late 11th and 12th
centuries before finally dying out, or perhaps
evolving into medieval grey ware, around 1225
(ibid, 68). the pottery was either hand-made
with wheel-thrown rims or hand-made with the
whole vessel finished on a wheel or turntable
(ibid, 353). it was produced in several vessel
forms, of which the primary one was large
cooking pots with sagging bases; storage jars,
spouted pitchers, bowls, skillets, curfews and
jugs were also produced (ibid, 41–7). the early
medieval sandy ware potters also produced
a ‘shell-dusted’ ware variant using crushed
marine shell.
evidence for the manufacture of early
medieval sandy ware was found in the town’s
243
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
northern suburb of Middleborough during
excavations there in 1978, when the remains
of at least seven and as many as nine kilns
were recovered (MON349–50, MON351,
MON360–3, MON365, MON366). The
kilns were small single-flue up-draught kilns,
horseshoe-shaped in plan and with walls built
from clay and reused roman tile. they were
in use between the late 12th and early 13th
centuries. located to the east of the kilns was
evidence for a timber structure (mon331) of
uncertain plan form, which was interpreted as
a potter’s workshop (CAR 3, 186–9).
During the 13th and 14th centuries the
local ceramic industry became dominated by
medieval grey ware (Cotter fabric 20), which
probably developed from early medieval sandy
ware during the 12th century (CAR 7, 91).
two local production sites, at mile end and
great horkesley, are known for this pottery.
roadworks at mile end, two miles to the
north of Colchester, led to the discovery in
1973 of pits, postholes, gullies, ditches, kiln
furniture and wasters from a late 12th- to
early 13th-century pottery (Drury and Petchey
1975, 33–6, 52). Cooking pots, jugs, bowls and
other minor vessel forms were produced at
the site, which also made louvers and chimney
pots, or drain-pipes, that have been located in
excavations in Colchester (CAR 7, 106). the
distribution of grey wares from mile end
is largely restricted to north-east essex, and
Colchester was clearly the main market for its
products.
the pottery at great horkesley, located
6km north-west of Colchester, is known from
waster material recovered from five different
locations around the parish (Drury and Petchey
1975, 54–6; CAR 7, 109). the ceramics that
were produced there included 14th-century
medieval grey wares and Colchester-type ware
(Cotter fabric 21a), which first appeared
in Colchester c 1200, but did not achieve
prominence until the late 14th century, when
it replaced medieval grey wares. it began as a
tableware industry, dominated by jugs, with
a few jars/cooking pots and bowls also in
production (CAR 7, 113). louvers were also
manufactured and are known from a number
of late 13th- and early 14th-century contexts in
the town (ibid, 164). Colchester-type ware had a
slightly wider distribution than that of medieval
grey wares, but remained largely confined to
north-east essex (ibid, 177–8) except for the
louvers, for which there appears to have been
a wider demand (CAR 3, 214).
no documentary references are known
for the kilns at middleborough and there is a
dearth of historical evidence for the industry
within the walled town and intramural parishes
until the second half of the 14th century.
Documentary references to potters in the area
around great horkesley are known from the
late 13th century and indicate the presence of
at least half a dozen people involved in the
industry by this time. the historical evidence
for potters at mile end is later than the early
13th-century pottery site and relates to a
potter called hugh Pottere of mile end, who
is mentioned in records between c 1295 and
1330. elsewhere, documentary and placename evidence has been identified in lexden,
ardleigh and inworth (CAR 7, 364–9)
Cloth industry
Colchester was absent from the list of cloth
towns recorded in the Pipe roll of 1201/2,
so its early involvement in the cloth trade is
questionable (gervers 1989, 34). an industry
had certainly developed in the town by the
second quarter of the 13th century, however,
and by 1247 a fulling mill, called haddel
mill, is recorded (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 259).
surnames recorded between c 1230 and c 1256
included two chaloners, two drapers, three
dyers, five fullers and three weavers (ibid, 28),
and of 167 people recorded in the incomplete
tax assessment of 1272/3, a total of 25 were
assessed on cloth; six were called weavers,
four dyers, three fullers and two carders. an
additional three people possessed wool and two
had linen (ibid, 29). from at least the middle of
the 13th century Colchester had a reputation
for russet cloth, with henry iii purchasing 20
russet cloths in Colchester in 1249 to clothe
his servants, and further quantities in 1252
and 1254 (ibid, 28; reynolds 1977, 50); in the
borough’s tax assessment of 1301, russet was
repeatedly mentioned as a distinct type (Britnell
1986b, 13). however, the cloth trade still
appears to have been in its infancy at this stage,
with only eight men recorded as weavers, six
taxed on fuller’s utensils and three on dyestuffs
and dyeing vats in the same year. in 1327, the
surname Dyer and its equivalents occurs only
three times on the tax roll in Colchester, and the
surnames fuller and Webb are absent. By the
middle of the 14th century, the manufacture
244
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
and finishing of cloth was still not the town’s
primary industry (ibid, 14).
the fullers and dyers, who needed water,
are documented as working along the Colne
between north Bridge and middle mill, and at
east Bridge, but as yet minimal archaeological
evidence for the cloth industry has been
recovered from the uaD study area. fullers
held land under the town wall between ryegate
and northgate in the 1220s; in c 1242 a tenterer
and a fuller had houses outside north gate,
and in 1328 edmund le Chaloner sold his
tenement beyond north Bridge to a fuller
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 40–1). on his death in
1330, a cloth-maker called John Dyer owned
at least two houses in east street and a tenter
at east mill (ibid, 40). the tools associated
with early medieval spinning and weaving
have rarely been found in Colchester, although
several spindlewhorls were recovered from
lion Walk (CAR 5, 30–2).
Leather industry
Documentary evidence indicates that by the
end of the 13th century leather-working was
a flourishing local industry. a cobbler and
four tanners were recorded in the middle of
the 13th century and a cobbler and skinner
were present in the town after c 1265. the
incomplete tax assessment of 1272/3 recorded
six people assessed on leather or hides, while
a further three shoemakers and two tanners
can be identified. late 13th-century surnames
indicate the presence of a cordwainer, two
lorimers and four tanners, and the 1296 tax
assessment suggests that the leather trades
employed almost as many people as the cloth
trades (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 28–9). in the 1301
tax assessment, the preparation of skins was
more prominent than textiles and, according
to Britnell, ‘has more claim to be considered
the town’s main industrial specialisation’
(Britnell 1986b, 14). in total, 13 tax payers were
described as tanners or occupied tanneries at
this time, and a further 17 people were taxed on
leather or shoes, or were described as cobblers,
providing some indication of the main use to
which leather was put (ibid). evidence for the
supply of raw materials for the tanning industry
comes from the documented cargo of three
Colchester merchants which was impounded
in Zeeland in 1344 and included 70 quarters
(890kg) of crushed bark (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 31).
the need for water would have drawn the
artisans involved in leather-working to the
same areas of the town as the cloth-makers
and in c 1242 a tanner had houses outside
north gate (ibid, 41). archaeological evidence
for the manufacture of leather products has
come from three sites located outside the
town walls and close to a supply of running
water. at osborne street, near the town’s
south gate and close to Childwell Brook,
300 leather scraps which consisted mainly of
triangular off-cuts and narrow strips dated to
c 1150/75–c 1250 were found. these may have
been manufacturing waste from a shoemaker’s
workshop (shimmin 1994, 46). small dumps
of shoe and clothing fragments dating from
the 13th to the 17th centuries were also
found (Crummy and hind 1994, 59). further
evidence for the town’s tanning industry comes
from the northern suburb of middleborough,
where excavations in 1979 uncovered a
medieval bone assemblage dominated by waste
bone from cattle and sheep/goat (CAR 12,
51). trial trenching at a site adjacent to north
Bridge in 1999 recovered a small assemblage of
leather fragments including late 14th-century
shoe soles and off-cuts from leather working
(Brooks 2004d, 23-31).
Metalworking
a concentration of tap slag discovered during
the lion Walk excavations in robber trenches,
and in the 11th-century defensive ditch
at vineyard street, points to 11th-century
ironworking in the town, but no associated
structural features were found, and this
evidence may belong to the preceding period
(CAR 3, 91). tap slag, forging slag and pieces
of furnace lining, together with charcoal and
burnt daub, were recovered during excavations
at angel yard, indicating that metalworking
took place near the high street frontage during
the 12th or 13th centuries (shimmin and Carter
1996, 38). the proximity of this activity to
the town’s main commercial street suggests
that it was carried out within a craftsman’s
workshop attached to a shop. on the west side
of north hill a bronze-casting pit (mon288)
discovered on the gilberd school site gave an
archaeo-magnetic date of c 1050–1100. on the
pit’s east side a substantial structure had been
built which contained evidence for at least five
casting operations. mould fragments from the
site were undiagnostic, but the oven appeared
245
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
to have been used for casting bells or other
large circular vessels, indicating that specialised
working of copper alloys was taking place
(CAR 6, 137–8). ‘Brass’ pots were frequently
recorded in the detailed tax assessments of
1295/6 and 1301, but there is no indication
that these were locally produced (Rickword
1906, 155). Two crucible fragments discovered
at Lion Walk and the Cups Hotel site may also
belong to this period, although an earlier date
is possible and they have been discussed in the
previous chapter.
The two medieval coin hoards that were
deposited in lead canisters beneath properties
along the south side of the High Street and
were retrieved in 1902 (FND218) and 1969
(FND296) have been speculatively linked to the
town’s mint (Clarke et al 1974, 42–3), although
minting is known to have ceased in c 1157
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 26–7). Remnants of a
third hoard (FND298) were discovered during
a watching brief at 22–24 High Street (Brooks
2004a, 78–9). The 1902 hoard of Short Cross
pennies was found during building operations
at 25 High Street and comprised nearly 11,000
coins ranging in date from Henry I to Henry
III, including some contemporary Scottish and
German sterlings (Grueber 1903, 111–76). The
1969 hoard was found 2.2m to the west of the
property boundary of 25 High Street and 6m
south of the High Street frontage. It consisted
of 14,076 coins of the time of Henry III buried
in a lidded lead canister. Part of the hoard,
consisting mainly of English Long Cross
pennies from mints all around the country, had
been buried in 1256. The group included some
Anglo-Irish, Scottish and continental issues, as
well as a few plated forgeries. This hoard was
increased some time between 1268 and 1278
by the addition of 1,916 freshly struck pennies
which had originated from the nearest mint, at
Bury St Edmunds (Clarke et al 1974, 39–61). A
third hoard was found a few metres away from
the 1969 hoard and consisted of a lead canister
and a single 13th-century coin of Henry III
(Brooks 2004a, 78–80). The canister had been
buried upside down in a small pit.
The canisters were of the type used by
those handling large amounts of cash and
this, combined with the excellent quality of
the coins, points to money-lenders as the
likely owners of the hoards. Local Jewish
financiers are known to have owned properties
along this part of the high street in the 13th
century (stephenson 1986, 50), and it has been
suggested that the coins were the reserves of
Jewish bankers who were unable to take their
wealth with them when they were expelled
from england in 1290 (archibald and Cook
2001, 94–6).
Other trades, crafts and manufacturing industries
evidence for other trades, crafts and industries
in Colchester is sparse, although late 13thcentury surnames indicate the presence of a
cutler, a goldsmith, a mustarder, a coalman
and a vintner (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 29) and
the detailed tax returns of 1296 and 1301 list
further occupations, including those of brewer,
lime merchant, fishmonger, miller, baker and
tiler (rickword 1906, 127–44). several men
had the surname ‘le verrer’ and, although most
were probably just glaziers, in 1300 robert le
verrer had among his goods a store of wood
that might have been used for glass-making
(Charleston 1991, 256). a suspected glassblower’s works recorded by laver around 1924
at the south-west end of north hill appears
to have been a very small tile kiln (mon566)
of 13th- to 14th-century date (hull 1958, 146).
local finds of relief-decorated tiles suggest
that a nascent tile industry may have developed
in the town during the 14th century (CAR
9, 231–4). in 1311 there was approximately
1 brewer for every 30 people in the town,
suggesting high levels of ale production and
consumption; however, the brewing and selling
of ale was a transient trade in which most
brewers would only be involved for a short
time (Dyer 1989, 197).
Lime production
the production of lime for building, and
presumably also for agricultural purposes,
was conducted both inside and outside the
town walls using marine mollusc shells, a
readily available by-product of the local
fishing industry, as raw material. in the early
medieval period lime-burning was carried
out in a kiln which took the form of a large
circular pit 4–5m across (CAR 3, 30). at the
gilberd school site a lime kiln 3.4m wide
(mon289) was discovered and dated to the
12th–13th centuries; it contained crushed and
burnt sea shells, predominantly of cockles but
also of oysters and mussels (CAR 6, 288–9).
another lime kiln (mon677), of the same
size as the gilberd school kiln, was discovered
246
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
during trenching in Castle Park (CAR 6, 372).
Excavations at St Giles’s church revealed a large
lime kiln which took the form of a circular pit
4m wide (CAR 9, 221), and another lime kiln
(MON677) of the same size as the Gilberd
School kiln was discovered during trenching
in Castle Park (CAR 6, 372). Interestingly,
documentary evidence for lime production
in association with building works comes
from Colchester Castle, where a lime kiln was
included in the cost of repairs to the castle
bailey wall in 1182–3 (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
244). A further four large pit-type kilns were
discovered at Lion Walk (CAR 3, 87, fig 73).
smaller lime kilns are known from st mary’s
Cottage, Church Walk (CAR 6, 980–3); site B
at Culver street (ibid, 123; CAR 7, 7); and lion
Walk, where nine kilns (mon495–507), using
crushed oyster shell as the main ingredient,
were recovered (CAR 2, 30). the nine lion
Walk kilns formed a multi-phase complex and
were of a different type to the larger pit kilns,
consisting of a central reducing chamber with
two opposing raking-out pits (CAR 3, 87–8,
fig 77). re-evaluation of the associated pottery
at lion Walk suggests that the earliest lime
production, using the small kilns, began in the
13th century and probably ended in the 14th
century (CAR 7, 6). analysis of mortar from
the castle showed that it used lime made in two
different types of the larger pit kilns: a ‘running
kiln’ (one which is run continuously) and a ‘flare
kiln’ (one which is operated intermittently).
the mortar from the norman chapel had
used lime which contained coal impurities,
indicating that the former type of kiln had
been used, while mortar from the 13th-century
barbican had been manufactured in the latter
type of kiln and contained no impurities. the
evidence from Colchester thus points to a
change in kiln design and concomitant increase
in the quality of lime during the 13th century
(CAR 3, 30).
Mills
although no physical remains of the town’s
mills are known to have survived, historical
sources reveal that Colchester was generally
well served by watermills throughout this
period. the town’s two great religious houses
owned most of Colchester’s mills, with a single
mill at lexden owned by the lord of the manor.
the town’s burgesses do not appear to have
owned suit to any mills and Colchester’s bakers
leased watermills from the major landlords. in
this way the bakers were able to control their
own supply of flour and could profit from the
grinding of corn for others (Britnell 1986b,
38). in 1248/9, for example, the widow of
Walter Baker confirmed the ownership of
stokes mill to st John’s abbey (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 262–3) and in 1345/6 five bakers
leased east mill, the new Priory mill and
north mill between them (Britnell 1986b, 38).
towards the middle of the 14th century there
was a reduction in the number of grain mills
but by this time water-power was also being
used for the cloth industry. the establishment
of the first windmills in the town towards the
beginning of the 14th century indicates that the
Colne’s capacity as a power source was being
fully utilised (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 263).
six watermills were recorded in 1086:
three in Colchester, two in lexden and one in
greenstead. the two in lexden were lexden
mill, which belonged to lexden manor and
was on the Colne approximately 1.5km west
of the town (Britnell 1986b, 21), and north
mill, which stood on the Colne somewhere
to the north-west of north Bridge. the
latter was granted to st John’s abbey prior to
1154 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 397). a further
watermill situated outside ryegate, known
as middle mill, was recorded in c 1101 and
may have been omitted from Domesday as it
belonged to Colchester Castle. it is likely that
it was maintained by the castle into the 14th
century (ibid, 248). hull mill was built in the
later 12th century and appears to have replaced
the greenstead mill (ibid, 261–2).
throughout most of the 13th and 14th
centuries there were usually eight watermills
in operation within the uaD study area. five
of these were located on the Colne (lexden
mill, north mill, middle mill, stokes mill and
east mill) and three on a small tributary called
Bourne stream, to the south-east of the town
(Bourne mill, Cannock mill and hull mill). the
operation of other mills was probably shortlived but included a fulling mill called haddel
mill, recorded in 1247, and sebares mill at the
hythe, recorded in 1332 (ibid, 259). in 1227,
hull mill was described as the new mill of st
Botolph’s Priory (ibid, 261) and in the 14th
century it was one of three mills owned by the
priory, the others being east mill and Cannock
mill, which were both recorded in 1311. Bourne
mill may have been the un-named mill that was
247
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
granted to St John’s Abbey on its foundation.
It was first recorded by name in c 1240 and was
rebuilt in c 1326. stokes mill, situated at the
end of land lane, may have been the mill that
belonged to st Peter’s church in 1066. in c 1225
it belonged to st John’s abbey, but it appears
to have gone out of use for grain-milling by
the 1330s (Britnell 1986b, 21). north mill and
middle mill went out of use as grain mills in
the 1340s, perhaps as a result of the Black
Death (ibid, 22). Colchester’s earliest recorded
windmill was noted in 1325 at an unidentified
location called monksdown, while another was
recorded at old heath in 1341 (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 263).
The countryside
Administrative framework
the liberty (the area where royal control was
delegated) of Colchester covered around
10,000 acres around the built-up area of the
town and included the outlying parishes of
lexden, greenstead, mile end, Berechurch
and st giles’s, as well as substantial extramural
parts of st Botolph’s, all saints, st mary’s-atthe-Walls and st James’s, and smaller detached
parts of other intramural parishes (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 383). there was a total of 16 parishes
within the liberty. Part of the river Colne was
also included within the liberty, having been
granted, or confirmed, to the burgesses by
richard i (ibid, 231), although its western limit
was ill-defined. the four wards of the borough
had all been recorded by 1272 (ibid, 231).
significant Domesday landholders included
the king, eudo Dapifer, the bishop of london
and Count eustace of Boulogne. the pattern
of lordship that was established during
the norman period was largely maintained
throughout the early middle ages, with st
Botolph’s Priory and st John’s abbey coming
to hold extensive tracts of the pre-Conquest
estates of greenstead and West Donyland
until the Dissolution. lexden manor was
a significant lay estate, and the division of
some estates during the period resulted in
the creation of several freehold estates, such
as the manors of Berechurch, Battleswick,
Braiswick and mile end. although there is
little documentary evidence for manor courts,
the abbot of st John’s is known to have held a
court in greenstead in the early 13th century
and, in 1274 and 1285, he claimed the rights
to maintain a gallows and free warren (for
rabbits) by charter of henry iii. the gallows
presumably stood at the site of gallows
green on the edge of Parson’s heath (ibid,
387). st Botolph’s Priory and the lords of
lexden manor are also known to have enjoyed
extensive legal privileges in their lands within
the liberty (ibid, 50)
Agriculture
Colchester’s market place was the main
centre of agricultural trade within a 13km
radius of the town (Britnell 1986b, 46),
and many of Colchester’s most prosperous
townspeople would have derived their wealth
from agriculture, through the supply of grain,
meat, dairy products and other produce to
the urban population. much of the town’s
supply of foodstuffs would have come from
within the liberty itself (ibid, 38). Domesday
provides few details of the agricultural life of
the borough (Darby 1957, 254), but in 1086
individual burgesses and other landowners
held a total of around 1,304 acres (528ha)
of land, most probably in fields to the north,
south-west and south-east of the town. as
a body, the burgesses held 51 acres (21ha)
of meadow, perhaps along the Colne at the
hythe, and 8 perches (0.16ha) of land around
the walls, together with 80 acres (32ha) of
common, which may have comprised waste
land within the walls and along some of the
roads leading into the town. in all these places,
the borough’s ownership of land continued
into the 14th century (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
40). it is known that the burgesses exercised
common rights over much of the liberty,
with the common land divided into two
types: ‘whole-year land’ and ‘half-year land’.
the main ‘whole-year’ commons comprised
detached areas of outlying parishes, especially
mile end. the ‘half-year’ commons consisted
of grazing rights on the borough fields, the
ancient fields of the town which lay chiefly
within the parishes of the intramural churches
to the south-east and south-west of the town
(ibid, 255).
the field system around Colchester was
not of the open-field type, but of the sort
found over most of essex, which, according
to Britnell, consisted of ‘an unsystematic
arrangement of fields large and small, some
subdivided, some not, in which holdings were
usually made up of compact blocks of land
248
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
rather than strips’ (1988, 159). Ditches and
hedges usually bounded individual tenements
and some cropmarks around Colchester may
relate to these kinds of features. A rectilinear
enclosure (MON61) to the north of the river
Colne was trenched in 1952 and produced
medieval pottery which was dated earlier than
1400 (CAR 11, 131).
Documentary records from the late 13th
century reveal that the main crop grown around
Colchester was oats, with barley and rye also
grown in large quantities. It has been estimated
that at least 191 households within the liberty
in 1301 had grain for sale (Britnell 1986b, 38).
Small amounts of peas and beans were also
produced, while cattle and sheep were the
primary livestock husbanded by the burgesses;
the latter were perhaps the more important
of the two (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 30). This
list has been confirmed by environmental
sampling at Culver Street, where the range of
plant foodstuffs consumed by Colchester’s
inhabitants included bread wheat, barley, wild
and cultivated oats, rye, horse bean and pea
supplemented with apple, cherry, bramble,
elderberry and hazelnuts (CAR 6, table 8.21).
Examination of the animal bone from medieval
deposits in the town has shown that cattle were
of prime importance, with sheep/goat second,
although pig held this position at Culver Street
(CAR 12, 51).
During the early Middle Ages the salt
marshes were a significant element in the
economy of Colchester and of Essex as a
whole. The land and coastal waters provided
pasture for sheep and were used for fishing
and hunting as well as the production of salt.
although there are no Domesday entries for
salt pans in the Colchester hundred it would
seem more likely that Domesday is incomplete
than that there was a real absence (Wilkinson
and murphy 1995, 208), and medieval saltworking sites have been tentatively recognised
in the district at langenhoe (fawn et al 1990,
49). Pasture for sheep was a separate and
distinct entry in the essex Domesday and
appears to have related to marshland grazing
(Darby 1957, 242). much of the pasture in
parts of the liberty further from the town was
later organised into dairy farms, or ‘wicks’,
many of which originated as appendages to the
large estates (Britnell 1988, 161). Canonswick,
in West Donyland, was first recorded in 1160
and belonged to st Botolph’s Priory, while the
abbey at Bury st edmunds had st edmunds
wick in mile end by 1180. another un-named
wick was recorded in 1196. Braiswick in mile
end and lexden was recorded in 1257/8 and
tubswick in mile end was recorded in 1296, by
which point it was a mixed farm (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 405). five wicks were recorded in the
1301 tax assessment, including Battleswick, in
the south-east of the liberty; Canonswick and
either monkwick or middlewick, which were
granges of st Botolph’s Priory and st John’s
abbey respectively; arnoldswick, in lexden;
and another unidentified wick in Donyland
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 383). although they may
have originated as pastoral units, they were all
mixed farms by the early 14th century.
Landscape management
the evidence of the feet of fines between
1290 and 1330 concerning those estates in the
liberty whose arable lands amounted to at least
30 acres (12ha) suggests that about 15 per cent
of these properties were made up of pasture,
meadow and wood. however, Britnell argues
that the proportion of uncultivated land in the
region must have been higher than this because
of extensive common lands within the liberty
that were not represented in these examples
(Britnell 1986b, 41).
much of the area to the north of the town
was woodland, which was divided into Cestrewald
(or the borough’s wood), to the north-west,
and Kingswood forest, to the north. like the
other royal forests of essex, Kingswood was
probably established in the 12th century and
was apparently compartmentalised, producing
timber and some wood (rackham 1980,
104–5). Welshwood, situated to the north-west
of the town, was believed to contain 40 acres
(16ha) in 1330. Woodland was used for grazing
(wood-pasture), fuel and timber, and hunting.
in the 13th and 14th centuries the abbot of
st osyth enclosed groves which were used
for producing timber and as wood-pasture
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 404–5), while in the
parish of greenstead st John’s abbey enclosed
some 220 acres (89ha) of ancient common
and planted sowen Wood before 1242. this
survives, now known as Bullock Wood, as
one of the earliest examples of a woodland
plantation in the country (ibid, 386; rackham,
1980, 104; rackham 1986, 154). in 1280 the
demesne of lexden manor included around
150 acres (61ha) of ‘park pasture’ which had
249
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
been enclosed by the lord of the manor before
1237 (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 396).
As elsewhere in England during the 13th
century, much of the woodland around
Colchester was cleared to extend the cultivated
area of the land. Regular grants of timber
were made from Kingswood at this time, and
Cestrewald was cleared in the 13th century, as
was some woodland in Greenstead, to the north
of the town, and part of Shrub Wood, on the
border with Stanway in the south-west of the
liberty. Much of Berechurch, to the south of
Colchester, was also wooded during the early
Middle Ages, with Farthing Corner, Maypole
Green and Friday Wood Green forming
remnants of a chain of greens probably
cleared from woodland (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
414). Evidence of assarting, the clearance of
forested land for agriculture, during the 13th
century can be found in the farmstead name
Shaws (meaning wood or grove) in Mile End,
which derived from a holding recorded in
1296 (ibid, 385). Assarting may also have led
to the formation of villages such as Rowhedge
(rough enclosure), which was recorded for the
first time in the early 14th century (vCh 2001,
Essex X, 187).
Settlement and religious buildings
few finds dating to the early medieval period
have been recorded from Colchester and the
surrounding area, but the medieval settlement
pattern survives in the main to this day, owing
much to the stability of parish church sites.
the rural settlement pattern in the area is
typical of north essex, being comprised largely
of dispersed hamlets, farmsteads and greens.
Parish churches are in most cases sited close
to a manorial hall but only in a few cases, such
as Wormingford, West mersea and easthorpe,
are there nucleated settlements where the
village developed directly around a hall–church
complex. Possible deserted medieval village
sites include the site of the hall–church
complex at West Bergholt (turner 1984, 44); an
area close to the ruined church of st lawrence
in east Donyland; the area around the site of st
andrew’s Church, langenhoe, where ridge and
furrow is recorded; and the site of st mary’s
Church at layer Breton (Crummy 1975, 34).
outlying churches within the liberty included
st michael’s Church (mon940), which stood
on the east side of mile end road a mile north
of Colchester and was first recorded in 1254,
when mile end detached from st Peter’s to
become a separate parish (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
403). the church appears to have been a simple
post-Conquest structure comprised of chancel,
aisleless nave, and south porch. remains of the
rubble foundations of the nave, which was
about 18ft (5.5m) wide but of indeterminate
length (rChme 1922, 47), survive on the site.
st andrew’s Church at greenstead (mon281)
is located on a hill to the east of the river Colne,
1.8km from the town’s east gate. it is recorded
in little Domesday and so is likely to have
been an anglo-saxon foundation, and parts
of the nave can be dated to the 12th century
(ibid, 47). lexden’s church of st leonard’s had
been established by the early 12th century and
stood on the south side of lexden street until
its demolition in 1820 (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
400). st michael’s Church at Berechurch, which
was first recorded in 1170 and was rebuilt in
the late 15th century (ibid, 416–18), may have
been an anglo-saxon foundation (see previous
chapter).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
none of the houses mentioned in Domesday
have been excavated. similarly, identification of
most of the churches remains uncertain. only a
few of the town’s 16 medieval churches (Cutts
1889, 96) can be shown by archaeological or
other means to have been as early as Domesday
with any certainty: st Peter’s, holy trinity
and st mary’s at Colchester, and st andrew’s
at greenstead. others, however, such as
all saints, st nicholas’s and st martin’s, are
likely to be just as old, and st Botolph’s may
have been preceded by a late anglo-saxon
minster (rodwell and rodwell 1977, 40–1).
Warwick and Kirsty rodwell fully reviewed
the churches of Colchester in the mid-1970s
(ibid) and highlighted the importance of st
martin’s, arguing that it started as an aisled
cruciform (ibid, 29), but the results of a
small investigation in 1991 suggested that this
may not have been so (Cat archive report,
unnumbered). the sites of most of the mills
in the Domesday survey (plus middle mill,
which was excluded because it was on the king’s
land) can be identified, but there has been no
archaeological excavation at any of them.
the robbing of buried remains has been
shown to be a feature largely of the late 11th
250
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
and 12th centuries (for example, CAR 6,
123), and one confined to the built-up areas,
where people might dig pits and trenches
and accidentally discover buried foundations
which they subsequently robbed. most roman
foundations in the town centre appear to have
been robbed, whereas they tend to survive
in places where there was no early medieval
occupation in the vicinity, such as at Balkerne
lane, outside the walled part of the town
(Buildings 52 and 59: CAR 3, 124 and 130).
however, foundations under medieval streets
appear to be unrobbed, thus providing some
dating evidence for the post-roman street
system.
Colchester Castle continues to present
seemingly intractable problems in relation to
the original number of floors and its internal
layout. the building is subject to ongoing
research and will probably remain so for
many years to come. the most recent work
(by the author and Cat) has uncovered some
hitherto unrecognised structural features of
considerable significance. the study is as
yet unpublished, but several key conclusions
emerge: firstly, the castle is very unlikely to have
been built as originally intended; secondly, in
terms of structure, layout and accommodation,
Colchester Castle and the tower of london
were even more similar than is generally
supposed; and, thirdly, the plan of the castle
is likely to have been typologically earlier than
that of the tower of london.
of the seven stone houses identified in
CAR 1 (53–70), all appear to be norman in
origin. five of the buildings were identified
as houses, of which one, Building 28 at lion
Walk (CAR 3, 75–82), was excavated. this was
dated to the 12th century, but it is possible that
one or two of the others might be as early as
Domesday. there were probably many more
stone houses in norman Colchester (CAR
1, 69); Canterbury had at least 30 by the end
of the 12th century (urry 1967, 193). the
association of stone houses with Jews in other
towns in england (for example, Canterbury,
lincoln and Bury st edmunds) raises the
possibility of Jewish ownership of the early
medieval stone houses in Colchester. Certainly
aaron the Jew is recorded as having bought
stone houses in st runwald’s parish at some
time before 1275 (rigg and Jenkinson 1905,
235–6), but otherwise no direct connection
with Jews can as yet be demonstrated for any
of the stone houses identified in Colchester.
the large 13th-century coin hoards from the
high street, however, seem highly likely to have
been Jewish (archibald and Cook 2001, 94–6;
Brooks 2004a, 84). no evidence was noted of
medieval stone foundations on the site of one
of the hoards in 2000, but this is not conclusive
as the site had been largely destroyed in 1969.
the two large hoards were found in adjacent
properties, but, given their rarity as finds, the
chances are that they had been buried on the
same property. the distance between the two
hoards suggests that they came from a house
which stood lengthways along the high street
rather than end on to it. this would indicate
a relatively low density of houses lining the
market place, despite this being the commercial
heart of the town. the subsequent sub-division
of properties into separate houses in the
medieval and later periods is well attested in
busy parts of Colchester, where frontage space
was in demand (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 103).
apart from the limited number of stone
houses, almost nothing is known about early
medieval houses in Colchester, as earlier
upstanding or archaeological remains are very
rarely encountered. the mud brick or wattle
12th-century buildings observed in section at
st John’s abbey (CAR 1, 220–1) might prove
to be typical of many early medieval houses
in the town. the earliest hall recognised so far
is represented by fragmentary remains of an
early 14th-century aisled building in the rose
and Crown hotel in east street (menuge 1997),
and the earliest excavated house, apart from the
stone house at lion Walk, was a very poorly
preserved 13th-century building on the Cups
hotel site on the high street, excavated in 1973
(Building 155, CAR 6, 335).
the plan of the eastern half of st Botolph’s
Priory church has been recovered through
excavation and shown to have had a squaredoff chancel and a crypt or undercroft under
the south crossing. the church also proved to
have been constructed on the site of a roman
building, but too little of the latter could be
uncovered to determine its plan or function, or
if it had been a roman church (Crummy 2001,
150). almost nothing is known about the layout
and character of the rest of the priory.
st John’s abbey is equally obscure. a
drawing of the abbey church survives (morant
1768, bk ii, facing p 140), although it appears
to suggest that the conventual buildings were to
251
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
the north of the church, despite documentary
evidence to the contrary (CAR 1, 26–30; VCH
1994, Essex IX, 303). Excavation there has
revealed part of St John’s church, an AngloSaxon building which pre-dated the abbey
(CAR 9, 203–18), and, as mentioned above,
parts of some mud brick or wattle buildings
were revealed in a section in 1973. The latter
appear to have been parts of early 12th-century
conventual buildings destroyed during a major
fire in 1133 and, as yet, are unique exposures
of early medieval domestic-scale buildings
in Colchester which were not of stone and
brick. the precinct wall was dated 1095–1133
(CAR 9, 219–20), although some test pits dug
behind the wall in 2002 indicate that parts of
the wall, if not all of it, might be significantly
later (Brooks 2002b).
most of st mary magdalen’s hospital
was excavated in 1989 and 1995 and as a
result a full picture of the establishment has
been recovered. although founded in the
early 12th century as a leper hospital, no
pathological evidence of the disease could be
detected in the excavated inhumations. the
inmates’ accommodation was of the customary
dormitory style in a single large building which,
in this case, was of two periods. the earliest
burials around the first st mary magdalen
church included a priest with a lead chalice
(Crossan 2003, 110).
of the other monastic and religious
institutions, only the house of the Crutched
friars has been explored archaeologically. Part
of the church was uncovered in 1988 and again
in 2006 (CAR 9, 253; Benfield 2007, 21–3), but
the work concerned was limited and carried
out under restricted circumstances, leaving
the layout and development of the friary
unclear. limited investigations at st helen’s
have revealed something of the relationship
between the roman theatre and later chapel
(Crummy 1982b, 300–1). at least three of the
latter’s four walls proved to have roman work
as foundations and it may even be possible that
parts of the walls themselves are roman too.
none of the other ancient chapels (st anne’s,
st thomas’s and st mary’s) survive and nothing
is known about their appearance or plan.
there have been no archaeological investigations of the waterfronts at the hythe, and the
development of the port and its quays remains
largely unexplored. the original norman quay
is likely to be the ‘common quay’, which is on
the west bank of the river. it starts 37 yards
(34m) south of hythe bridge and is 195 yards
(178m) long (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 240).
leather strips and offcuts dated 1150/75–
1250 from st Botolph’s street are, as yet,
the only possible indicators of shoemaking
in Colchester in the early medieval period
(Crummy and hind 1994, 59), and, in general,
the material evidence recovered from the
ground for the wool, cloth and leather trades
is almost non-existent, despite the fact that
these trades were important in Colchester in
the 13th century (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 28).
on the other hand, pottery manufacture is
hugely over-represented in the archaeological
record. this is because pottery vessels are
durable, they are made in large numbers
and they break down into many fragments.
moreover, the kilns used in their manufacture
leave distinctive and substantial remains in the
ground for archaeologists to discover. twelfthcentury pottery manufacture is well attested at
Colchester by the series of kilns and a possible
workshop (Building 74) at middleborough, just
outside the walled part of the town (CAR 3,
185, 189; CAR 7, 57–67), and later kiln sites
have been recorded at mile end (Drury and
Petchey 1976). otherwise, the only other
substantial archaeological evidence for trade
or craft activities takes the form of large pits
at lion Walk and elsewhere, where shell was
burnt to make lime (CAR 3, 86–7).
the study of animal remains is hampered
by high levels of roman material which,
being undatable in its own right, cannot easily
be excluded from any study. however, bulk
sieving has proved especially effective for
the recovery of fish bone and has revealed
the development of a fishing industry with
significant herring fleets in the 13th and 14th
centuries, and off-shore fisheries for cod
(CAR 6, 279). (for further, see P murphy’s
summary below.)
Preservation
Preservation of houses is extremely poor.
nothing of their superstructure has been
recognised above ground. unlike their roman
predecessors, the houses of early medieval
Colchester shared the same sites as later and
modern ones, and as a result much of the
buried remains have been lost through the
construction of cellars and later foundations.
the worst-affected area is the high street,
252
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
where uncellared parts of the frontages seem to
be exceptionally rare. Low-lying areas where the
water is close to the surface produce wooden
and leather finds which do not otherwise
survive. There are two main low-lying areas
which can be identified at present, but there
are no doubt others. one is the piece of land
between the river Colne and the fifty-foot
(15m) contour across north hill. the other
stretches from osborne street to the south
side of st Botolph’s Priory.
Importance
in spite of the presence of a huge keep, and
compared with its roman and late iron age
predecessors, Colchester between the 11th
and 14th centuries was an ordinary town,
of modest size and of only limited regional
economic importance during this period, and
the archaeological remains it possesses are not
likely to be significantly different from most of
the towns in east anglia. although Colchester
had been the largest and most important town
in essex over the previous thousand years or
so, by the 14th century the usual administrative
centre for the county was Chelmsford, founded
in the late 12th century by the Bishop of
london (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 23). the central
location of Chelmsford within essex must
have been a key factor favouring Chelmsford,
but the relatively modest size of Colchester
in the 13th century presumably had a bearing
on the relationship between the two places. it
was only after the Black Death that Colchester
began to expand and prosper.
Continental pottery imports never exceeded
0.5 per cent of the total assemblages (CAR
7, 355), revealing limited overseas trade, an
inward-looking town and a modest port
supporting largely coastal traffic. the castle, of
course, is exceptional. its unique relationship to
a roman temple, its huge size, its affinities with
the tower of london and its as yet unrivalled
structural history and development mark it as
a building of international merit. Colchester’s
major monastic houses, st John’s abbey and st
Botolph’s Priory, are not exceptional nationally,
largely because so little survives above ground
compared with many monasteries elsewhere.
however, being in a former roman town,
one or both of the monasteries may bear a
significant relationship to a roman building,
and this would considerably increase their
importance. the chancel of st Botolph’s
church sits on the site of a roman building
and st John’s abbey was the site of a roman
temple (hull 1958, 240).
the Jewish community, established in
the town between 1159 and 1182, seems to
have always been relatively small and poor in
national terms, ranking 16th among those who
contributed to an aid, or royal tax, in 1221.
however, some of the individuals making up
that community may not have been poor, if,
as is thought, the very large 13th-century coin
hoards prove to have been Jewish (archibald
and Cook 2001; Brooks et al 2004). the value
of the properties (namely nine houses and a
synagogue) confiscated by the king in 1290,
showed that Colchester’s Jewish community
ranked about seventh in value among the
Jewries of england at this time (Cutts 1889,
125).
Potential for future research
Despite the poor preservation, remains of
early medieval dwellings are almost certain to
survive, and a study of these should provide
important information, lacking at present,
about the character and development of these
early buildings. the castle has a great deal to
reveal as, of course, do the baileys and their
defences, the exploration of which was ably
started by m r hull and others (Drury 1982).
the buried remains of st John’s abbey and st
Botolph’s Priory are likely to be well preserved,
so that large-scale investigations should reveal
much about their plan and development and,
possibly, even interesting relationships with
much earlier structures. a review of the date
of the precinct wall at st John’s abbey may
produce a different result for its construction
or show the wall to have been of more than
one period, and a survey of the course of the
wall may reveal more gates, especially one on
the south side of the precinct.
the earliest quay at the hythe would appear
to be identifiable and, as work at london has
shown (Cowgill et al 1987, 1–7; grew and de
neergaard 1988, 131–6; egan and Pritchard
1991, 1–12), its excavation could provide
important finds in dumped material behind any
surviving timberwork. Being waterlogged, parts
of the original quay could survive and provide
useful details about the construction and
carpentry of the quay, as well as opportunities
for dendrochronological dating. moreover,
information about the morphological and
253
EARLY MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1066–1348
economic development of the Hythe is likely
to be recovered through excavations following
on the work of 1994–5 (Brooks 2000) and 1999
(Benfield 2001).
Wood and leather are very under-represented
in the archaeological record. apart from
the quays at the hythe, certain areas in and
around the town centre are likely to contain
organic materials and also wattle and other
structures (such as have been found in osborne
street; shimmin 1994, 46–9), which relate to
industries sited close to water. the sites of
the watermills are likely to be particularly
important because of the possibility of early
preserved timberwork and sequences of
pottery and other finds closely datable through
the dendrochronological dating of associated
timbers.
Colchester medieval deposits:
biological remains
by P M Murphy
Biological remains, principally from pits and
ovens/kilns, have been analysed or assessed at
two main sites: Culver street (CAR 6, 273–87)
and angel yard (murphy 1996b). the pit fills
typically include charred remains of cereals
and pulses, mineral-replaced macrofossils of
wild and cultivated fruits, marine mollusc shells
(mostly oyster and cockle), mineral-replaced
arthropods (fly puparia and woodlice), avian
eggshell, notably higher densities of fish bones
than in roman deposits (predominantly eel,
herring and cod: CAR 6, 278–80), larger faunal
remains and phosphatic faecal concretions.
these results show that many or most pits
were latrine pits, though other waste material
was incorporated. the pit fills are entirely
typical of well-drained medieval urban sites,
and the macrofossil assemblages from them
can be paralleled at ipswich, norwich and
thetford (murphy 1997). at angel yard,
the fills of hearths and ovens produced fuel
residues (charcoal of trees, gorse/broom and
heather), but no clear indication of function.
at the gilberd school site, cockle and other
marine shells dredged from the estuary were
used as the raw material for lime production
(CAR 6, 288–9).
as at all urban sites, there is a problem
of residuality and reworking, particularly of
large mammal bones, and this is especially
severe at Colchester because of the long
period of occupation. this may further
compound the taphonomic complexity of
urban biological assemblages, making them
virtually uninterpretable in extreme cases.
for example, anglo-saxon sunken-featured
buildings from Colchester generally contain
abundant roman artefacts (P Crummy, pers
comm), so the bone assemblages from them
are in most cases unreliable. in view of these
problems, it is recommended (murphy 2000a)
that future work should be targeted on deposits
related to discrete short-term events (such as
catastrophic fires or floods) that accumulated
rapidly and are unlikely to contain residual
material; and on deposits that are clearly
involved in processes (for example, textileprocessing, dyeing, malting, leather-working
and bone- or horn-working). for both types
of deposit, there is a reasonable prospect
of unequivocal interpretation. in addition to
these, assessment of more ‘typical’ deposits
(especially waterlogged deposits providing
optimum preservation conditions for biological
material) needs to continue, though in many
cases full analysis will not prove profitable.
11 Late Medieval Colchester, 1349–1540
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
The political, religious and economic structures
established in the early medieval period
continued to shape Colchester until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry
VIII. Colchester’s fortunes fluctuated with the
devastation of the plague and the ebbs and
flows of the cloth trade. Indeed, the period of
1350 to 1500 was a period of mixed fortunes
for English towns in general and it was the
ports, including Colchester, that entered
the 16th century in the strongest position.
Initially the growth of inland and external
trade in 13th-century England seems to have
benefited regional towns other than Colchester,
which was eclipsed by Ipswich as a regional
commercial centre and by the 14th century
ranked only 46th in the league table of English
provincial towns based on lay subsidy – a tax
on moveable property held by the citizens of
a town (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 23). However,
by the mid-16th century Colchester had moved
up to ninth position nationally in terms of
taxable wealth, with the cloth trade at the heart
of this success.
Agriculture and fisheries were staples of
the local economy, but it was sea trade that
offered the best prospects for commercial
growth. The detached settlement of fishermen
and seafarers at the Hythe developed an
infrastructure of wharves and warehouses that
generated income for the borough. The Hythe
was allowed to undertake direct sea trade, even
though it fell under the customs jurisdiction of
the port of Ipswich. Unfortunately the river at
the Hythe was not suitable for heavy shipping,
and town records testify to numerous attempts
made by the borough to improve the channel.
However, silting remained a problem and
large ships were forced to unload downriver at
Wivenhoe; thus Colchester was never able to
develop the levels of commercial success seen
at regional centres such as Norwich, King’s
Lynn and Ipswich.
The numerous Flemish names that appear in
town records from the 1350s mark an influx of
craftsmen and traders from the Low Countries.
This initial intake of skilled immigrants helped
to invigorate the cloth industry, and Colchester
soon developed a European reputation for
cloth, trading directly with the Low Countries,
Gascony and the Baltic States. The Black
Death is recorded for the first time in 1348–9,
taking perhaps a third of the population, yet its
return in 1360 did not stop the cloth boom. In
the late 14th century the town’s leather-based
industries, tanning and shoemaking, appear
to have declined, whereas the cloth industry
benefited from the expansion of markets in
the Baltic and Gascony. Colchester’s speciality,
a medium-quality russet woollen cloth, even
found its way to the Mediterranean via London
merchants. By the late 14th century all five mills
along the Colne had been adapted to fulling,
and immigrants from across the country were
being attracted to Colchester, replacing those
lost through plague.
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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
A common feature of towns of this period
was antagonism between the burgesses and local
landowners over matters of jurisdiction. At
Colchester the two principal local landowners,
the lord of Lexden manor and the abbot of
St John’s Abbey, were the main protagonists.
For example, in 1350 Lionel de Bradenham,
a tenant of the lord of Lexden manor, laid
siege to the town for 13 weeks in a failed
attempt to wrest greater river rights from
the burgesses. Later, in 1398, the abbot was
accused of sending armed riders into the town
to terrorise the citizens. The court rolls and the
Ledger Book of St John’s Abbey continue to
chronicle such disputes into the 15th century.
For example, in 1489 the burgesses complained
that some 400 acres of land which had once
been common had been bought up piecemeal
by the abbey and their ancient rights were being
discarded (Britnell 1986b, 256).
In 1372 the reorganisation of audit, account
and election procedures for the town council
seems to have heralded a period of prosperity
(ibid, 160). The reason for this constitutional
reform is unknown. However, other towns,
such as Ipswich, had experienced popular
unrest at this time which had led to legal
reforms, and perhaps Colchester had similar
concerns. The impact of the Black Death in
England was to drastically reduce the number
of labourers and undermine the old feudal
manorial system; in 1350 the Statute of
Labourers was introduced, which forced preplague wage rates on labourers and forbade
them to move out of their parishes on pain of
having ‘F’ (Falsity) branded on their foreheads.
The growing tensions found expression in the
famous Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which was
ostensibly an uprising against the imposition
of a third poll tax in the previous year but was
also rooted in the struggle against bondage and
serfdom. Colchester played only a peripheral
role in the revolt, although John Ball, one of
its leaders, who famously preached ‘When
Adam delved and Eve span, who then was
the gentleman?’, may have lived in the town.
The other principal leader, Watt Tyler, may
have been a native of Colchester (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 24–6; Bird 1987, 43–4). Colchester
escaped much of the excesses of the uprising,
although during the revolt St John’s Abbey
was attacked and some court rolls were burnt
as people sought to evade the poll tax by
destroying records of their holdings and tax
history (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 24–6). The town
walls were repaired between 1381 and 1421
partly as a response to the revolt and partly as
a precaution against the French, with Richard
II visiting in 1381 to review the work.
From the 1390s Ger man Hanseatic
merchants dominated Colchester’s cloth
trade; their activity was at its peak in the mid15th century, when the town had a number
of Hanseatic residents who hired Dutch ships
to take cloth from Colchester as far as Russia
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 33–4; Britnell 1986b,
173–6). The rapid growth of the town’s cloth
industry was interrupted by war in Europe
in the 1420s, but revived between 1437 and
1449. At this time Colchester’s road links with
London and Ipswich worked for and against
the town, providing access for goods and
capital but allowing Hanseatic merchants based
at the London Steelyard to dominate the local
cloth export industry, siphoning profits out of
the town. At this time towns had to manage the
growing administrative responsibilities placed
on them by the king and also deal with the
popular unrest that stemmed from periodic
economic downturns. In 1447 a royal charter
was presented to the town in an attempt to
quiet the disputes between burgesses and local
manorial lords. This clarified the boundaries
of the jurisdiction of the borough court and
represented a successful effort by the wealthier
burgesses to protect their interests. Another
royal charter of 1463 made the borough a
corporation and redefined its government
structures. However, not all legal developments
in the county worked in Colchester’s favour; for
example, in 1494 Chelmsford was designated
by parliament as the place where the official
brass standard weights and measures were
to be held, to its considerable commercial
advantage.
As the cloth trade developed it came
increasingly under the control of craft guilds
and wealthier burgesses. The role of the former
in quality assurance allowed them to restrict
participation in the trade, while the wealthier
burgesses were able to diversify into different
aspects of the industry: for example, wool
purchasing, fulling, finishing and exporting.
There was also a general rise in living standards
as the survivors of the plague were able to focus
agricultural efforts on the more fertile areas of
land, and food output remained high. Towns
were becoming more important as the rural
257
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
population became increasingly dependent on
goods produced in urban centres, as opposed
to the produce of self-contained estates. The
growth of market networks slowly changed
feudal society. Some merchant burgesses were
becoming stronger through continental trade
and other, lesser, traders also began to exert an
influence over the rural economy. For example,
local butchers could provide financial incentives
to local peasants to specialise in certain types
of livestock and, by the 15th century, ‘every
town had its butchers, all of them prosperous,
the new men of the pastoral economy and
its masters’ (Duby 1969, 193). In the late
15th century Colchester’s trade with northwest Europe declined, but economic growth
continued, with the occasional setback, into
the 16th century. In the first half of the 16th
century Essex towns, particularly Colchester
and Maldon, appear to have suffered an
economic downturn as a result of neglect and
central taxation. However, on balance, despite
recession and population decline, Colchester
fared well when compared with many other
English towns.
Past work
In the late 19th century local collectors
occasionally rescued medieval pottery
assemblages from building sites and passed
them on to the local museum. Recovery
became more systematic during the early 20th
century thanks to local enthusiasts like Philip
Laver, and medieval pottery was commonly
recovered and published with photographs
in the Museum Reports (CMR 1908, 18–19,
and plate; 1914, 14, plate V; 1929, 44–7, plate
X; 1929, 50–2; 1935, 34). However, medieval
features were not generally recorded. In the
1950s and 1960s a handful of excavations
encountered medieval pottery, but only one
major assemblage, from a Stockwell Street
rubbish pit, was published (Pit IV; Blake et al
1961, 41–3).
With the transformation of the Colchester
Excavation Committee into the Colchester
Archaeological Trust in 1971, and the prospect
of the excavation of large-scale intramural
development sites, a conscious decision was
made to allocate precious rescue time to
post-Roman remains. Subsequent excavations
have produced significant, but fragmented,
information on the late medieval town. Plots
behind principal street frontages have been
examined at three locations: Lion Walk 1971–4
(CAR 3, 75–8, 82, 84), where rubbish pits, stone
and timber buildings and a town wall bastion
were recorded; Culver Street 1981–2 and 1984–
5 (CAR 6, 123–6), where pitted backyards and
outbuildings were found; and Long Wyre Street
1979 (ibid, 361–4), where rear wings, outhouses
and rubbish pits were uncovered. Areas of the
High Street frontage have been excavated at the
Cups Hotel 1973–4 (ibid, 335–6), where stone
and timber buildings were located, and Angel
Yard 1986 and 1989 (Shimmin and Carter 1996,
42–50, 53–63), where the excavators found late
medieval buildings and rear wings, providing
insights into the development of the market
place. Suburban areas have been examined at
Magdalen Street in 1974 (CAR 6, 341–4), where
a hollow-way, a timber building and wasters
from a kiln were located, and Middleborough
in 1979 (CAR 3, 189–94, 198–201; CAR 12,
51), where two medieval halls with central
hearths and faunal remains suggested a nearby
tanning industry. Waterlogged leather deposits
have been recovered from Osborne Street in
1988 (Shimmin 1994, 59), 21 Middleborough in
1998 and 36 North Hill in 2002. Other minor
sites include Trinity Street 1977–8 (possible
kilns; see CAR 6, 828), Blind Knights 1972
(ditch, unpublished) and St Mary’s Steps 1972
(postern gate).
The religious precincts remain poorly
understood, although there has been small-scale
investigation. A watching brief in 1977 and
small rescue excavation in 1988 encountered
burials and building belonging to the Crutched
Friars (CAR 9, 245–56). At St John’s Abbey
part of a medieval cemetery was excavated in
1972, the precinct wall in 1975 (ibid, 221–30),
St Giles’s church in 1975 and other burials in
1986 (CAT Report 11/86a). At St Botolph’s
Priory limited trial trenching in 1986 and a
small excavation in 1991 examined the nave
and south transept of the priory (Crummy
1992b). In addition, St Mary Magdalen’s leper
hospital was excavated in 1989 and 1995, when
the church, hospital buildings and a number of
burials were examined (Crossan 2003).
An important regional discovery in 1973
was the group of 14th- to 15th-century kilns
at Great Horkesley, which produced coarse
wares for the surrounding area (Drury and
Petchey 1975). In terms of pottery studies a
breakthrough report by Cunningham in 1986
258
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
defined medieval ‘Colchester ware’ for the first
time (Cunningham 1982, 365), and in 2000
Cotter produced a comprehensive synthesis of
pottery from the town, also bringing together
documentary evidence for local kilns (CAR
7).
Excavations and building surveys have
provided a picture of building evolution and
waste management in the town, as well as
limited insights into the development of the
High Street, the evolution of the religious
institutions and manufacturing and commerce
within the town. In contrast, little work has
been done to investigate historic hedgerows,
field boundaries, farms, moats or manors
around Colchester. Among the numerous
cropmarks that surround the town, a handful
may be of medieval origin (CAR 11, fig 6.1).
The nature of the evidence
Information on this period comes from
excavations both inside and outside the
town walls, surveys of standing buildings,
documentary records and isolated stray finds.
Twelve large or medium-sized excavations,
along with numerous small excavations and
watching briefs, have encountered medieval
deposits. These have been, in the most part,
rescue excavations with limited budgets and
time investigating areas where rebuilding,
pitting and robber trenching have denuded and
complicated deposits. However, preservation
has been better on suburban sites such as the
Cattle Market (Middleborough), where there
was less pitting and no cellars.
Structures examined include timber town
houses and outbuildings, stone cess pits and
cellars, churches and domestic/ancillary
buildings within the religious precincts. Burials
have been excavated in small numbers at the
churchyard of St Mary Magdalen and at site of
the Crutched Friars in Crouch Street.
At least 96 buildings are dated to this period,
of which 44 survive as standing structures.
Important surveys were undertaken by the
Royal Commission in 1919 (RCHME 1922)
and more recently by the Department of
the Environment (DoE 1971). A number
of detailed structural surveys have been
undertaken of buildings in use during this
period: examples include the Red Lion
(Stenning 1994, 134–59), the Rose and Crown
(Menuge 1997, 22–3) and the Portreeve’s
House (Crummy 1976, 89–103). At least 18
late medieval timber-framed buildings have
been surveyed to varying degrees of detail by
the Colchester Archaeological Trust, Richard
Shackle (Colchester Archaeological Group)
and David Stenning (Essex County Council).
Of the principal religious foundations, only
the ruins of St Botolph’s Priory and St John’s
Abbey gatehouse and precinct wall still stand.
The layout of the friaries, priory and abbey are
poorly understood, as are their precincts and
outhouses, and these have to date been the
subject of only limited excavation. Building
stone robbed from these institutions has been
integrated into the fabric of the town and can
be seen in garden walls, cellars and buildings
around the town and suburbs; more, no doubt,
waits to be found. The shapes of the precincts
have also profoundly influenced the form of
the suburbs south of the walls.
Local records survive in some detail from the
14th century onwards, with earlier references
to the town to be found in national archives.
The documentary evidence for the town is
very rich (VCH 1994, Essex IX, xvi–xvii) and
has inspired a number of historical surveys
(Reid 1914; Martin 1959; Britnell 1982; 1986a;
1990). The nature of Colchester’s tradition of
self-government necessitated the keeping of
detailed records in order to negotiate disputes
over debts, contracts, violence and property
titles; important sources include the Oath
Book, the Red Paper Book and the town’s court
rolls. Recently, records relating to 13th- and
14th-century Colchester have come to light in
the possession of the London-based Mercers’
Company (Britnell nd a).
The finds evidence
by N Crummy
As well as general assemblages, this period has
produced a number of well-dated and stratified
groups of pottery (CAR 7, 322–31). Coins are
no more common in this period than in the
previous one (CAR 4, 68; CAR 6, 293; Davies
1996b, 64–6). Other artefacts, again, consist
primarily of items reflecting various aspects
of daily life (CAR 5). A pruning knife and the
prongs of a pitchfork found at Culver Street
point to agricultural or horticultural activity in
the town (ibid, 84). A crucible from Lion Walk
was unused and so cannot be attributed to the
working of any particular metal (ibid, 87). The
259
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
importance of cloth manufacture is shown by
spindlewhorls of Raeren stoneware and leaden
seals (ibid, 30–5). The seals include examples
from Colchester and elsewhere found here,
within the town, as well as examples from
Colchester found in other urban centres,
particularly London (Egan 1994, 28–33). A
wide range of building materials dates to this
period, with a series of relief-decorated floor
tiles being of particular interest (CAR 3, 81–2;
CAR 6, 251–61; CAR 9, 231–5; Crummy and
Hind 1994, 58–9; Crummy 1996b, 81–2).
There is considerable documentary evidence,
including in the court rolls, for tile kilns in the
town and further afield (Jeayes 1921; Britnell
1986b, 241, 253), and for pottery kilns (CAR 7,
364–9). Brick was increasingly used from this
period onwards (Ryan 1996).
The archaeological evidence
The urban plan
The pattern of development in the late
medieval period was influenced by the existing
form of the town. The road from London to
Ipswich and Harwich was channelled through
the High Street, past the moot hall and the
market. Ribbon development followed this
route to either side of the walled town; to the
west travellers could drink in the taverns on
Crouch Street while to the east, settlement
spread down East Hill and East Street, where
travellers would encounter the impressive
Rose and Crown Inn, which still stands, itself
testimony to the important role of inns and
alehouses in the medieval urban economy.
The river was important for milling and trade,
providing a focus to the north and east of the
town. The Hythe, the town’s port, encouraged
ribbon development along Magdalen Street,
which was well paved and well used. The port
remained legally part of the town, even though
it was separated from it by farmland. South
of the town, less affluent suburbs developed
around St John’s Abbey and St Botolph’s
Priory.
By the late medieval period the street plan
of the town was already established, although
some streets remained little more than back
lanes where rubbish and waste were dumped
(Fig 11.1). In this respect Colchester has
the usual characteristics of a medieval town
growing within a Roman wall with a limited
number of gates (only four principal ones) and
therefore only two through-streets for traffic.
Viable trading locations were consequently
limited to the main streets, with other areas
effectively relegated to the status of back
lands, and the resulting fierce competition for
High Street plots led to a distinctive pattern
of development with narrow plot frontages,
building plans to suit, and repeated street
encroachments. The minor lanes remained
subject to non-intensive uses such as industry,
grazing, horticulture, dumping and cottage
developments. Similar situations can be seen at
Gloucester, where there are extensive central
street encroachments, and Chester, where The
Rows represent the same phenomenon in a
vertical form.
The first documentary references to many
of Colchester’s streets appear in the 13th and
14th centuries (see CAR 1, 79, and unpublished
Mercers records discussed by Britnell (nd a)). At
present archaeological evidence is too localised
to allow us to refine our understanding of
Colchester’s expansion. The potential is there,
however; excavations at St Mary Magdalen’s
Hospital, for example, have shown that rubbish
pits and a hospital building (MON994) appear
to have respected the orientation of Simons
Lane, suggesting that the latter was established
by the 13th century (Crossan 2003, 117)
Much of the intramural zone remained
semi-rural in character and barns are recorded
in the 15th and 16th centuries near St Helen’s
Well, in Holy Trinity parish (Benham 1907, fol
165r; CR 31/23d), and near St Peter’s church
(CR 60/2r, 13d, 21d). A large part of the northeast corner of the town was taken up with
the king’s lands around the Castle and the
precinct of the Grey Friars, which included
meadows, orchards and gardens. In the southeast corner was the ancient Berry Field and
in the south-west corner seasonal crops were
still grown in the 14th century (Britnell 1986b,
10). The walls also encompassed eight parish
churchyards, along with many private gardens
and orchards.
Despite the semi-rural character of the town
there was fierce competition for space in the
market area of the High Street, as described
above. Properties on the High Street have
characteristically narrow frontages with long
narrow rear wings, and are accessed through
alleyways that lead into gravelled yards at the
rear. A good example of a long narrow gravellined alley between two substantial town houses
260
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 11.1 The late medieval town showing distribution of monuments and significant elements.
261
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
was noted during excavations at Angel Yard; it
was only 1.5m wide and ran for perhaps 35m
back from the High Street frontage (see Fig 11.2;
Shimmin and Carter 1996, fig 9). Some of these
alleys opened onto small courts surrounded
by multiple tenements that functioned like
miniature housing estates. As the population
increased in the later 14th century so the builtup area began to expand down the back streets,
notably Maidenburgh Street (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 42). In the 1370s ‘new rents’ were
constructed at the west end of the High Street,
to the south of St Peter’s church, blocking off
the church’s access to the High Street (ibid, 42).
There were houses at the top of Maldon Road
in 1349/50 and on Childwell Lane by 1384.
North of the town walls, at Middleborough,
there is evidence of occupation from the 12th
century – for example, a building associated
with a local pottery industry (MON74; CAR
3, 209) – although denser occupation does
not appear to develop until the 14th century,
when more substantial buildings appear (for
example, MON332 and MON333) and the
Fig 11.2 The Angel Yard
excavation site as it was
in the late medieval and
post-medieval periods (from
ESAH 27, fig 9).
262
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
light-industrial character of the suburb gives
way to regular town houses (CAR 3, 200–1).
Excavations at Angel Yard (133–136 High
Street) have provided evidence for the rapid
expansion of buildings backwards from both
the High Street and West Stockwell Street
frontages in the 14th century; unfortunately,
close dating of this process was not recovered
(Shimmin and Carter 1996, 35). The pattern of
expansion appears to develop largely within
the framework laid down when the High
Street plots were originally divided up. This
plot pattern has been shown by excavation
to date at least from the 14th century (ibid,
63). The expansion to the rear of MON1063
(CAT Building 174) appears to respect the
long ‘primary’ property boundary along the
west side of the building, which can be dated
back to at least c 1300 (Fig 11.2; ibid, 63).
The original plot divisions are likely to have
taken place as part of a formal act of town
planning within the walled town, as Philip
Crummy has noted evidence for plots based
on modules of four poles (c 20m), with 12pole units, in particular, being detectable
north of the High Street (Crummy 1979b,
149–51). These measurements are reflected in
significant property and parish boundaries and
Shimmin argues that the eight-pole unit can be
convincingly subdivided into one two-pole and
two three-pole sections (Shimmin and Carter
1996, 63).
Merchants and tradesmen could profit
from a position in the market place, using
the lower floor of their house or the cellar as
a shop/workshop. Based on tithe evidence,
the wealthiest parts of the town were the
High Street in St Runwald’s and St Nicholas’s
parishes (the two parishes which dominated the
market place) and also East and West Stockwell
Streets, which extend into St Martin’s parish.
The evolution of the market place in the
14th and 15th centuries is of some interest.
The market was held from the western end of
the High Street down to St Nicholas’s church,
with the shambles in the middle, near the moot
hall. In the 14th century rents and stalls were
built up against the north and south walls of
St Runwald’s (Benham 1907, 1387/8), and in
1473/4 covered stalls were built in front of the
moot hall (Benham 1902, 6–10). A charter of
1321, through which the burgesses acquired
the right from Edward II to raise rents from
‘waste spaces’, may have opened the way for
the expansion of stalls into the market place
(Britnell 1986b, 116; Shimmin and Carter
1996, 63). Documentary records suggest that
there were distinct areas set aside for tanners,
fishmongers, grocers, meat stalls and so on.
However, the organisation of stalls within
these zones may have developed in a haphazard
manner.
The encroachment into the market place
south of the moot hall in 1373/4 appears to
have established the line retained by the modern
street frontage west of West Stockwell Street,
whereas the line to the east, from Angel Court,
appears to maintain the earlier alignment. A
number of wall footings which are thought
to be post-Roman, but are otherwise undated,
have been spotted in service trenches south of
Angel Court (Hull 1958, 159; CAR 1, 48–50;
CAR 6, 3/75b; Shimmin and Carter 1996, fig
28; CAT Report 1996/11/b PX). Shimmin
suggests that they are footings for covered
market stalls, constructed of wattle and daub,
which may have been cleared back to the
original property frontage when a more formal
Middle Row was built east of St Runwald’s in
the late 15th century, perhaps following the
grant of clerkship of the markets to the town
bailiffs in 1447 by Henry VI (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 270).
East of the market in Friar Street (later High
Street) occupation was probably continuous as
far as the East Gate by the early 15th century,
and the area was more residential in character
than it is now. This was the poorer area of the
town, judging by the court rolls (Britnell nd b,
note 101).
Documentary studies have suggested that
the area from East Hill down to the Harwich
and Greenstead fork was industrial and plebeian
in character, with smithies, leather and textile
production and illegal brothels located here
(Britnell nd b, note 105; see CR, 105; Benham
1907, fol 165rv, 167v, 106; CR, 29/8d, 13d; CR,
30/15d; CR, 32/15r; CR, 33/16d, 18d, 19d, 107;
CR, 36/2rd; CR, 34/15r). Access to running
water at East Bridge would have made this
area more suited to industry. Tile and pottery
manufacture are classic suburban/extramural
activities in the Middle Ages. The parishes
located in the southern part of the town – for
example, Holy Trinity and St Mary at the Walls
– appear to have been relatively poor. The
poorest areas were St John’s Street, Vineyard
Street (the appointed place for brothels) and
263
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
Priory Street. Extramural parishes on the
eastern route down to the port at the Hythe,
such as St Mary Magdalen and St Leonard’s,
were richer than many of the intramural
parishes (Britnell nd b, note 108)
Parochial boundaries appear to have been
stable during this period, although there is
evidence that ward boundaries were politically
more important in the affairs of the town (ibid,
note 169). Boundary stones have not been
recovered from the town, but a stone cross
is mentioned on the road from Colchester in
the 14th century (Britnell nd a, charters 1, 2,
8 and 23, for example), perhaps the same as
the Pedlars Cross known to have stood at a
later date on Maldon Road. Another cross is
recorded at the Hythe in the 15th century (CR
35/14r; CR3 7/3r).
Public buildings and works
The moot hall (MON974) remained the
principal public building in the town throughout
the Middle Ages. The Red Paper Book records that
the building was refurbished in 1373 to make
it possible to house the wool market there,
providing it with marble steps leading up to a
courtroom and administrative centre, with tiled
steps leading down into a yard at the back of
the building. More steps led from the yard into
a whitewashed cellar below the hall which was
laid out as a wool market and lit by windows
high in the wall. The renovation involved the
strengthening of the cellar and the insertion of
windows to allow light down (Benham 1902,
6–10). At the same time a porch was added
to the southern side of the building and stalls
with upper chambers were built on either side
(CAR 1, 53; Britnell 1986b, 120–1). No trace
of this work survives, although the Victoria
Tower of the modern town hall contains a bell
from the original moot hall dating to c 1400
(RCHME 1922, 54).
Another subterranean room in the moot
hall contained the town gaol (Benham 1902,
6–10). In addition to this and the Castle, which
served as a county gaol, miscreants might have
spent some time in the town pillory, located
opposite the moot hall or the town cage. A cage
(MON104), which was dismantled in the 19th
century, is recorded at the north-east corner
of St Runwald’s church (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 155). Public execution does not appear
to have been carried out in the High Street,
although in the 13th century St John’s Abbey
had established gallows and ducking stools
in Greenstead (on Gallows Green), at West
Donyland and at Bourne Pond (MON264 and
MON263; VCH 1994, Essex IX, 50), while in
the late 14th century the lord of Lexden had
a gallows at Lexden (ibid, 398).
A grammar school (MON977), founded in
the 12th century, was located just inside Head
Gate on the west side of Head Street, near to
St Mary’s churchyard (ibid, 352). The school
was refounded by Henry VIII in 1539, when it
moved to a location in Culver Street, just north
of the modern Sainsbury’s supermarket. Traces
of it remained, including original moulded
ceiling beams and joists (RCHME 1922, No.
127), until the last surviving elements were
demolished in 1956.
A late 15th-century charter of Edward IV
restricted the buying and selling of imported
goods to the port at the Hythe, which became
a wholesaling centre as well as a place for
shipping and storage. The borough owned
cranes, weighing machinery and several
buildings at the port, including Hythe Mill,
which it rebuilt c 1552 (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
234), although there is some question as to
whether the borough owned suit on the mill
(ibid, 260). A wharf and anchorage was also
maintained at Wodesende, Old Heath, where the
borough had a shipbuilding and repair dock
by agreement with the lord of Wivenhoe in
the late 14th century (Britnell 1986b, 18). The
location of the Old Heath port has proved
elusive; during the medieval period the Colne
was straightened and the current course of the
river Colne runs far to the north of the original.
The scarp north of Cleavelands Farm may run
down to the site of the Old Hythe, now lying
under the Hythe Marshes.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, the
parish at the Hythe may be a late development,
as it is compact in shape and the 12th-century
church is set well back from the water,
probably being located on the edge of the
original 12th-century settlement. Expansion
led to the development of a back lane and
housing behind the church by 1352, although
settlement remained confined to the west bank
of the Colne. Old prospects of the town show
details of wharves and warehouses along the
west bank, but, as yet, little archaeological work
has been done on the waterfront. In 1994, an
unbonded peg tile and septaria wall was noted
opposite 26 Hythe Quay, perhaps belonging
264
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
to a quayside building of 14th-century or
later date (CAT Report 12/94a). In the 1990s
evaluations examined plots on Hythe Hill
(CAT Reports 12/94a and 12/97g) and in 1999
excavations at 64–76 Hythe Hill encountered a
cultivated soil horizon, a number of large pits
and a post-built earth-fast structure dating to
the 12th–14th century (interim report in Med
Archaeol XLIV (2000): 260).
The burgesses were responsible for
maintaining two stone bridges, East Bridge
(MON923) and North Bridge (MON922).
Nothing of the original bridges survives,
although a masonry pier constructed from
Roman bricks which may or may not be
part of the medieval bridge was observed by
William Wire during the construction of a new
North Bridge in 1843 (Wire nd, 31.5.1843 and
28.6.1843). The town maintained strict control
over river crossings; at the Hythe a footbridge
was allowed in 1407, but kept narrow to
restrict the movement of goods over the river,
although this was eventually replaced with a
cart bridge in 1473/4 (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
234). Documentary records note the attempts
by the town authorities to improve and manage
the water channel. However, no archaeological
evidence has yet been found for this, although
just south of North Bridge a waterlogged post
was radiocarbon dated to c 1350–1490, and
perhaps belonged to a wharf or revetment
(CAR 3, 155–209).
Those not in possession of their own wells
were able to draw from the public water supply.
There were at least five public wells near the
market place: Stockwell, St Helen’s Well, Trinity
Lane and All Saints (CR, fol 50/13d; Benham
1907, fol 165rv; CR, fol 54/19d; Benham 1907,
fol 166r), as well as the town well known as King
Coel’s pump (ELM1159), which was located
opposite St Peter’s Church on the junction
of the High Street and North Hill. Most of
the wells that have been uncovered within the
town appear to be medieval or later; they are
usually shallow and lined with stone and tile
(CAR 3, 26). A number of named wells which
were located near springheads – Childwell,
Chiswell, Stanwell (ELM1273) and Stockwell
– are mentioned in the 14th-century court
rolls. There were at least three wells beyond
East Gate: a large one on East Hill, one called
‘Duddelswell’ in East Street and a ‘Holiwell’,
or holy well, situated near St Anne’s Chapel on
the Harwich Road. In 1536, and possibly for
many years before, the water from the Chiswell
Spring was brought via a leat and possibly pipes
into one or more cisterns or small reservoirs
near North Street, just inside the town wall, a
system which survived until the 19th century.
Waste disposal systems in the Middle Ages
did not compare favourably with their Roman
counterparts. Documentary sources record the
use of lead guttering to carry away rain water
on 14th-century High Street houses (Britnell
nd a, charter 46). Behind the properties cruder,
clay-lined ditches were used to carry waste
into cess pits. However, the back lanes of the
town, especially Culver Street and North Street,
suffered from piles of litter and excrement in
the 14th century. A series of simple pits 1.5m
deep which were excavated to the rear of Long
Wyre Street may have been early cess pits of
11th- to 14th-century date (CAR 6, 361). Later
16th-century urban houses are known to have
cess pits lined with septaria, flint, brick and peg
tile with floors of compacted daub or peg tile:
examples occur at, for instance, at Angel Yard
(Shimmin and Carter 1996, 54–6) and Long
Wyre Street (CAR 6, 364). Other cess pits of
this period were built of wood, as, for example,
at Angel Yard. Elsewhere on the High Street,
stone-lined latrines of 16th-century date have
been noted at, for example, the Spendrite site
(ibid, 995–7).
The town wall, town gates and castle
The town walls and gates were, at least in
theory, maintained for the king by the borough.
Despite this, it appears that the wall was mined
as a convenient source of building stone in the
early medieval period and documentary records
show that houses had been allowed to be built
up against the wall by the 14th century, which
would have undermined its effectiveness as a
fortification (Britnell 1986b, 10). The poor state
of the wall in the 14th century led the king
to initiate a programme of repairs between
c 1381–1413, presumably as a reaction to the
Peasants’ Revolt and as a precaution against
the French (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 25, 45).
Work on the walls was accompanied by the
reorganisation of adjacent properties, with
at least one structure moved to a new site
(Benham 1907, fol 65v).
The most important improvement to the
walls was the addition of a series of eight
bastions on the south-east circuit (shown on
Speed’s map of 1610), of which only four
265
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
Fig 11.3 Bastion 2 in
Priory Street is one of a
series of external towers
added to the town wall to
strengthen its south-eastern
corner (Philip J Wise).
now survive above ground level (Fig 11.3;
MON1028–32, MON1034, MON1037).
Bastion 8 (MON1037) was excavated at Lion
Walk, where it was shown to be contemporary
with the refacing of the wall (CAR 3, 84–5).
Other bastions have also been excavated:
Bastion 5 in 1931 (MON1032; Hull 1958, 216–
18), Bastion 4 in 1934 (MON1034; ibid, 50–1)
and Bastion 3 in 1964 (MON1030; Holbert
1965, 44–9), with limited results. Between
1988 and 1992 the Colchester Archaeological
Trust undertook a detailed survey of the town
wall. This revealed that most of the repair
work simply involved refacing, although one
section west of Bastion 7 was completely
rebuilt. The North Gate and the wall either
side may also have been reconstructed at this
time, although the rebuild cannot be closely
dated. Other possible traces of the 14thcentury repairs include an archway recorded
behind later brickwork at 48 St Botolph’s Street
(CAT Report 1/98b), as well as refacing at 43
St John’s Street (CAT Report 88/5b), Roberts
Pool Club on St John’s Street (CAT Report
91/11c), and Lion Walk (CAR 3, 84).
Besides the four principal gates, there were
two sherde gates, Ryegate and Scheregate, on
the north and south circuit (Fig 10.3). A sherde
is defined as a small gap not wide enough for
wheeled transport. An additional postern gate,
which was partially excavated in 1972, was
created from an enlarged Roman drain arch at
St Mary’s at the Walls to provide access to the
top of Balkerne Hill (CAR 6, 324–8). Little is
known about the medieval gates; documentary
records indicate that at least some of them
were ornamented by statues paid for by wealthy
burgesses. For example, the will of John Ellis,
dated 1485, provided for statues of St Helen, St
Margaret and St John the Baptist to be placed
on East Gate (ERO D/B s R2 fol 187).
The Castle (MON760) remained in royal
hands and was run by hereditary constables.
In the 14th century it was allowed to fall into a
state of decay and there is, to date, no evidence
that any substantial alterations or repairs were
undertaken in the late medieval period. The
building remained in use as one of the county
prisons, occasionally hosting trials, including
trial by combat, which was last recorded in
1375. However, Colchester was not a major
legal centre. Instead this function was fulfilled
by Chelmsford which, as the county town, was
the seat of the shire court. The entrance to
the castle bailey was guarded by a gatehouse,
named on some maps as the ‘Dunbarr Gate’
266
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
(MON820). The gate is shown on Speed’s map
of 1610 and on a manuscript dated to c 1709,
and was located somewhere in the vicinity of
Museum Street (Drury 1982, 403, pl XLII).
Excavations in Museum Street in 1986 revealed
masonry blocks that may have been remnants
of the gate or a bridge abutment leading to
the gate. One masonry ‘block’ was of reused
Roman tile and septaria set in a yellowish
mortar, and had a number of well-defined
faces, suggesting perhaps the jambs of a gate
or door (CAT Report 6/86a).
Manufacturing and trade
Colchester was a significant late medieval
market town that possessed communities of
clothiers, potters, tilers, tanners, millers, brewers
and fishermen, among others. Documentary
sources suggest that manufacturing took place
north and east of the walled town, as well as
in the intramural area, with High Street shops
doubling as workshops.
Pottery and tile production
Possible kiln sites in and near the town include
Magdalen Street, where a number of wasters
were recorded (CMR 1908, 18–19; CAR 7, 110),
and 1–5 Trinity Street, where a pit containing
14th- to 15th-pottery was perhaps a stoke hole
pit related to a nearby kilns (MON1045–7;
CAR 6, 828). However, Cotter notes that
two 18th-century ‘flower pot’ wasters were
associated with these latter kilns, and so they
may not be medieval at all (CAR 7, 10). The
export market for Colchester pottery was
regional, although imports were received from
much further afield. For example, the Oath Book
notes imports of Rhenish stoneware during the
reign of Richard II (1377–99), and stoneware
sherds were recovered during the Lion Walk
excavations in association with the town wall
repairs of c 1382–1421 (CAR 3, 84).
Away from the town, kiln sites have been
recorded at Great Horkesley (Drury and Petchey
1975; CAR 7, 109–10), East Donyland (CAR
7, 368) and perhaps Langenhoe (CAT Report
7/92c), and there is documentary evidence
for pottery production at Mile End (CAR 7,
365). The Mile End and Great Horkesley kilns
supplied local and regional markets with grey
ware cooking pots in the 14th century, although
the uniform nature of the pottery makes it
hard to link to particular kilns. This type of
ware was displaced in the later 14th and 15th
centuries by both metal cooking vessels, used in
growing numbers, and smaller ‘Colchester type’
tableware (Cunningham 1982, 363–7).
The pottery assemblages for sites excavated
between 1971 and 1985 have been examined by
Cotter, who also lists the documentary evidence
for kilns. The key assemblages are from a pit
from Lion Walk containing Colchester-type
ware c 1425–75 (CAR 3, fig 60, sheet 2a; CAR
7, 325), a pit from Lion Walk with probable
dining refuse dating to c 1475–1525 (CAR 3,
fig 61, sheet 2b; CAR 7, 325), pottery from a
deep brick- and stone-lined latrine pit dated
c 1500–25 excavated at the Spendrite Site on
the High Street (CAR 3, 190; CAR 7, 328),
a large pit containing pottery dated to c 1525
from Culver Street (CAR 3, 328), and a stone
and brick cellar at Culver Street with pottery
dating to c 1525–50 (CAR 6, 125, figs 3.9 and
3.72). The other published pottery reports for
this period are for Stockwell Street (Blake et al
1961), the Castle (Cunningham 1982), St John’s
Abbey (Cunningham in CAR 9, 218, 108–34),
Crouch Street (CAR 9, 255–6), 79 Hythe Hill
(Walker 2000, 116–19), and Long Wyre Street
(Walker 2001, 43).
Documentary evidence suggests that
medieval tile kilns and clay workings were
located in the eastern suburbs as far as
Greenstead. Kilns are recorded at Dilbridge
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 387; CAR 7, 365),
Lexden, Mile End, Ardleigh and Wivenhoe
(ibid, 364–5, 367–8; Britnell 1986b, 241).
The court rolls also refer to tilers and kilns
located at the east end of the High Street and
at the top of East Hill (CAR 6, 261; CAR
7, 366). Interestingly, a problem with local
kilns producing non-standardised tiles led
the borough to establish a standard template
to be kept in the moot hall; unfortunately
the measurements of this are not recorded
(Benham 1902, 1424/5). Examples of
Colchester ware tiles are known from Culver
Street Site W (CAR 6, 260–1) and Long Wyre
Street (CM 1929.25). English-made tiles of
Flemish design, both glazed and plain, were
popular in the 15th and 16th centuries and
have been recovered from the nave of St
Giles’s church (CAR 9, 231) and the floor
of a building (MON492) at Lion Walk (CAR
3, 80–1), but it is not known whether these
were locally produced. Lead-glazed tiles
decorated in relief were also popular and
have been recorded in four churches around
267
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
Fig 11.4 The Red Lion
Hotel dates to 1515.
It is probably the most
significant surviving
timber-framed building
in Colchester (Colchester
Museums).
the town: St Giles’s (CAR 9, 231–4), St Mary
Magdalen’s (CAT Report 7/89b), St Mary at
the Walls (Ward Perkins 1937, 148, 152) and
St Botolph’s Priory (CAT Report 1/91a). It
has suggested that these date to the 14th or
15th centuries and were locally manufactured
(CAR 9, 231–4).
Brewing and inns
The quantity of brewing cisterns dating to
the 16th and 17th centuries recovered from
intramural rubbish pits drops significantly from
the number recovered from the 15th and 16th
centuries. This could reflect a decline in the
practice of home brewing in the town and the
spread of large-scale brewing establishments
from the 15th century onwards, a trade with
significant Dutch involvement (Britnell 1986b,
197; CAR 7, 203). The early inns may have
developed from people’s houses rather than
being purpose-built (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
44; Stenning 1994, 158). Certainly there was a
tradition of drinking in private houses, which
the borough increasingly sought to regulate.
Drinking became more popular in the later
14th and 15th centuries as standards of living
rose; local records show barley malt replaces
oats as the principal component for brewing,
reflecting a refinement of tastes (Britnell
1986b, 144). The earliest recorded inns date
to the 15th century: of these the Bull Hotel
(MON1043), the Red Lion (Fig 11.4; MON34)
and the George Hotel (MON112) remain,
although considerably altered. The majority of
the early inns were focused on the High Street
and most of these were situated in the area of
the market, the exceptions being the Bull and
the Saracen’s Head, located in Crouch Street.
In the 16th century inns spread along Head
Street and elsewhere.
A timber-framed building (MON642)
excavated at the Cups Hotel site in 1973 may
have been part of the 15th-century Falcon
Inn (CAR 6, 336–8). Another large High
Street inn, the Red Lion, (MON34) is well
preserved and has been surveyed in detail
during refurbishment (Stenning 1994). To the
south, at Lion Walk, finds have included a
15th- or 16th-century brass spigot tap, perhaps
from a nearby inn (CAR 5, fig 44), while
the northern part of the Culver Street site
produced a large number of drinking vessels
and cisterns (for brewing) from waste pits
dating to the 15th century. One pit on Culver
268
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Street Site E contained a ceramic industrial base
which may be part of a distilling unit, and a
piece of glass flask or urinal (CAR 7, 7). Also
from Culver Street, a large pit which contained
pottery dated to c 1525, also included fragments
of glass alembics and a ceramic base from an
industrial distillation unit, although this could
have belonged to an apothecary (ibid, 328).
Mills and cloth manufacturing
In the 14th century there were eight watermills
operating around the town. Five were
spread along the river Colne (Lexden Mill
(MON912), North Mill (MON914), Middle
Mill (MON915), Stokes Mill (MON913) and
East Mill (MON916)), while three were located
on a small tributary south of the Colne (Bourne
Mill (MON265), Cannock Mill (MON1050)
and Hull Mill (MON1049)). Late in the 14th
century a ninth mill was built at the Hythe
and, all together, these installations placed
considerable strain on the water flow. This was
overcome by raising the level of the millponds
higher and higher, and 15th-century records
note the periodic flooding caused by overflow
from these ponds. One of the ponds, formed
by a large artificial embankment, survives at
Bourne Mill (MON261). The mills on the
river Colne and Bourne brook were engaged in
either corn grinding or fulling and sometimes
both; there was some fluidity in usage, with
conversions from grinding to fulling and vice
versa. Other apparently short-lived fulling
mills are recorded in the 14th century – for
example, Sebares Mill at the Hythe and Cruddle
Mill near East Mill (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
259). Apart from the documentary references
to fulling, there is little evidence for cloth
manufacturing from this period. Objects
used in the manufacturing or working of
textiles include some 15th- or 16th-century
spindlewhorls of Raeren ware from Lion Walk,
some 16th-century Nuremberg thimbles from
Middleborough and some single disc lead cloth
seals that may also date to this period, again
from Middleborough (CAR 5, 30–5).
Windmills were also used for the grinding
of corn. Documentary sources refer to several,
but no structural remains are known from
this period. A mill mound was recorded in
Monksdown in 1325 and an old mill mound at
Old Heath in 1341. Three windmills belonging
to the burgesses are documented in 1372, and
others are recorded in Head Ward, perhaps
near Lexden Road, in 1451 and at Mill Fields,
near Harwich Road, in 1542 (VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 263).
Other evidence for food production
Organic remains from Culver Street Site G
included medieval deposits of free-threshing
wheat, rye, barley and oats, as well as horse
bean, grape, mulberry, apple, cherry, bramble
and elder (CAR 12, 141). Bone assemblages
show that medieval sheep were slaughtered
at an advanced age, a policy compatible with
the importance of wool to the economy. Cow
bones become more prevalent over time, with
roe deer and goats also noted. A vertebra of
a bottle-nosed dolphin was found in a pit at
Lion Walk Site C dated 1475–1525 (CAR 12,
98). Whales and porpoises, which were highstatus food in the Middle Ages, may well have
been found stranded on the coastline (Gardiner
1997, 173, 183). Traces of a peg-tile oven of c
1300–1500 found in building 174 were similar
to others found in Colchester; it was probably
used for baking (Shimmin and Carter 1996,
46; CAR 3, 194).
Evidence for tanning
Documentary records suggest that tanners’
stalls selling hides were located close to St
Runwald’s church in the 14th and 15th centuries
and that the East Hill area may have contained
a concentration of tanners, leatherworkers and
blacksmiths in the medieval period (Britnell
nd a, charter 34). The limited archaeological
evidence points to leather-working at Lion
Walk; a large sub-rectangular clay-lined pit with
two adjacent postholes contained 15th-century
pottery and may have been used in the fulling
or tanning processes (CAR 3, fig 61, sheet
2b (mislabelled) pit LF142, CAR 7, 323). In
addition, a large quantity of medieval animal
bone was excavated at Middleborough in 1979,
suggesting the presence of a tanning industry
nearby (CAR 12, 51). Further investigations
at 21 Middleborough in 1999 recovered a
large quantity of leather pieces, including
shoe soles of late 14th-century date, offcuts
from leather-working and an unusual piece of
leather consisting of two straps held together
by a thong (Crummy 1999, 23–31). Leather
shoe fragments have also been found south of
the town walls in Osborne Street, along with
a leather jerkin of 14th- to 16th-century date,
although the excavator concluded that these
269
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
were casual losses rather than debris from a
workshop (Shimmin 1994, 59). Other leather
goods preserved in organic deposits have
been found at 36 North Hill, where a test pit
recovered three leather shoe soles of probable
15th- or 16th-century date (Orr 2002b).
Other activities
Lime production for agricultural purposes was
carried out at intramural sites and it appears
that, locally, lime was made by heating oyster
shells. By the 14th century Colchester’s lime
kilns had become smaller and more efficient.
Nine small kilns are known from site L at Lion
Walk (MON499–507; CAR 3, 87–91). Other
possible kilns were noted in 1982 at St Mary’s
Cottage, Church Street (MON747; CAR 6,
980–3), and in 1983 at Castle Park (MON677;
CAR 6, 372). Traces of leadworking were
recovered on the site of St Mary Magdalen’s
Hospital (see p 274).
Domestic and commercial
architecture
by Dave Stenning
Unfortunately, any attempt to consider the
medieval timber buildings of Colchester is
hampered by the partial nature of the surviving
evidence and by the absence of any truly
thorough survey of its buildings, with work
generally limited to the ad hoc examination
of individual structures during demolition or
alteration. For a town of its size, Colchester
has relatively few late medieval buildings, as
an analysis of the listed buildings shows. The
statutory lists cannot be regarded as presenting
an accurate picture of the surviving resource,
nor even as being authoritative about those
buildings they describe, but they are the best
assessment to hand. The only other survey
is the early 20th-century one by the Royal
Commission on Historical Monuments, which
does provide some useful information and
photographs, particularly of lost buildings,
but suffers from the limited understanding
of that time. In Table 6, the listed buildings
at Colchester are compared with those at
Saffron Walden. Today, the latter has one of the
county’s best-preserved historic town centres.
It was also probably the second late medieval
town in the county after Colchester, yet the area
within the town enclosure known as the Battle
Ditches, which conspicuously failed to be built
up, was at most only about 62 acres (25ha),
little more than half the size of Colchester. In
other words, the preservation of Colchester’s
historic centre is far from complete. The spatial
distribution of the listed buildings is also
significant. There are concentrations of listed
buildings in East Street, East Hill and at the
Hythe, on the commercial fringes of the town
and in extramural suburban areas (which have
been included in the figures in table 6). The
continual redevelopment of the High Street
and other central areas will have led to the loss
of the grandest late medieval buildings.
Documentary evidence for late medieval
housing in Colchester presents a picture of
sub-division of plots from at least the 14th
century, and probably much earlier, with
increasing complexity of layout by the 15th
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 41–6). More substantial
properties had gateways and seem to have
been laid out with courtyards. Some had
‘poys’ or penthouses attached to them, which
would have functioned as shops or stalls. Of
particular interest is a reference to the borough
leasing plots 18ft (5.5m) wide in Maidenburgh
in the 1330s (ibid, 42). The narrowness of these
implies that they were intended to be occupied
by a plan form adapted to urban conditions.
This might have been a cross-wing alone, or a
tiny hall and attached cross-wing, or a two-bay
long-wall jetty house.
As is usual in Essex, building types generally
conform to the rural pattern, extending along
the frontage rather than being developed in
depth. Unsurprisingly, however, urban density
did affect building design and layout, and urban
functions, together with restricted sites, led to
the design and construction of specific urban
house types which have their own special
interest and fascination. Indeed, the majority
of surviving buildings show some evidence of
adaptation to urban circumstances. It has to be
remembered, however, that these are relatively
late buildings, which were the successors to
previous ones on sites which had become more
complex in the way they were developed as one
building succeeded another. This is reflected in,
for instance, the high survival rate of the twostoreyed cross-wing, which was more readily
adaptable than the lower open hall, thereby
possibly giving a misleading impression of
the plan form of the late medieval housing
in the town.
The compact plan form with an undershot
270
Fig 11.5 The Marquis
of Granby on North
Hill, built in the 1520s,
has a surviving rear door
with carved spandrels
(Colchester Museums).
Fig 11.6 The east wing of
the Marquis of Granby
has a main ceiling beam
resting on brackets with
very well-carved male
figures dating to c 1525
(Colchester Museums).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
cross-passage in the cross-wing was one
common solution to the cramped circumstances
of urban plots. Some cross-wings were houses
or buildings in their own right, adapted to the
constraints of urban conditions (for example,
Bonners, Long Wyre Street; MON193). At
3 West Stockwell Street (MON40), there is
an example of an apparently contemporary
double cross-wing. Another way of exploiting
limited space in the town centre was to double
up the hall with a parallel range, or double-pile
layout, as at 11–15 North Hill (MON129).
The large number of shops so far detected is
unsurprising, as is their widespread distribution.
Their elevations follow a fairly standard
pattern, with up to two arched shop windows,
the older ones divided by a post, either in
the gable or flank elevation. The interiors are
less predictable and, partly as a result of later
remodelling, are more difficult to reconstruct.
Of particular interest is 5–7 West Stockwell
Street (MON164), referred to as a wool hall
in an old deed and possibly designed to be a
workshop.
As in other Essex settlements, there were
numerous rear wings, frequently jettied along
one side (for example, 13–15 North Hill;
MON129). These could lead to complex
courtyard-type plans, for which there is
evidence in the documentary sources.
Building types which probably represent a
response to urban conditions are the Wealden
house and the long-wall jetty. The Wealden
house is especially effective when combined
in semi-detached pairs or terraces. Only
one probable Wealden has been recognised
in Colchester (Bay House, West Stockwell
Street; MON160); doubtless others existed. At
Maldon, pairs of Wealdens seem to constitute
speculative development for rent (Andrews
and Stenning 1996, 223–4). A comparable pair
of buildings, two hall and cross-wing houses,
probably exists at 98 Hythe Hill (MON13); the
suburban location would have been ripe for
speculative development. The long-wall jetty
building was possibly the dominant type in
Bradford Street, Bocking, in the 16th century.
At Colchester, there were several on North Hill
by the early 16th century including the Marquis
of Granby; they became commoner later in the
16th and in the 17th centuries. While most
houses were of one or two storeys, three threestoreyed buildings survive on the High Street;
it would appear that the 16th century saw an
271
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
increase in height on the most commercially
valuable frontages.
In general, Colchester carpentry belongs to
the widespread vernacular of north and central
Essex and southern Suffolk. Town carpentry
tends to be a little more varied than rural, with
occasional exotic elements drawn from further
afield (Figs 11.5 and 11.6). Arch bracing (as
opposed to the more usual down bracing)
occasionally appears, perhaps from the Ipswich
area, and the wealth of the textile industry
provided its own special flavour. The use of
posts without jowls is a particularly feature of
Colchester’s medieval carpentry. Whether this
was an archaism or the product of other factors
(such as difficulty in obtaining timbers big
enough to have jowls) remains an interesting
conundrum. ‘Colchester’, or ‘stud to stud’
bracing, where the wall braces are attached
to secondary members rather than the main
posts or girths, is another local phenomenon.
Neither of these features is strictly limited to
the town, and their presence in the hinterland
is suggestive of the geographical spread of
local distinctiveness. The one known instance
of a medieval queen-post roof (7 Trinity Street;
MON196) suggests links with Suffolk, where
such roofs were relatively common, whereas
in Essex they are almost unknown.
The only timber structure successfully
dated by dendrochronology in Colchester is
the roof of St Martin’s church (MON324).
Other buildings which have been assessed
for tree-ring dating – the Rose and Crown
(MON277), 13–15 North Hill (MON129)
and Brown and Sons, East Street (MON65–6)
– have been rejected because the timbers lacked
sufficient rings. This suggests that, like other
Essex towns, Colchester’s timber came from
intensively managed woodlands which were
under pressure to maintain an adequate supply
to the town. Only high-status buildings, or the
wealthier houses, are likely to prove datable, an
unfortunate limitation on the potential of the
surviving buildings to provide insights into the
town’s economic fortunes at different times.
Cellars and undercrofts
A number of stone-built cellars or undercrofts
are recorded in the High Street and Head
Street (RCHME 1922, 54–60). The dating of
these cellars is complicated by the fact that
many of the surviving rubble walls have been
whitewashed and subjected to later alterations.
Reused Roman rubble was used for 17thcentury cellars, as, for example, at 136 High
Street (Shimmin and Carter 1996, 27; MON39).
However, the bulk of the stone cellars probably
date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The
distribution pattern of recorded rubble walls
coincides neatly with the location of the
market, which stretched from the junction with
Head Gate up to St Nicholas’s church in the
early 15th century. Some of the undercrofts
and cellars preserve traces of blocked-off
steps leading to the High Street and may have
been leased as workspaces or shops, perhaps
independent of the property above, a pattern
common to a number of medieval towns
(Faulkner 1966, 124). The cellar at 35–37 High
Street (MON31) is particularly interesting in
this regard as it has a north-facing rubble wall
incorporating a moulded door arch set back
some 4m from the High Street frontage (Fig
10.8). A stone cellar of 13th- to 15th-century
date was excavated at 44–48 Head Street
(MON609); this comprised walls of roughly
coursed ragstone and peg tile with pointed head
niches (CAR 6, 125–6). The cellars of the Red
Lion Hotel (MON34) on the High Street are
also noteworthy. Those under the front range
are of brick, tile and rubble and contain doors
and ‘window’ openings with jambs of worked
limestone; these are not closely dated but may
pre-date the early 16th-century range above
(Stenning 1994, 151–4; RCHME 1922, 56).
The 15th-century rear range has brick cellars
(Stenning 1994, 140).
The religious foundations and charitable
institutions
Given the local importance of St John’s Abbey
as an institution, relatively little archaeological
evidence has been recovered from its heyday.
A chance find worth mentioning is the
personal seal of Simon de Blyton (abbot of
the abbey from 1349–53), which shows the
arms of the abbey (CMR 1947, 31). The abbey
(MON376) remained the most important
religious institution in the town until 1538,
when its 13-acre (5.3ha) walled precinct was
sold to John Dudley, Earl of Warwick. The
remains of the medieval precinct buildings
were badly damaged in the 1648 siege and
subsequent demolition work must have been
thorough, as by Morant’s time little trace
of the abbey church or cloisters remained.
Little is known about the layout of the abbey,
272
Fig 11.7 St John’s Abbey
gatehouse was built as a
tangible expression of the
power and prestige of the
abbey during the 15th
century (Tony Nichols).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
although Morant’s volume contains a drawing
of the church (Fig 10.4; Morant 1768, bk II,
facing p 140). A 19th-century map by Cutts
shows the location of wall foundations, which
Rex Hull was inclined to interpret as parts of
the domestic wing of the abbey. This view
was reinforced by his observations of turf or
cropmarks on the site (Cutts 1889, folio facing
34; Hull 1958, 295). A watching brief in 1986,
during an extension to the Officers Club within
the precinct, observed a substantial wall footing
which was potentially part of the abbey church
(Crummy 1987, 5).
Stretches of the 13th-century precinct wall
(MON369) survive, incorporating 16th-century
and later repairs (Sparrow 1943, 67–70).
Documentary records suggest that St John’s
Abbey strengthened its defences after the 1381
revolt (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 25), but these
works have yet to be detected archaeologically.
Excavations at St Giles’s church in 1975 and
at St Botolph’s Circus (roundabout) in 1972
examined significant stretches of the wall.
The latter investigation uncovered 40m of the
original face, found well preserved under the
later skin and complete with the original putlog
holes (CAR 9, 221–30). The fine 15th-century
abbey gatehouse (MON343) also survives,
although it was heavily restored after the siege
in 1648 and again in the 19th century (Fig 11.7;
RCHME 1922, 47–8).
Excavations within the abbey precinct
in 1971 encountered a small number of
inhumations from a late medieval cemetery
(MON695; CAR 9, 203; CAR 1, 41). Burials
have been observed elsewhere in the Pinnacle
Garden (Wire nd, 26.1.1843) and a watching
brief in 1986 encountered several graves north
of the wall to St Giles’s churchyard, perhaps
part of the monks’ burial ground (CAT Report
11/86a). Excavations in 1975 investigated the
foundations of St Giles’s church (MON342),
which originally stood within the abbey
precinct (CAR 9, 221–3). Late in the 14th
century a northern aisle was added to the
church. This was found to overlie several earlier
burials, indicating that the earlier church had
been tightly surrounded by monastic burials
(CAR 1, 41). Again in the late 14th century a
tower was added to the west end of the church
and the precinct wall may have been redirected
to the south, placing St Giles outside the
precinct in order to allow parochial access. This
hypothesis is based on the similarity between
the stonework of the precinct wall and that of
the church tower (Cater 1919, 218).
St Botolph’s Priory (MON364), located east
of St Botolph’s Street, was partially demolished
at the Dissolution, although the nave of the
church was preserved and converted for use
as a parochial church. The surviving church
ruins date to the 12th century, with 13thand 14th-century windows inserted into the
aisle walls. The Royal Commission survey
recorded painted mason’s lines on the plaster,
which is also probably of 14th-century date.
The priory’s domestic buildings were located
south of the nave, where the base of the
273
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
north arcade wall of the cloister is recorded
(RCHME 1922, 48–50). In 1991, a selective
investigation to the east of the nave located
the south transept and square eastern end of
the priory church (Crossan 1992, 103). The
graveyard of the later Victorian parish church
no doubt incorporates elements of the priory
precinct, but the surviving walls are later.
A thick rubble wall incorporated into 37 St
Botolph’s Street may be part of the entrance
or gateway to the priory (RCHME 1922, 50). A
scale drawing by Major Bale dated 1898 shows
a stretch of precinct wall 1m thick, surviving as
part of the boundary between 37 St Botolph’s
Street and the building to the north (CM, Bale
Collect T42).
The House of Grey Friars or the Friars
Minor (MON975), located in the north-east
corner of the town, also survived until the
Dissolution. Parts of the buildings remained in
1768, but by 1847 these had been demolished
(Morant 1768, bk II, 151–2; VCH 1994, Essex
IX, 306–7); traces of stonework incorporated
into the grounds of Grey Friars College may be
from the Friary. Documentary sources record
the Friary as encompassing a church, cloister,
hall, infirmary, kitchen, bakery, brewery, water
conduit and two gardens, and Speed’s map of
1610 appears to show a gatehouse fronting the
High Street. A watching brief at 67 Castle Road
in 1997 recorded a large dump of animal bones
and domestic rubbish thought to be from the
Friary (Brooks 1997c).
The House of the Crouched or Crutched
Friars (MON383) originated as a hospital and
chapel founded by the lords of Stanway. Its
buildings are recorded as the St Cross Hospital
and Chapel. Both had apparently fallen on hard
times by the beginning of the 15th century,
although a reversal in fortunes is suggested
by the addition of a new chapel dedicated
to St Mary in the early 15th century. At the
Dissolution the prior and community granted
the church, churchyard and priory buildings,
including stables, barns and dovecotes, to
Thomas Audley. These buildings probably
occupied the northern end of a triangular plot
extending from the west side of Maldon Road
to what is now the rear wall of properties on the
west side of Wellesley Road. Little is known of
the layout, but it is likely that a large east–west
building (MON381) excavated in 1988 at 42
Crouch Street was part of the Friary (CAR
9, 249–52). Window or door embrasures and
a piece of trefoil tracery have been recorded
in the gardens of Lexden Road (CAT Report
1/95b), and other pieces of worked stone can
be seen in cellars along Crouch Street, although
these could be from St Catherine’s hospital (see
below) rather than the Friary.
A number of burials and foundations
observed in the vicinity of 32–46 Crouch
Street probably relate to the friars’ cemetery
(MON382). Burials were noted in about 1895
at 38 Crouch Street (Sier 1924, 200–4) and
various foundations and burials were noted
during work at 42 Crouch Street in 1928 (CMR
1929, 50–2). Two probable medieval burials
were observed in stanchion holes at 42 Crouch
Street in 1977 (CAR 6, 854), and burials of an
uncertain date were found in stanchion holes
dug for an office block at 32 Crouch Street in
1981 (ibid, 975–6). In 1988, a more substantial
excavation at 42 Crouch Street recovered 16
poorly dated burials. The intercut graves and
the quantities of human bone suggested an
intensively used and long-lived cemetery (CAR
9, 245–56). The age and sex ratio indicated
that the cemetery included local inhabitants
as well as inmates, which is consistent with the
documentary records that suggest the friary
chapel was granted burial rights for local people
in 1402 (ibid, 248–9).
East of the town stood St Mary Magdalen’s
Leper Hospital (MON968), which had
originated as a refuge for lepers in the early 12th
century. In the mid-13th century the hospital’s
main quarters were relocated to a new site in the
northern area of its grounds and a new parish
church, St Mary Magdalen, was built on part
of the hospital’s original infirmary hall. Despite
being granted an annual fair by Richard I, the
institution appears to have struggled through
the Middle Ages and by the Reformation its
income was just £11 a year, making it one of
the poorest religious houses in Essex (Cooper
2003, 93). An excavation in 1989 uncovered an
east–west building approximately 6m across
and at least 15m long dated to the 12th to mid13th century (MON968); it was of unknown
function but was perhaps a dormitory or the
master’s house. Unfortunately, only a few traces
of the flint wall foundation had survived the
effects of later grave digging. Fragments of
yellow and dark red wall plaster were recovered,
along with traces of a possible internal cross
wall (Crossan 2003, 98). The eastern part of
the structure appears to have been converted
274
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
into a new building in the 13th century, the
function of which is again unclear.
An excavation in 1995, prior to the
redevelopment of the site, revealed more
buildings to the north of the 1989 excavations.
A substantial east–west rectangular building
(MON995) was evidently the hospital’s
living quarters. Late 13th- or 14th-century
painted window glass was recovered from the
demolition spread of the building. There was
also evidence for a period of industrial use
for part of the building. The best-preserved
area of clay floor contained a hearth made of
peg tile set on edge; west of this was a burnt
depression where a charcoal-rich fill lay over
fire-discoloured clay and natural sand. The fill
contained small flakes of slate, perhaps from a
lining or sheet placed over the feature. Nearby
were the lower parts of two clay-lined fire pits
containing evidence of recurring industrial
activity involving molten lead. A second
excavated building (MON994) appears to be
the ‘Maudlyn chapel’ noted on Speed’s map of
1610 as lying to the north of the parish church.
The 1.2m-deep foundations were built largely
of reused septaria and Roman tile, and the
building had a simple earthen floor and glazed
windows decorated with red painted foliage
designs. The outer wall enclosed a floor area
of almost 14,550m2, which was significantly
larger than the earlier hospital church to the
south (CAT, forthcoming).
The lack of late medieval pottery from
the hospital site could indicate contraction
of occupation before the Dissolution, or may
represent a decline in the pottery industry at this
time. In addition, surprisingly small quantities
(given the proximity of the site to the port at
the Hythe) of imported pottery vessels were
recovered. Slightly more variety in terms of
imports was noted at excavations at 79 Hythe
Hill (Walker 2000, 118). However, excavations
at the Castle have revealed a similar dearth of
imported wares (Cunningham 1982, 363–7)
and therefore the pattern at St Mary’s may not
be exceptional (Walker 2003, 140–1). Curiously,
no obvious medically related glassware, pottery
or instruments were found anywhere on the
site (Walker 2003, 140).
In total, 234 graves were examined during
the excavations; these represented only a small
percentage of the 800-year-old cemetery. Most
graves could not be closely dated; a small
sample of 12th- to early 13th-century graves
was exclusively male, supporting the idea that
in its early stages the hospital was an all-male
institution. The pattern of burial generally
supported the idea that lepers and hospital
inmates were buried separately, but close to
parochial burials (Crossan 2003, 117).
On the north side of Crouch Street stood
another charitable institution, St Catherine’s
Hospital (MON373), which had been founded
by 1352. Part of it had become a house and
garden by 1545 and in 1671 the hospital
buildings only survived as almshouses, which
have subsequently been demolished (VCH
1994, Essex IX, 308).
Churches
The parish churches of medieval Colchester
were typically small and mostly rubble-built
with reused Roman stone. Morant described
them as ‘mean’, with the exception of St
Mary’s, St Peter’s and St James’s (Morant 1768,
bk II, 105). The growth of the town through
the cloth trade did see some embellishment,
and spending on the churches seems to have
increased in the 15th century, judging by the
additions and renovations made at, for example,
St Martin’s, where the chancel arch was built
c 1450. Fifteenth-century embellishment was
also carried out at St Peter’s, All Saints, Holy
Trinity, St James’s and St Leonard’s at the
Hythe. A number of monumental brasses from
Colchester churches are also of 15th-century
date (Christy et al 1915, 38–52).
Colchester gained a new parish church in the
mid-13th century, when the church of St Mary
Magdalen (MON344) was built partly over the
foundations of a building of the hospital of
the same name (MON968). The church, which
is depicted in a small number of 18th-century
illustrations that also show a freestanding arch
just outside the southern door, was demolished
in 1852 (Crossan 2003, 115, fig 17). The 1989
excavations uncovered the nave, chancel and
porch of the church, but found no trace of
the freestanding arch. The church was small,
only 38m2 of floor space, and of a simple
block design with no clear evidence for a
dividing wall between the nave and chancel,
although a piece of limestone roll moulding
from the demolition deposits could have been
part of a chancel arch. Four interments were
recovered from the church, one female and
three male, all aged between 30 and 50 years.
The three males were located in the chancel,
275
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
suggesting that they were priests. One had a
pewter chalice placed upright on his chest, a
tradition which has parallels in the period 1280
to 1350 (British Museum 1924, 36–9), a date
range supported by the 12th- to 14th-century
coarse ware pottery recovered from the grave
fill. The significance of the female burial is less
clear (Crossan 2003, 110).
Notable architectural finds from the church
included stonework ranging in date from the
12th to the 15th centuries. Documentary
records indicate that the church contained
windows dating to the 14th and 15th centuries
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 328). The excavation
also recovered 93 pieces of late medieval
lead-glazed relief-decorated floor tiles from
the demolition layer. The tiles were unusual
in that the manufacture involved applying
the slip as toning to the relief of the design.
The individual designs are paralleled only in
Colchester and one of its neighbouring villages,
suggesting local manufacture, although a broad
date of only the late 14th to the early 16th
century can be proposed at present (Crummy
2003, 123).
In addition to the parish churches, the
town also sustained a number of chapels. St
Anne’s Chapel (MON346), located near 39
Harwich Road, was in existence by 1388; this
survived as a barn in 1768 but was subsequently
demolished, and its location is indicated on the
1878 OS map (Morant 1768, bk II, 152–3).
In 1379 there was also a hospital (MON353)
associated with the site. This was rebuilt in
1380, possibly by the St Anne’s Guild, who
collected money that year and who held land
near the hospital in the earlier 15th century;
both the chapel and guild apparently survived
in 1536 but had been dissolved by 1549 (VCH
1994, Essex IX, 336). The chapel was also
associated with a hermitage and attached to St
Anne’s holy well (MON908), which was sealed
in the early 20th century.
St Helen’s Chapel (MON305), which stands
on the corner of Maidenburgh Street and St
Helen’s Lane, is architecturally of the 13th
century. The building fell into disuse early in
the 14th century, later becoming a chantry until
it was suppressed.
The traces of another chapel are on display
outside the entrance to Colchester Castle.
The foundations of this 13th-century chapel
(MON824) were excavated in 1932–3 and
found to be sealed by 17th-century demolition
debris (Drury 1982, 331–3). Elsewhere, two
chapels are documented as having stood on
St John’s Green. St Mary’s Chapel (MON353)
was first recorded in 1363, when it had
been damaged by flood and fire; it had been
demolished by 1581. The other chapel, of
St Thomas, (MON354) was recorded before
1238, contradicting the 14th-century tradition
that it had been the Jewish council chamber.
The chapel presumably survived until the
Dissolution; its site was waste ground by 1581
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 338).
Understandably, the intramural cemeteries
have not been excavated, although a handful of
burials have been recorded. The medieval stone
house at Lion Walk (MON492) contained the
remains of a baby burial in a shallow grave
dated to c 1150–1500 (CAR 3, 77), and a
wooden coffin burial was recovered from the
High Street near the site of St Runwald’s (CAT
Report 11/96b).
The countryside
The burgesses had common rights over
large parts of the liberty, which were divided
between whole-year and half-year rights. The
whole-year lands were areas of pasture and
wood or heath and waste in outlying parts like
Mile End. The half-year lands were ancient
open fields found close to the town, within
the parishes of the intramural churches.
Large areas of heath and waste, which were
located west and north of the town, were used
extensively as pasture with the heather and
furze cut for fuel. Environmental sampling
of 14th- to 18th-century ovens and hearths
from the town houses excavated at Angel
Yard demonstrated that, besides tree charcoal,
heathland plants such as gorse/broom and
heather were used either as kindling or as the
main component of the fuel, perhaps originally
as charcoal (Murphy 1996b, 82).
The heaths were interspersed with woodpasture, where livestock was grazed. The
north of the town was more heavily forested,
although in 1535 the burgesses acquired
Kingswood from Henry VIII and resolved
to convert it from common land to privately
owned land or severalty (hence the name
Severalls), which meant that the occupiers
paid rent to the borough as landlord. Arable
lands around the town were divided between
rye lands to the east and wheat grown to the
276
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
west, south-west and south. Population loss as
a result of the Black Death reduced pressure
on common rights over time and the local
lords responded by buying up tenements and
gradually eroding common privileges.
Little archaeological work has been done in
relation to the medieval countryside around
Colchester. However, the agrarian landscape,
like those of the Lower Thames valley and
Essex, is characterised by irregularity, rather
than by the coherence of the open-field
systems of the east and central midlands. The
unsystematic arrangement around Colchester
is one of large and small fields, both subdivided
and undivided. Holdings are usually made up
of compact blocks of land rather than strips
and can be delineated by banks, hedges and
ditches. The origins of these fields may be
ancient; Britnell notices that traces of compact
hides within the Liberty of Colchester can be
seen in field-name evidence from the early
14th-century borough records (Britnell 1988,
159).
The surviving irregular field patterns around
the town correspond to the documentary
evidence for a long process of piecemeal
enclosure of common lands. Parliamentary
enclosure came late, with the 19th-century
enclosure of the large areas of heath west of
the town. No trace remains of open fields in
the borough, although there is a record of ridge
and furrow near Langenhoe Hall (Crummy
1975, 34). Some crop-mark patterns near to
the town may be of medieval origin: these can
be seen either side of the Colne. For example,
an enclosure known from crop-marks was
sectioned by R J M Appleby in 1952 and a
large quantity of early medieval pottery was
recovered (CAR 11, 131, no. 64). A published
summary of Mount Bures parish drawing
out more details of landscape evolution, in
particular the lands associated with 26 ancient
dwellings, shows the potential for future work
in the borough (McMaster and Evans 1996,
59–63).
The wealthiest lordships were those of the
abbot of Colchester, who had his own personal
lands or demesnes in West Donyland and
Greenstead, and of Lexden Manor. Smaller
estates were St Botolph’s Priory’s lands at
Canwick and Greenstead, St Osyth’s Abbey’s
manor at Mile End and the king’s castle
lands. In the 15th century some other large
landholdings, such as Cooks in West Bergholt
and Battleswick, became called manors. Three
of St Botolph’s properties, Canwick, Dilbridge
and Shaws, are called manors in the 16th
century.
Of the medieval manor-houses Greenstead
Hall survived as a farmhouse until its demolition
in 1967 and Lexden Manor was probably
located at Lexden Lodge Farm, where the
current farmhouse is recorded as 16th century
in date. The eastern side of the medieval moat
(MON862) at Lexden Lodge was widened
in the 19th century, but investigation during
drainage work in 1992 failed to produce any
useful insights (CAT Report 4/92e). At Mile
End the hall, also known as Myland Hall,
incorporates a 14th-century two-bayed hall
with evidence for a cross-passage at the north
end. The southern cross-wing is contemporary
or slightly later and the central chimney was
put in during the 16th century (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 404). Also at Mile End was a freehold
of Braiswick Farm: the current farmhouse
incorporates the hall and eastern parlour range
of a late medieval house, which was modified
in the 17th century by the addition of an upper
floor and chimney to the hall. The manor-house
at Monkwick originated as a farmhouse; this
was possibly moated and was built by St John’s
Abbey before 1523 (Gant 1963, 27). Medieval
fishponds south of the house survived until
the 20th century. A 1717 map of Berechurch
(in CM archives) depicts a house, perhaps
the manor-house, standing south-west of the
church, and a moat is recorded at Berechurch
Hall Road (CAT Report 7/92b).
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
John Cotter’s study of the post-Roman pottery
from excavations in Colchester (CAR 7) is a
major statement about trade and trade patterns
in late medieval Colchester. An interesting
conclusion from his work is that German or
Rhenish stoneware made up 23 per cent of the
pottery in use in Colchester in 1450–1550/80,
and that most of these vessels were drinking
jugs. Another revealing fact is that more
stoneware was imported into Colchester via
London than to any other port in the later
16th century (CAR 7, 354–5). Although the
measure (‘estimated vessel equivalents’) on
which the figure is based exaggerates the
proportions of small-mouth vessels like these
277
LATE MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1349–1540
jugs, it does nevertheless emphasise the vital
importance of trade with the Rhineland and
the Low Countries to Colchester’s economic
revival following the Black Death.
The town wall was the subject of a detailed
survey in 1988–92, although relatively recent
repairs and patching made it difficult in
places to distinguish medieval from the
original work. As far as can be judged, the
extensive programme of repairs to the town
wall between 1381 and c 1413 (VCH 1994,
Essex IX, 45) was limited to the south-east
part of the wall circuit, where most of the
wall was repaired and strengthened with a
series of eight semicircular bastions (CAR 3,
84–5). Most of the new work seems to have
consisted of refacing, although there was at
least one section (west of Bastion VII) which
was completely rebuilt. The other section
of the town wall to be repaired in the late
medieval period was to either side of the
North Gate, presumably at the same time as
the rebuilding of the gate itself. This rebuild
cannot be closely dated.
Sufficient houses have been excavated to
allow the characterisation of key archaeological
features such as mortared footings, clay floors,
hearths and ovens. The buildings concerned are
Buildings 75–76 (MON332, MON333; CAR
3, 189–209), Buildings 197–200 (ELM1243–5,
MON3; Benfield 2002, 38–40), and Building
182 (MON22; Brooks 2000, 112–15). The
archaeological remains were relatively well
preserved because the structures had been
constructed in parts of the town where
frontages were not at a premium and cellars
were comparatively rare.
No pottery kilns have been found for this
period despite the ubiquity of Colchestertype ware and the supporting documentary
evidence for potters and their kilns (CAR 7,
364–7). However, 15th-century pottery wasters
indicate one or more kilns in or near Magdalen
Street (ibid, 110) and others at Great Horkesley,
some distance from the town centre (Drury
and Petchey 1976; CAR 7, 109–10).
Developments in the manufacture of lime
were illustrated at Lion Walk, where a series
of lime kilns showed how the old method of
burning shell in large pits had been superseded
by smaller structures apparently capable of
continuous use (CAR 3, 87–91). A few finds
of local bay traders’ tokens, leaden seals and
spindlewhorls of Raeren ware provide a very
understated indication of the cloth trade’s
domination of the town (CAR 5, 30–5).
Because it is almost impossible to recognise
earlier medieval material, the study of ecofacts,
such as animal bone and the remains of other
foodstuffs, from late medieval and postmedieval deposits needs care in the selection
of contexts to be analysed.
Preservation
The preservation of houses from the late
medieval period is poor, although parts of a
very small number of houses survive above
ground. Most of the buried remains have
been lost through the construction of cellars
and later foundations. The worst-affected area
is the High Street, where frontages without
cellars beneath them seem to be exceptionally
rare, and little early timber-framing survives.
Areas where the ground water is relatively high
(notably in the Osborne Street area and the
foot of Balkerne Hill/North Hill and St Peter’s
Street areas) are likely to be conducive to the
preservation of leather and wood.
Importance
Colchester remained a port and market town
of regional rather than national importance.
Rapid expansion after the Black Death was
fuelled by the exploitation of overseas markets
for cloth and the arrival of a number of Dutch
families in the early 1350s (Britnell 1986b, 72).
The population boomed, rising from about
3,000 to perhaps over 8,000 by the end of the
century. The growth was matched in towns
elsewhere, notably at Coventry, Salisbury,
York and Norwich, and in small towns nearby,
such as Hadleigh and Thaxted, although
surrounding villages decayed. Economic
expansion eventually peaked around 1406–14.
Then followed a period of low growth until,
between 1437 and 1449, there was another
phase of vigorous industrial revival. Cloth
output reached its peak in the 1440s through
trade with the Hanseatic League and thereafter
started to contract. Later that century, direct
trade with north-west Europe declined and
merchants in Colchester (as elsewhere)
increasingly traded through London. In the
late 15th and early 16th centuries Colchester’s
population was in decline, reflecting the
downturn in the cloth trade. Nevertheless, at
the time of the lay subsidy in 1524 Colchester
was a wealthier town than it had been before
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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
the Black Death, and the borough was ranked
12th in terms of taxable wealth and 7th in
terms of taxable population among English
towns (ibid, 265).
Late medieval Colchester is of regional
archaeological significance for its houses, its
port, its religious institutions and its pottery
assemblages, including the evidence in the
latter for coastal and overseas trade. The town
ought to be important nationally for buildings
and artefacts which reflect the cloth trade in
particular, but that potential is yet to be realised.
Few towns in the region had town walls, so the
repairs and gates are of considerable interest
nationally as well as regionally.
Potential for future research
The further excavation and survey of the
town wall offers the possibility of clarifying
the extent and dates of the repairs of the
wall and improving our knowledge of the
medieval gates at Scheregate and Ryegate.
Excavations of the quays at the Hythe may
provide archaeological evidence for trade
as well as related organic finds. Similarly, a
wider investigative programme at the Hythe is
likely to provide information not just on the
development of the quays, but also on that of
the buildings behind the waterfront and up
Hythe Hill as far as and beyond St Leonard’s
church. House sites available for excavation are
likely to be especially important if significant
parts of their timber frames are intact. So
too will be any which can be associated with
Hanseatic or Dutch merchants or industrial or
craft industries such as weaving and fulling.
The excavation of Colchester-type ware
kilns would be of regional value and would
allow further characterisation of Colchester
pottery production and its products. A detailed
survey of the post-Roman glass from the
1970–85 excavations would provide a useful
corpus and reference work for future work in
the town comparable to the relevant volumes
of the Colchester Archaeological Reports. The
excavation of sites rich in organic remains is
likely to provide evidence for leather and cloth
industries of a calibre not available to date.
12 Post-medieval Colchester, 1540–1700
by David Radford
Introduction and historical
framework
In 1534, Henry VIII broke with Rome and
proceeded to bind a significant section of the
english nobility to his policy by selling them
former church lands at favourable prices.
his successor mary led a failed attempt to
forcibly reimpose Catholic rule, and in the
aftermath the enriched nobles and persecuted
Protestants united behind elizabeth i, who was
able to preside over the expansion of english
trade and the consolidation of the english
reformation.
in 1539 the abbot of Colchester was one
of three abbots executed for opposing the
king. however, the Dissolution seems to
have been accepted with enthusiasm by the
burghers of Colchester; no doubt the centuries
of conflict between the town and st John’s
abbey informed local feeling. the town had a
tradition of religious nonconformity that dated
back to the lollards of the 14th century and,
during the reign of mary, only london and
Canterbury saw more people burnt at the stake.
Colchester’s immigrant and geographical links
with the low Countries fed the nonconformist
tradition, although the town never became
wholly Protestant in character.
historians have begun to pay increasing
attention to the role of small and mediumsized towns in the development of the British
economy (Borsay 1989, 4–11; Clark 1995; Clark
2000, 2; gerrard 2003, 230), and Colchester
is a well-documented example of a relatively
successful post-medieval town. in the early
16th century Colchester was ranked in the
top 10 english towns in terms of taxable
wealth and taxable population. its importance
was largely derived from its role as a port
and cloth-producing centre (harris sacks and
lynch 2000, 383; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 76–7).
evidence from wills suggests that the town
was affected by the contraction of the cloth
trade in the early 16th century and was hit by
a further slump in the 1550s. this fits into a
wider pattern of urban depression noted in
other centres such as norwich, Coventry and
york (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 78). more work
needs to be done, however, on what impact the
secularisation of the large religious institutions
and their assets had on the town’s economy.
for example, Cooper notes that in the 1550s
there was a decisive increase in the numbers
purchasing the freedom of the town, bucking
the trend of the wider textile depression at this
time (ibid, 81).
Documentary evidence indicates that the
town’s economy grew decisively from the
1560s, following the decision to accommodate
a new influx of Dutch immigrants. at this
time the southern netherlands were under
the control of Philip ii of spain, who was
determined to stamp out the Protestantism
gaining support among the Dutch urban
classes. Colchester’s nonconformist sympathies
and henry viii’s break with rome created a
political atmosphere in which skilled Protestant
immigrants were welcomed. in 1571, a number
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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
of Dutch refugees formed a guild or trade
company in the town and this was granted
the exclusive right to produce ‘bays’ (a thick
furry cloth) and ‘says’ (similar but lighter) and
other ‘new draperies’ that were lighter and
cheaper than anything else made in England
at the time. It was the manufacture and trade
of these lightweight cloths that underpinned
Colchester’s commercial success throughout
the next century. One estimate puts the size of
the Dutch community in Colchester at around
200 in 1573, a number which rose dramatically
to 1,500 in 1622 (out of a population of around
8,000) (Chalklin 2000, 54).
The assimilation of the Dutch community
was not seamless, however, the Dutch facing
petitions demanding their expulsion in 1580
and 1591 (West 1988, 51–4), but religious
sympathy and the economic benefits brought
by the immigrants were sufficient to assuage
local disquiet. By the end of the 16th century
Colchester dominated the regional cloth-making
revival, which encompassed the essex towns of
Coggeshall, Braintree, Dedham, Bocking and
halstead. Colchester manufacturers maintained
regional domination of the industry by forcing
smaller producers to come to Colchester to
have their wares sealed for quality. in the Dutch
Bay hall, governors regulated manufacturing
and enforced the inspection and sealing of
finished cloths. the power of Colchester’s
Dutch community is demonstrated by the fact
that in 1612 the Privy Council granted them the
right to trade freely in london. an attempt by
native cloth workers to set up the Company of
english Cloth Weavers in rivalry to the Dutch
craftsmen failed in the face of continued
support for the Dutch from the town council
and royal estate (heard 1970, 118–19).
Driven by the cloth trade, Colchester,
along with certain other english towns such
as Worcester, york and ipswich, expanded
vigorously in the period from 1550 to 1650
before growth tailed off in the late 17th
century. remarkably, this expansion occurred
despite the ravages of the plague, which struck
the town repeatedly during the years from
1545 to 1679. the outbreak of 1665–6 may
have killed up to half of the town’s population
and was one of the most devastating episodes
recorded in england. other hardships were
inflicted by harvest failure, increased taxation,
civil unrest and war. yet, by 1700, Colchester
was one of perhaps just over 30 towns outside
london that had a population of over 5,000.
it remained the largest town in essex, despite
the fact that Chelmsford was the county town,
where both the assizes and the county quarter
sessions were held.
the port at the hythe was central to the
town’s economic success, with ships also
moored at nearby Wivenhoe and rowhedge.
Coastal trade with london was significant, as
were continental trade links with france, the
netherlands, Poland, germany and, in the
17th century, spain. yet Colchester was never
the dominant regional port, being sandwiched
between ipswich, to the north (which
dominated trade to the east around the Baltic),
and london, to the south (which dominated
the mediterranean routes). Colchester’s relative
importance within the 16th-century economy
can be seen by the tonnage of ships from the
port in 1571–2. Colchester’s 1,005 tons can
be compared with 790 tons at southampton
and london’s 12,265 tons (Chalklin 2000, 54).
although in 1588 Colchester was required to
provide men and a ship to meet the spanish
armada, it never became a major port in
national terms; a survey carried out in the 1590s
places Colchester only 14th out of 19 ports
surveyed (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 85).
a wide variety of trades is noted in the
borough records and there was evidently
considerable diversification and specialisation,
reflecting the town’s role as an important
regional market and manufacturing centre.
Despite the wealth generated by cloth and
shipping, the fruits of the town’s economic
success were not universally enjoyed and wealth
became more polarised. in certain quarters
of the town there was considerable poverty,
which was exacerbated by plague and war and
expressed through episodes of social unrest
such as a revolt by weavers for better pay in
1675.
in the 17th century radical religious groups
were able to build support locally, including
the Brownists, Baptists, Quakers and other
religious separatists. another signifier of social
strife was the witchcraft trials of the 1640s.
Between 1645 and 1647, amidst the chaos of
the Civil War and religious turmoil, the essexborn Witchfinder general matthew hopkins
passed 250 convictions for witchcraft, leading
to perhaps 100 executions, a much higher
number than previously seen. the greatest
number of convictions in england was made
281
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
in Essex and Suffolk, with Colchester being a
centre of operations for Hopkins. The nearby
Tendring district was the area worst affected
by his trials.
Chartered towns like Colchester were
dependant on the goodwill of the Crown
to resolve legal and trade disputes in their
favour and were, in return, vulnerable to the
imposition of taxation and the exaction of
military contributions. In the Elizabethan and
early Stuart period Colchester had successfully
courted the Privy Council, the royal court
and Parliament in defence of its interests.
However, from the 1620s, as a result of the
fiscal policies of both James i and Charles i,
the borough began to court an alliance with
county leaders and by extension the opposition
leadership in the long Parliament (Davis 1981,
564). By the outbreak of the Civil War the
town was parliamentarian in sympathy. this
was demonstrated in august 1642 when the
precinct of st John’s abbey, then owned by the
royalist lucas family, was stormed by a violent
mob from Colchester after word had spread
that sir John lucas had assembled cavaliers
there and planned to join the king’s troops.
the mob also desecrated the lucas family vault
in st giles’s church and local Puritan feeling
led to religious iconoclasm, including the
whitewashing of the norman wall paintings
in Copford church.
on 12 June 1648, a royalist force of some
5,600 men under the command of lord
goring arrived at Colchester and, after a short
skirmish, was let into the town. the next day
a pursuing force led by thomas fairfax, lord
fairfax, arrived and commenced a siege, which
lasted until 28 august. the siege resulted in the
destruction of around 200 houses, the partial
destruction of several churches and a great
deal of human suffering. in the end the town
fell and the royalist leaders were executed.
historian ian archer notes that the subsequent
Commonwealth government did not secure the
development of more democratic governance
in the town; in fact, the town charter was
‘remodelled in 1656 to remove direct election
of aldermen by burgesses as the freemen had
gradually eased out the victors of 1648’ (archer
2000, 253).
Despite the impact of the siege the town’s
population trebled between the 1520s and the
1670s, so that by 1674 its population had risen
rapidly to about 10,400, which was not far
below the immediate pre-1648 level. it should
be noted that these figures mask periods of
crisis: for example, one estimate puts the town’s
population as low as 5,000 in 1600 (harris
sacks and lynch 2000, 384). remarkably, in
the 1670s the town ranked sixth nationally in
terms of numbers of hearths per household,
evidently having recovered from the strife of
the Civil War, the impact of privateering and
the general dislocation caused by england’s
international campaigns against france after
the 1650s (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 88; Borsay
1989, 19).
Past work
a note in the journal Archaeologia refers to 30
coarse red earthenware bottles found near
Colchester in the summer of 1776; this is
likely to be one of the earliest references to
post-medieval pottery of its kind (King 1779,
230–1). from the 1870s onwards Colchester
museum collected post-medieval pottery
groups from building sites across the town,
such as the site of the new town hall, in
1899, and the Wyre street arcade, in 1928
(Cmr 1929, 44–5, fig 2 and pl x). the 1928
museum annual report noted the abundance
of medieval and post-medieval finds from
‘every building site in the town’, and that ‘the
layer containing these relics is often 4–8ft thick’
(Cmr 1928, 69). more pottery was recovered
in the 1930s during work in the Castle Bailey,
at magdalen street and at head street, much
of which found its way to the museum (Cmr
1935, 32–4), although findspots and contexts
were not recorded.
it is fair to say that post-medieval remains
were not the principal concern of the early
excavations within the town. Civil War
material from the sheepen site (1930–9) was
acquired by the museum, but the Civil War
gun emplacement on sheepen hill was not
excavated and published in its own right.
likewise, rubbish pits and cess pits encountered
during the excavation of roman remains never
became more than footnotes in reports (for
example, hull 1958, 113). nevertheless, in
the 1950s and 1960s finds continued to make
their way into the museum, including pottery
from Culver street (Cmr 1950, 26–7, pl vii),
north hill (ibid, 34) and Wyre street (Cmr
1962, 52). rodwell has stated that ‘medieval
and post-medieval layers were commonly
282
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
dug away unceremoniously, in order to reach
the interesting deposits. Colchester fared
particularly badly in this respect’ (Rodwell 1996,
203). However, this may not be an entirely fair
description, as significant finds of pottery and
clay pipe did find their way into publications.
in fact, gant’s observation of a clay-pipe kiln
at the Joslins/tesco site on the high street
was one of the first contributions of its kind
to clay-pipe studies (gant 1960b, 44).
in 1959, during an excavation carried out
by Brian Blake to see if the curving nature of
stockwell and West stockwell streets reflected
the position of a roman theatre, a large
number of rubbish pits containing 14th- to
17th-century pottery and 17th- to 18th-century
tobacco pipes were encountered, subsequently
to be published (Blake 1959a, 7–9; Blake et
al 1961, 41–51). a small amount of postmedieval material from other sites in the 1960s
also found its way into print (richardson 1961,
31–2; Dunnett 1971a, 40–2, 90–1).
With the creation of the Colchester
archaeological trust in 1971 a conscious
decision was made to address the perceived
period bias in the archaeological record.
subsequently, a number of large rescue
excavations in the 1970s and 80s provided an
opportunity to examine land behind the town’s
principal streets, which encompassed the
rear wings and yards of many post-medieval
properties. these excavations produced
considerable quantities of post-medieval
pottery along with finds reflecting nearby
commercial activities. for instance, the lion
Walk site revealed several plots associated
with properties on Culver street and lion
Walk; here, rubbish pits and dumps containing
brewing and pharmaceutical vessels were
examined along with structural remains from
this period, including an earlier stone house
that had been extended and floored with
flemish tiles, traces of an almshouse and a
timber building probably destroyed in the
1648 siege. and at middleborough, two earlier
buildings occupied throughout this period and
a small number of pits were excavated. the
massive 4-acre Culver street site produced
rubbish pits, latrines, ancillary buildings and
two cellars belonging to head street properties.
these modest results reflected the fact that the
area was largely orchards, gardens and fields at
the end of the post-medieval period.
smaller sites from the 1970s and 1980s
produced more post-medieval data. at long
Wyre street excavations examined the rear
wing of a 17th-century house along with
stone-lined cess pits (CAR 6, 361–5). the Cups
hotel site was on a prime high street frontage
location, which, although heavily disturbed
by later cellars, revealed earlier buildings
occupied throughout this period (ibid, 328).
similar buildings were examined at angel yard
(shimmin and Carter 1996, 42–63) and outside
the walls at magdalen street (CAR 6, 341).
During the 1990s, Civil War entrenchments
were examined on the asda site at turner rise
(P Crummy, pers comm), more back yards were
excavated at the old Post office site on head
street (Brooks 2004b) and a number of small
excavations and evaluations looked at plots and
properties on hythe hill, at numbers 117–119,
124–125 (austin 1998), 64–76 (Benfield 2002)
and 79 (Brooks 2000). elsewhere, evaluations
have encountered traces of a wooden drain at
st Peter’s house (Benfield 1998c) and traces
of early brick buildings at the old Poultry
site (Crossan 1999b) and 40 osborne street
(Benfield 1999).
The nature of the evidence
information on this period comes from
excavations both inside and outside the
town walls, surveys of standing buildings,
documentary records, historic maps, stray
finds and photographic records (fig 12.1).
the principal map sources are speed’s map
of 1610 and the 1648 siege map, both of
which depict a number of monuments yet to
be located archaeologically, including a market
cross and numerous siege works. the survival
of many standing structures from this period
means that building surveys have a great
deal to contribute to our understanding of
urban development, and there is considerable
potential for future work. in 1922, the royal
Commission identified 249 standing buildings
in the uaD study area which are believed
to pre-date 1715; of these, 167 were still
standing in 2002 (fig 12.2). furthermore,
ongoing survey work has tended to show that
the royal Commission was conservative with
its dating and that many properties are older
than recorded.
Fig 12.1 The post-medieval town showing distribution of monuments and significant elements.
283
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
Summary of finds assemblages
by Nina Crummy
Colchester’s post-medieval ceramic assemblage
is of local significance, contributing to an
understanding of pottery manufacture and
supply in essex and east anglia. Post-medieval
pottery recovered as stray finds is published
with occasional photographs in the Annual
Reports of Colchester Museum, while assemblages
for sites excavated from 1971 to 1985 were
the subject of CAR 7. small finds from sites
excavated in the same period are published in
CAR 5, and assemblages from 79 hythe hill
(Walker 2000), st John’s abbey (CAR 9, 235
for clay pipes) and osborne street (Crummy
and hind 1994) are also in print. as with the
previous period, there are many well-dated
groups of pottery from this period, including
a large assemblage of drug jars and other tinglazed wares, which chart the shift in imports
from the netherlands to england as the wares
were copied here (CAR 7, 331–49).
most of the clay tobacco pipes recovered
from the town are of local manufacture. a
dated typology has been established and lists of
relief initials and other marks, stamps and local
makers recorded in documentary sources have
been compiled, though the latter all post-date
1700 (CAR 5, 47–66). the recovery of two
pipe-clay dog figurines from the same mould
suggests that they too may have been made
locally (ibid, 47, fig 53). statistical work on the
tobacco pipes has, however, been limited and
the assemblage from the angel yard site may
be useful for future research of this nature
(Crummy and hind 1996, 80–1).
the small finds include a seal from the
manufacture of bay, a cloth introduced c 1570
by Dutch refugees (CAR 5, 33–4). the names
of many local clothiers are recorded on their
copper-alloy trade tokens (Williamson 1889,
215–20; Judson 1987, 54–93; CAR 4, 68).
an upsurge in mutton consumption can be
associated with the keeping of mature sheep
for their wool (CAR 12, 51).
The archaeological evidence
The urban plan
speed’s map of 1610 shows that much of
the land along the principal intramural street
frontages was built up by this time (fig 12.3).
Fig 12.2 The timberframed building at All
Saints Court in Culver
Street was recorded by
the Royal Commission in
1922, but sadly demolished
in 1939 (Colchester
Museums).
284
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 12.3 Speed’s map
of 1610 is the earliest
accurate depiction of
Colchester showing many
details which may still
be verified today such as
the location of the town’s
churches (Essex Record
Office).
Dense housing is also shown down East Hill,
along Magdalen Street and in the southern
suburbs around Stanwell Street and St John’s
Street. However, large areas of open land
survived within the town walls behind the street
frontages. Extramural housing had developed
west of Middleborough, following the wall
around its north-west angle, and east of
Middleborough a single house on Speed’s map
may have determined the line of later streets.
Few houses are shown built up against the town
wall except near North Gate. The map shows
that leats supplied water, presumably to fullers,
at East Street and North Hill. The remnants
of the religious precincts are shown and the
main town well, called Stanwell (ELM1273),
is marked south of the town.
The end of the late medieval period was a
period of decay for poorer parts of the town,
when properties were abandoned or knocked
together. However, the economic revival in
the later 16th century reversed the process of
amalgamation and houses were increasingly
subdivided into smaller tenements along the
principal street frontages. In the 17th century,
records note that agricultural barns near All
Saints and along Sir Isaac’s Walk were converted
into dwellings in an urban forerunner of 20thcentury Essex barn conversions. The pressure
on space along the main streets meant that
many of the properties along the High Street
and North Hill were of three storeys. These
urban properties were a mixture of hall houses
with rear wings, two-roomed cottages and
warehouses placed around a courtyard.
There is some documentary evidence for
limited zoning of industrial and craft activities
in the town (VCH 1994, Essex IX, 104).
Sensibly, the mariners lived at the Hythe and
the cloth-makers lived east, north and south
of the walled town, near the water sources.
Many butchers lived in East and West Stockwell
Streets near the shambles, where there were
slaughter houses until as late as 1580. Most
clothiers and bay-makers lived in the parishes
of St Peter’s or St James’s in the 16th and early
17th centuries. The term ‘Dutch Quarter’,
currently used for East and West Stockwell
and Maidenburgh Streets, is misleading, as
the Dutch community was spread across a
number of parishes. Zoning is also apparent in
terms of wealth judging by the 1674 hearth tax
285
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
returns, with St Botolph’s and St Giles’ being
the poorest and St Runwald’s by far the most
prosperous parish (ibid, 98).
The impact of the Dissolution
St Botolph’s Priory was dissolved in 1536,
the Crouched and Black Friaries in 1538 and
St John’s Abbey in 1539. By 1548 only two
guilds or chantries remained at Colchester
– Haynes’s and Barwick’s – and these were
sold to the borough in 1550, the others having
been already dissolved illegally by their patrons
(VCH 1994, Essex IX, 122).
The Dissolution of the Monasteries led
to the acquisition of the religious precincts
around the town by wealthy landowners,
principally Thomas Audley, Francis Jobson
and John Lucas. Audley also successfully
lobbied to gain the lands of St Helen’s guild
and Eleanor’s chantry in St Mary’s church for
the town and these were subsequently used to
refound the grammar school (ibid, 121). The
precinct of St John’s Abbey fell into the hands
of the Lucas family, who converted part of
the abbey, perhaps the abbot’s lodgings, into
their house (MON368), as shown on Speed’s
map and the Siege Map. The creation of elite
urban residences on monastic land is paralleled
elsewhere; examples include the mansion of
Thomas Audley at Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate,
where the domestic range of the prior’s
lodgings was kept as the core of the house
(Schofield 1997, 128). unfortunately, much of
the lucas house was destroyed during the siege
in 1648, when it was used as a royalist outpost.
the remaining buildings were damaged by
Dutch prisoners housed there in the 1660s
and all traces of the house seemed to have
gone by 1768. however, the terraces relating
to the formal gardens of the house can still be
seen. the precinct wall includes 16th- or 17thcentury window openings on its western side,
indicating that buildings were erected along the
western side of the precinct (Brooks 2002b,
25). the siege map also shows what appears
to be a south gate of the abbey, of which no
remains have been recorded. several pieces
of worked limestone, including a number of
capitals with characteristic late 12th-century
waterleaf design, were noted in the foundation
of the north wall during building work at 2–3
stanwell street in 1983, and were likely to have
come from st John’s abbey at some point after
the Dissolution (CAR 6, 373–4).
elsewhere, the nave of st Botolph’s Priory’s
church was blocked off and used for parochial
worship, and an excavation in 1986 revealed
that the north wall of the transept had been
demolished shortly after the Dissolution
(interim note in Post-Medieval Archaeol 21 (1987):
267; see eh ‘the Preparation of material for
Publication’, references to short notes on page
45). the precincts of the Crutched friars and
Black friars can be still seen on speed’s 1610
map (fig 12.3).
schofield notes the potentially liberating
process of the Dissolution with respect to
town planning and building design (2003, 322).
however, while there is limited evidence for the
reorientation of monastic churches towards
parochial use (for example, st Botolph’s)
the Dissolution does not appear to have led
to a radical transformation of Colchester’s
morphology (for example, new planned
streets), perhaps because of the location of
the precincts in relation to the main axis of
the town (the london road and hythe hill)
and the constraints of the town and abbey
walls. Cooper suggests that the impact of the
Dissolution was in fact to hasten the decline
of the south-eastern suburb around st John’s
abbey and st Botolph’s Priory (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 102). With respect to the potential
for the Dissolution to have spurred on
developments in secular architecture, evidence
is unfortunately lacking, as both the lucas
house in the abbey precinct and sir harbottle
grimston’s house at Crutched friars never
recovered from the impact of the Civil War
(ibid, 105).
in the early 16th century some of the
parochial churches had been improved: st giles
was remodelled and the towers of all saints
and st mary at the Walls were rebuilt in c 1500
and c 1534 (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 310, 316
and 326). vestries were added to st leonard’s
and st Peter’s in c 1534, but subsequently the
reformation appears to have acted as a brake
on church additions. the Dissolution saw
the redirection of wealth away from Church
institutions towards poor assistance. from 1562
the Corporation ordered that alms be collected
at every sermon for the relief of the poor, and
a number of almshouses were built during this
period. finches almshouses (mon182) stood
in Culver street from the 16th century to the
early 20th century. the royal Commission
surveyed the rebuilt almshouses in 1922 and
286
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
noted a 17th-century stone tablet recording the
foundation of the institution by Ralph Finch
in 1552. Winnock’s Almshouses (MON215) at
1–6 Military Road were built c 1678 and remain
a good example of the brickwork of the period.
The foundations of an almshouse (MON493)
were excavated at Lion Walk and are thought to
be the institution constructed by Lady Darcy,
which, according to Morant, was built in brick
during the reign of Charles I (Morant 1768, bk
III, 171). Rubble foundations and daub floors
were noted, but the relationship between these
was unclear and the floors may have belonged
to a later structure (CAR 3, 82). in the 17th
century the ruinous hospital building of st
mary magdalen (mon995) was re-established
as an almshouse. the medieval building was
repaired, enlarged and maintained for a further
200 years until it was finally replaced in the
1830s with a terrace of almshouses that stood
until the late 20th century.
the Dutch community founded a church
in Colchester in 1563, although the location
of the church is unknown until 1677, when it
was situated on the corner of head street and
Church street (unpublished note by Blaxill,
Cm archives). the building was burnt down in
1835. a note by William Wire in his copy of
morant’s History of Colchester states that:
the (Dutch) congregation had a chapel
and house for the minister in head street, the
wooden framework of the front and other
parts of which were sent from holland, cut and
made ready to put together. it was a handsome
building of considerable extent. the front of
what appears to have been the chapel forms
one side of a quadrangular court, occupied by
the minister’s house and various offices and
outbuildings. on the window frame in the front
towards the street, the date 1677 appears, and
a cipher including the letters s.r.B., with the
same date, is impressed on the brickwork of
other parts of the building. in the interior is a
staircase of oak, ornamented with carvings of
superior style and workmanship.
Public buildings and other works
no major alterations are documented for
the moot hall (mon974) during this period,
although it was joined by other important
civic structures on the high street. at the
west end of the street was the corn market,
part of the row of properties built south
of st Peter’s church. this land was acquired
by the borough and became known as the
red row. the corn market was repaired by
the borough in the 1620s and by 1631 the
rooms above the red row were known as
the Dutch Bay hall (mon967), where the
Dutch community was allowed to regulate the
quality of cloth production. the hall became
important enough to be recognised by an act
of Parliament in 1660 (Clarke 1942–5, 375–8).
in 1698 the structure was ‘a long building like
stalls’; it survived until 1819 (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 107).
West of st runwald’s a market cross
(mon50) replaced the medieval butter market
around 1590. it is shown on speed’s map with
an open ground floor and a room above. this
building was demolished in 1803. the butchers’
shambles east of st runwald’s known as the
middle row (mon49) was rebuilt in the
1580s as a substantial two-storey structure,
which survived until 1857. in the late 17th
century the town council decided to clear the
market place and let it to the highest bidder.
one of the subsequent developments was the
construction of a specially built fish market
east of st runwald’s church in 1697, which
survived until at least 1803 (vCh 1994, Essex
IX, 271).
as well as being responsible for the Poor
house, built in 1570 (ibid, 90), the town
corporation was also responsible for managing
the impact of the plague. records note that it
built two pesthouses: one in st mary’s Parish
and one at mile end (Doolittle 1972, 141).
in 1665 the Oath Book records that corpse
bearers were made to live separately and carry
white wands. the bearers swore to carry the
corpses ‘to the ground’, which has traditionally
been identified with the ‘mount’ at mersea
road. the mount is a substantial, elongated
earth mound in the south-east corner of the
st John’s abbey precinct. human bone was
found here in 1867; however, a connection
with the plague is unproven (CAR 1, 46, note
9; Crummy 2002d, 27).
Water management remained an important
issue for hygiene, cloth production, fishing
and trade. in 1536 aldermen attached to a
guild based at st Peter’s church were given
permission to channel water from the Chiswell
meadow into the mansion of henry Webbe
in north street; the resulting channel appears
on speed’s map of 1610. around 1620 a
more adventurous scheme was attempted by
287
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
a syndicate of businessmen who built a town
water house (MON1038) in Chiswell Meadow,
from which water was pumped to a cistern in
the area of Papillon Road (Phillips 1985, 8). In
1633 the Lucas family, who owned the Lords
Land, cut the pipes and stopped the flow. the
pipes were cut off again by Parliamentarians
during the 1648 siege, when the lead was used
to make bullets (ibid, 8) the water house can
be seen on the 1648 siege map and the Papillon
road cistern is shown on another fragment
of map held in the local studies section of
the Colchester Public library (CPl 47, 48
and 52).
sixteenth-century cess pits lined with
septaria, flint, brick and peg tile have been
recorded at 7–15 long Wyre street; these were
fed by a simple clay-lined drain. the same site
also revealed a 17th- to 18th-century peg-tile
drain (CAR 6, 361). elsewhere a peg-tile drain
was noted at the vineyard Press site (Dunnett
1971a, 38–42), and a drain formed of mortared
tiles and associated with a 16th-century stone
and tile plinth foundation was recorded at 19
high street (Cat report 2/88a). in the 17th
century stone-lined latrines were gradually
replaced by brick-lined ones (CAR 7, 3).
aside from house drains, only a handful of
water management features from this period
has been excavated. timber piles forming a
river channel revetment were found associated
with 16th- to 17th-century pottery in st Peter’s
street, along with an unusual water main
constructed from bored-out elm trunks 6m
in length, which were reinforced by iron rings.
associated pottery could only be dated to the
17th–19th centuries (Benfield 1998c). this
type of main is known to have been laid in
Colchester as late as the early 19th century (a
Phillips, pers comm).
The Hythe
little is known about the infrastructure of the
corporation holdings at the hythe during this
period. the Portreeve’s house at east Bay
(mon241) still stands and has been surveyed
(Crummy 1976, 89–103). a probable 16thcentury warehouse at the hythe (mon16)
was recorded in 1922, but has since been
demolished (rChme 1922, 67, no. 188); this
may have been one of the brick warehouses
erected by the borough in 1623 (vCh 1994,
Essex IX, 108). at some stage the cart bridge
over the Colne at the hythe was replaced by
a stone bridge of three arches (mon24); this
was recorded in 1741, but no longer survives.
in 1717 the Customs house at the hythe
(mon28), shown on the 1876 map but since
demolished, employed 10 officers whose
job was to counter the extensive smuggling
operations that flourished along the essex
coast (ibid, 142).
The town wall, town gates and castle
the town wall and its gates were neglected by
the borough during this period and suffered
significant damage during the 1648 siege. a
number of the bastions were destroyed in
the siege, including one uncovered during
excavations at lion Walk (CAR 1, 52–3; CAR
3, 84). a series of square-headed town gates is
shown on speed’s map of 1610, but no medieval
gate structures survive above ground or have
been encountered in excavations. a groundpenetrating radar survey was undertaken by
the Colchester archaeological trust in 2001
in order to locate the gates, but without
success (Crummy 2002b, 21–2). head gate
was the principal gate and this may have been
located just to the north of the roman gate
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 250). Part of the east
gate fell down in 1651, presumably having
taken a battering in the siege (morant 1768,
bk i, 7). more of it was pulled down in 1676,
although a ‘roman guardhouse’ on the south
side of this gate survived in 1813. the south
gate was demolished by the improvement
commissioners in 1814.
the castle was allowed to decay in the 15th
and 16th centuries and the bailey buildings,
along with much of the bailey wall, had
collapsed by 1622 (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
104). houses began to encroach onto the site
of the bailey ditch and house plots were laid
over the castle ditch in 1680–3 (morant 1768,
bk i, 10). the castle continued to house the
county gaol until 1633, but after the siege lost
its military and penal functions. it was used
as a source of construction materials by the
builder John Wheeley in 1683, when vaults
below the norman floor were discovered.
Wheeley removed the battlements and quarried
the vaults for sand (P Berridge, pers comm).
an excavation of the bailey for floodlight
trenches in 2001 revealed that the facing stone
of the castle was removed by Wheeley, as it was
found to survive below the c 1700 ground level
(Crummy 2002c, 8).
288
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Domestic and commercial architecture
by Dave Stenning
While there are a considerable number of
buildings surviving from the period 1540–1700,
they have been little investigated compared
with those of earlier times. Allowing for the
fact that this overview will therefore necessarily
be somewhat superficial, it would appear that
the general pattern is similar to that elsewhere
in north-east essex, although reflecting the
usual pressures on building form arising from
the high density of urban housing.
the evidence suggests that, from the
mid-16th century, good new oak was
increasingly difficult to obtain, leading to the
extensive reuse of old timber. Poorer timber,
particularly elm, was often employed, with
some softwood appearing in the 17th century.
framing techniques, while reflecting the
traditional methods, became less systematic and
occasionally inventive, with the old methods
apparently less relevant. the 16th century was
a time of considerable experimentation with
the domestic plan form, provoked partially
by the introduction of chimney stacks and
more generally by the desire to achieve greater
comfort and convenience. for all of these
reasons, it becomes more difficult to interpret
timber-framed buildings and to differentiate
between successive phases of work. the use
of ‘primary bracing’ in wall framing became
ubiquitous from the late 16th century onwards;
this was a purely utilitarian construction
technique which was covered by a coat of
plaster.
from the mid-16th century (the early 16th
century in west essex), the crown-post roof was
gradually superseded by roof types involving
side purlins. in Colchester, the butt-purlin type
is most in evidence, probably favoured as being
more appropriate for the provision of attic
dormer windows. there are an extremely large
number of such butt-purlin roofs within the
urban area, in many cases seemingly older than
the buildings they cover. it is, however, probable
that roofs of this type, which are difficult
to date, were fashionable for a considerable
period of time. the post-medieval buildings
are predominantly of the ‘long-wall jetty’ types,
made possible by the provision of chimney
stacks. on occasions these have clearly replaced
open halls, but new-built structures on virgin
plots are also in evidence. there seems relatively
little indication of the insertion of floors within
open halls, as was prevalent elsewhere, but the
survival pattern may be distorted. observation
would suggest that Colchester has a number of
buildings of two more or less equal bays of a
type that has been noted in numerous urban
centres. Whether these were self-contained
(they often appear to be), or occupied in
association with adjoining structures, remains
to be resolved.
an attractive feature of many of these longwall jetty houses is their decorative supporting
brackets. these were nationally fashionable
and rely on a vocabulary of northern classical
motifs, such as complex scrolls, pendants and
geometrical mouldings. investigation of an
east street example revealed that both the
bracket and the post had been carved out of a
single large timber. this extramural street has a
number of fine examples, such as those at 17,
29, 35 and 37 (mon250, mon253, mon254,
mon256). By the late 16th century the useable
attic had become a desirable feature and
these were either provided in new buildings,
or converted out of existing roofs. gables
enjoyed a period of especial popularity and
were often of the ‘display’ type, with windows
to light the new attic. this period witnessed the
gradual replacement of the unglazed diamondmullioned window with windows of the ovolomullioned type. generally, these were capable
of being glazed and probably were, at least on
the more public elevations. the high ‘frieze’
window was introduced, frequently into earlier
elevations, together with projecting oriels.
Chimney stacks can be particularly difficult
to date, especially where they lack any specific
decorative detail. in essex, they tend to
have been first introduced at the low end
of traditionally planned halls, backing onto
the cross-passage. further stacks were then
constructed to heat the parlour and for cooking
in a purpose-built or improvised kitchen. By
the late 16th century, stacks could have firstfloor fireplaces and appear in a wide variety of
locations. the ‘baffle’ or ‘lobby entry’ plan form
enjoyed popularity either in purpose-made or
improvised layouts. With this arrangement, a
double-sided stack is arranged so that its flank
forms one side of a small entrance hall. the
desire for draught-free buildings encouraged
the rendering-over of timber frames and
289
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
the construction of frames designed from
the start to accept plaster. It is difficult to
determine when this process first started in
this part of essex. in northern east anglia,
framing that was clearly designed to be largely
concealed appears at a much earlier date. it is
probable that decorative pargeting was widely
employed in Colchester, given that it was such
a feature of the area. surprisingly, there are few
surviving remnants. the classical wreath and
panels dated 1692 at 29–33 east street are a
particularly good, but late, example.
Standing buildings
a number of standing post-medieval buildings
are worth mentioning. a very traditionallooking cross-wing, demonstrating that old
concepts lingered well into the 17th century, is
at 3a–4 scheregate; it is a two-storeyed gabled
building, jettied on two sides with a diagonal
dragon beam. the corner post has decoration
of a sub-classical type and there are small jetty
brackets of complex profile. an inscribed date
of 1656 (Doe 1971, 119) seems somewhat
late and may represent a remodelling. at
29–32 West stockwell street there is another
impressive and typical 17th-century house with
long-wall jetty, elaborate brackets and further
shaped brackets supporting a row of three
jettied display gables.
rebow house in head street is a substantial
building with a well-finished roof of three
almost equal bays. it is of ‘a-frame’ type with
cambered raised collar, wind-bracing and two
tiers of butt-purlins. above the collar is a pair
of struts arranged in the form of a st andrews
Cross. the lower and more substantial purlins
are chamfered and stopped on their lower
arrises, marking the position of dormers.
at ground-floor level, at the front, are the
remains of a massive entrance door under
a jetty, all looking a good deal earlier. the
location of this door, a little way back from
the present frontage, suggests there has been
encroachment on the street. the building at 49
north hill has a somewhat similar ‘a-frame’
roof to rebow house, of three unequal bays,
but without the saltire arrangement of struts
above the collar. it is a typical, but good-quality,
example of a roof type of seemingly long
duration.
the relatively modern shell of 39–41 Queen
street conceals a long-wall jetty house of two
unequal bays. the square profile floor joists
suggested a late 16th-century date and the
former presence of jetty brackets implies an
unusual ground-floor plan form. Both flanks
had been formed by utilising the pre-existing
gables of earlier buildings, a relatively common
practice in this period. that to the south was
of the mid-16th century and had had windows,
demonstrating that this site had previously been
open. the studs of this elevation had been
painted blue/grey, providing a contemporary
internal decorative scheme for the new building
(for a summary of 16th- and 17th-century
domestic wall painting in Colchester see Carrick
1989, 242–7). to the rear were remnants of a
small earlier timber-framed structure with a
jetty into this site.
a 15th-century building at 88 hythe hill
had a parlour/solar block added to the rear c
1600 to form an l-shaped block, and a-frames
were introduced into the old crown-post roof
to replace the tie-beam and to provide a ceiling
within the old roof space. a building at 46
north hill comprises a two-storey frontage
block and, to the rear, a spectacular early to
mid-17th-century block with two storeys over
a sub-basement. this is jettied to a passageway
along the north flank and jettied again at eaves
level. at each level there are three massive
decorated brackets. the second floor has
ovolo-mullioned windows with leaded lights.
the plan form is, as usual, difficult to interpret,
but domestic use seems most likely.
Excavated buildings
by David Radford
Changes in plinth construction, the insertion
of brick chimney stacks and the conversion
of open halls into two-storey structures in this
period have been recorded archaeologically in
the town. Post-medieval buildings have been
excavated at lion Walk, 12–13 middleborough
(mon76), angel yard in the high street and
at two locations on hythe hill (table 7).
in the 16th century, hall houses with central
hearths and service wings continued to be
constructed. the most basic design was a
two-cell structure comprising a central hall
and a service room, of which examples include
mon22/23 at hythe hill. in the 16th century
mon332 at middleborough was rebuilt with
a smaller hall with central hearth, which in
turn was replaced in the 17th century by a
brick chimney stack (CAR 3, 194–5). nearby
290
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
was another hall house (MON333), which
had its central hearth and wattle and daub
chimney coping removed and replaced by a
brick chimney stack in the early 17th century
(CAR 3, 202).
At 133–134 High Street (MON55) fragments
of a 17th-century structure were discovered
and recorded in 1990, prior to demolition. They
formed a semi-detached, virtually identical pair
of units, with a shared central stack which
probably provided a fireplace on each floor.
each building had shop windows of three
arched openings and a door on the frontage.
the first floor, which was jettied, with long
primary brackets, had large mullioned and
frieze windows. above this there was a low attic
storey lit by four-light mullioned windows in the
gables. the wall framing was primary braced
and the roof was of butt-purlin construction.
the fireplaces served the rear part of the
building and to either side of the stack were
ladder stairs. the apparent separation of shops
on the street front, with cellars below, from
the accommodation to the rear suggests that
the shops were rented (shimmin and Carter
1996; fig 16).
Brick and tile
By the late 16th century the private use of brick
was expanding, with the addition of brick wine
cellars to a number of town houses. examples
include the minories (mon103), where a
herringbone floor survives in the rear cellar
and the front cellar has arched brick storage
recesses and a blocked-in entrance leading
up to the high street, and a house in Church
Walk, which had a barrel-vaulted brick cellar.
however, brick did not become universally
used until much later. an example of early
limited use is the angel inn (mon39), which
had a 17th-century cellar constructed largely
of septaria, similar to earlier high street
properties, but with several brick features,
including recesses (shimmin and Carter 1996,
63, fig 27).
from 1617, the corporation, which was
itself was building in brick from 1618, required
new houses to have a tiled roof and a brick
chimney instead of thatch with an open hearth
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 108), and examples
of brick hearths of this period were noted
at middleborough (mon332; CAR 3, 194).
a brick house of c 1620, now demolished,
is known from northgate street and a brick
warehouse built at the hythe and dating to
1623 is documented (rChme 1922, 67, no.
188; vCh 1994, Essex IX, 108). evaluations
have noted traces of early brick buildings at
the old Poultry site (Crossan 1999b) and 40
osborne street (Benfield 1999).
mortared foundations made use of peg tile
from the 13th to the mid-14th century onwards
and brick from the 16th century onwards. after
the Civil War brick took over as the principal
foundation material, as evidenced in a building
in osborne street (mon459 (Building 179);
shimmin 1994, 51). floors of clay or trampled
earth were common from medieval into
post-medieval times, although peg-tile floors
(mon459; ibid) and more elaborate floors of
Dutch tiles at sir isaac’s Walk and lion Walk
are recorded (mon210, mon333; CAR 6,
902; CAR 3, 81).
Manufacturing and trade
Colchester’s coastal trade was focused upon
london in the 16th and 17th centuries
with draperies, cheese, butter, wheat, oats,
malt, wood and faggots being exported and
dyestuffs, soap, oil, groceries, ironware, coal
and canvas imported in return. newcastle was
the second most significant trading partner,
with imports largely consisting of coal and salt
(vCh 1994, Essex IX, 86).
the town hosted three markets a week
and three annual fairs. records show that
oysters and a sweetmeat known as ‘sea holly’
(a reputed aphrodisiac) were popular exports
and fishing remained a key component of the
local economy. as well as oysters and eels,
sprats were also consumed in such quantities
that they were locally known as ‘weavers’ beef ’.
the borough had fishing rights from north
Bridge all the way to the mouth of the estuary
by ancient charter (far beyond the borough),
which was a recurring source of conflict with
neighbouring parishes (vCh 1994, Essex IX,
264–6). the town was also the county’s leading
corn market and had an important leather hall,
wool market and fish market (ibid, 83, 104).
trade tokens are known from the town;
these tokens were produced illegally in the
mid-17th century, mainly by shop- and innkeepers, to make up for deficiencies in the
money supply. many have designs linked to a
variety of trades, such as grocer, bay maker,
mercer, baker and apothecary (Williamson
1889, 215–20; Judson 1987, 54–93).
291
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
There is considerable documentary and
archaeological evidence for the presence of
apothecaries along the southern part of the
High Street and in the vicinity of Lion Walk.
A pit from Lion Walk dated to c 1600–40
contained a complete triangular ‘Hessian’
crucible the type of which suggested a 15thcentury date, although they are also known
from Dutch paintings of the mid- to late
17th century. It contained mercury droplets,
suggesting alchemical practices. The disposal
of this crucible, along with other objects in the
pit, may be connected to the death of Robert
Buxton, a local apothecary, in 1655 (CAR 7,
288–90, fig 197). the excavations at lion Walk
also encountered extensive pit-digging from
the late 16th to the 18th centuries, which was
thought to relate to the gardens of the red
lion inn and of other shops on the high
street. large numbers of tin-glazed apothecary
jars were recovered. the red lion is known
to have been owned by wealthy apothecaries
at this time (CAR 7, 230–2). a copperware
scale pan, a drug pot, medicine bottles and saltglazed ointment pots were found at 24 high
street in 1949–50, an assemblage suggesting
an apothecary’s shop; the pottery from the
assemblage was mostly of 17th- to 18thcentury date (gant 1951, 126).
local or county-based potters were the
principal suppliers to the town throughout this
period, with a minority of wares coming from
the rest of england or abroad (CAR 7, 354).
essex red wares replaced the older medieval
sandy wares as the most popular form from
the mid-16th century, and remained dominant.
imported wares were significant into the late
16th century, the most popular type being
rhenish stonewares, which were associated
with the developing drinking culture in the
town. the geographical position of Colchester
ensured that rhenish and low Country
imports prevailed, in contrast to the situation
in towns along the south coast, where french
and mediterranean wares predominated
(Brooks and hodges 1983). useful excavated
assemblages from Colchester include those
from stockwell in 1958 (Blake et al 1961) and
lion Walk, angel yard and middleborough.
the finds are mostly domestic ware recovered
from rubbish pits. Documentary evidence
records potters at ardleigh, Dedham and
tiptree during this period (CAR 7, 364–9).
archaeological evidence for pottery or tile
kilns from this period is poor. in 1950 twohandled tygs of c 1650 were found at the back
of messrs simkins on north hill, where a
small pottery kiln was also found with a series
of arches like those of a tile kiln (Cmr 1950,
34). in addition, fragments of tudor stove tiles
from Crouch street and maldon road may
have been locally produced (gaimster 1988,
figs 2.3 and 2.4).
Clay pipes have been recorded from
numerous sites in the town, although those from
the lion Walk site are currently unpublished
(gant 1958; 1960b; eddy and ryan 1983; CAR
9, 235). a possible pipe kiln of c 1700 date, with
clay walls containing clay pipe fragments, was
observed during construction work on a site
at the corner of high street and maidenburgh
street. fragments of saggers were recovered, as
were pipes stamped i/a, which are identified
with a merchant, John austine, who may have
been flemish in origin (gant 1960b, 44). more
than 100 clay tobacco-pipe bowls, which may
represent a tavern dump, were recovered from
a pit at middleborough (CAR 5, 47–66).
little evidence for post-medieval metalworking has been recovered from the town.
Debris from smithing has been recorded at
79 hythe hill, where the activity appears
to continue from the 16th into the 18th
century (Brooks 2000, 122). other traces of
metalworking were recovered from the old
Post office site on head street in 2000; here
copper-working moulds, fused metal waste and
soot were recovered, indicating the existence
of a bronze foundry (fawn 2002, 28).
mills are well-documented in town records.
in 1632 upwards of 20 corn mills are recorded
in the borough, a number that must have
included outlying places such as layer, where
there were two mills together. the principal
corn mills were lexden mill (mon912),
middle mill (mon915), east mill (mon916),
hythe mill (mon27), Bourne mill (mon265)
and Cannock mill (mon1050), but some of
these, such as middle mill, were also used for
fulling (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 259–63; Benham
1979, 91–102). two fulling mills, stokes mill
(mon913) and north mill (mon914),
disappeared in the late 16th century, but were
replaced by the newly established Crockleford
mill (mon1059) on salary Brook by c 1588.
little has survived of these mills, although
traces of the millponds can be seen in the
river and stream channels. middle mill was
292
Fig 12.4 The 1648
Siege Map shows the
Parliamentarian batteries
and siegeworks encircling
the town (Essex Record
Office).
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
demolished in the 1950s and part of the mill’s
19- or early 20th-century machinery survives
in Castle Park. East Mill was almost entirely
rebuilt in the 19th century, but the 18th-century
miller’s house survives. At Bourne Mill the mill
and fishponds survive; the mill was originally
built as a fishing lodge in 1591, probably using
stone robbed from st John’s abbey, and only
later, in the 19th century, was the building
converted into a mill. a series of watching
briefs undertaken during repair work on the
mill have produced only limited information
relating to its later use (Cat reports 4/94b,
11/93b and 4/93b).
The cloth industry
Cloth manufacture was an involved process that
utilised a series of specialised structural forms
and dedicated tools. yarn was purchased in
bulk from a specialised store called a packhouse
and then taken to weaving houses. Woven cloth
went to a fulling mill, where it was soaked in
urine for 12 hours before being fulled (the
cleaning and thickening of cloth with fuller’s
earth). it was then stretched on a tenter in the
open air to bring it back to shape. Bleaching
followed in a fume house, where the cloth was
hung in an atmosphere of burning sulphur. it
was then sold to the finishers for dyeing and
the completed cloth would pass through the
Bay hall for sealing (heard 1970, 124).
unfortunately little, if any, of this
infrastructure has survived intact or been
detected during archaeological investigations
to date. nevertheless, a number of the
town houses constructed from the profits
of weaving have survived, of which a few
can be linked to the trade through surviving
inscriptions; for example, a carving with the
inscription ‘h W’ in the marquis of granby
public house on north hill may belong to
clothier henry Webb (rChme 1922, iii, 61).
another beam recovered from the high street
has a merchant’s mark and the initials a B dated
1597, perhaps belonging to a wool merchant
named a Bartram (Cm archives).
Documentary and cartographic evidence
demonstrate that cloth-makers located
293
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
themselves near water sources east, south
and west of the town. A cloth-maker named
Nicholas Maynard had water piped to his
property in East Street from the Colne in 1549,
and a tenter yard and tenter garden adjoined
this property in 1571 (VCH 1994, Essex IX,
104). This yard survived in 1768 and is shown
on Morant’s map along with other tenter
grounds on the site of St Mary’s Hospital and
lower Castle Park (Morant 1768, bk 1, facing
p 4).
Finds from the town relating to the cloth
trade include seals used for quality assurance.
Lead cloth-maker’s seals have been found at
the Union (St Mary’s Hospital) and Castle
Park (for example, COLEM:1933.380 and
COLEM:1936.712). In addition, seals of both
lead and copper alloy have been recovered
from several archaeological sites around
the town: Angel Yard, Lion Walk, Butt
Road, Balkerne Lane, Gilberd School and
Middleborough. The most significant group
was from middleborough, where eight seals of
late 16th- or 17th-century date, including one
which was unused, were found, suggesting that
cloth-working or sealing may have occurred
nearby (CAR 5, 35). among this group were
an alnage seal, put on cloths examined by
an alnager (a crown officer), a large local
community seal used by the Dutch community
and a clothier’s or weaver’s seal identifying
the owner or the maker of the cloth (CAR
5, 33–5).
in the 16th century sealed cloth from
Colchester was transported to Queenhithe
in london, where the bindings were cut and
the seals discarded. During the 1940s a large
quantity of discarded seals was recovered from
the thames foreshore, among which were
several examples belonging to David Duyts
of Colchester, including a seal that combines
a merchant’s mark dated 1574 and another
which retained a fragment of 16th-century
baize material (harley 1955, 142–3). other
small finds related to the trade include, from
lion Walk, Balkerne lane, middleborough and
Culver street, a number of nuremburg and
Dutch thimbles used in the manufacturing or
working of cloth (Car 5, 28–30).
The Civil War
the 1648 siege map of Colchester provides
only a stylised plan of the siege works around
the town and to date little archaeological
evidence has been found to enhance our
understanding of these emplacements (fig
12.4; mabbitt 1998, 1–6; Crummy 1998b;
1999a). the outer siegeworks comprised a
series of trenches and palisaded forts designed
to encircle the defenders and provide firing
platforms for siege cannons. Corresponding
earthwork defences were built by the royalists
around the perimeter of the town walls and
the precinct of st John’s abbey (the mound or
‘mount’ in the abbey grounds being a possible
candidate for a gun platform). a number of the
forts apparently survived for some time after
the siege, long enough at any rate for fields to
acquire names reflecting their presence, such
as ‘little fort field’ and ‘great fort field’ at
sheepen; however, nothing now remains of
them.
the sites of three of the Parliamentarian
forts have been identified: the small fort
found during the 1930s excavations at sheepen
(hawkes and hull 1947, pl Cv; CAR 7, 218–
19); a possible gun emplacement to the south
of it (hall 1958, 39–49); and part of Colonel
fothergall’s fort, located north of the Colne.
During the excavations on sheepen hill in
1931, just south of the former farmhouse,
latrine trenches and traces of camp fires were
noted. small finds included lead bullets, parts of
the locks of muskets, a complete ‘lobster cage’
helmet, pottery, a cuirass, stirrups, spurs, leaden
powder canisters, keys and clay tobacco pipes
(rudsdale 1948, 167; Cmr 1932, 45, 51–3, pl
xiv; CAR 7, 218–19). the Civil War ditches
are recorded on the plan in Camulodunum, but
were never fully published (hawkes and hull
1947, pl Cvi). a later aerial photograph clearly
shows the outline of a star-shaped fort, which
has been identified as the redoubt to the south
of Colonel ewer’s fort, located in the fork of
sheepen Dyke (Crummy 1999a); this has also
been mapped by geophysical survey by Peter
Cott (Crummy 1998b).
a ditch at sheepen (f278), excavated
in 1970, may have also belonged to the
Parliamentarian earthworks (niblett 1985,
14–15). if so, it would have been part of
Colonel ewer’s fort, an earthwork sometimes
confused with the smaller sheepen fort to the
south mentioned above. at ‘the oaks’ on
lexden road a metalled platform, evidently
a Civil War gun emplacement, was recorded
on a spur of land in 1956 (hall 1958, 39–41).
north of the river Colne, excavations at the
294
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Asda site on Turner Rise encountered ditches
thought to belong to the siege line or one of
its camps (P Crummy, pers comm).
In 1931, excavation for a footpath on the
north side of the road at Lexden Hill, just
opposite ‘The Lindens’, revealed a stirrup,
some trace hooks from a cart and some iron
studs from a wagon wheel, which are perhaps
finds relating to the Civil War (rudsdale 1948,
167). however, this location does not seem
to tie in with the location of the siege line,
which, judging by the siege map, must have
crossed lexden road further east. elsewhere
the rectangular earthwork at Brinkley grove
was sectioned in 1998 to see if it could be
dated to the Civil War, but the results were
inconclusive (Benfield 1998d). a fieldwalking
and metal-detector survey at high Woods in
2000 produced a range of finds of Civil War
and post-medieval date (fnD276). these
included four lead powder measures and 85
musket balls suitable for firing from a range of
Civil War firearms. there was also a significant
quantity of lead casting spillage which is
believed to be manufacturing waste from the
production of musket balls; this suggests that
fort rainsborough, marked on the siege map,
was located nearby (Wise 2000, 5–6).
alderman Jarmin noted several unidentified
skeletons in st John’s street and Crouch street
that he considered to be the remains of men
killed in a skirmish documented to have
occurred on 13 June 1648. Brass buckles and
a button indicated that these were not roman
remains (Jarmin 1913, 256–7). in 1953, hull
sectioned the bailey ditch south of the castle
and recorded a quantity of animal bones which
he interpreted as debris from the siege. the
assemblage contained a large number of cat
bones, which supports the historical accounts
that vermin and pets were eaten to stave off
hunger. the pottery from the ditch was dated to
c 1650 and consisted of the usual brown-glazed
wares, Delft wares, drug pots, stonewares and
beer jars of the period (evt3057).
the siege may have destroyed as many as
200 houses (Porter 1986). siege damage can
be seen along the town wall, where there are
several ‘siege breaches’, and, famously, at ‘the
siege house’ in east street, where there are
musket holes in the walls. Churches affected
include st mary at the Walls, st martin’s, st
Botolph’s, st leonard’s at the hythe and st
andrew’s at greenstead, while the gatehouse
of st John’s abbey suffered extensive damage
to its roof and upper storey. remnants of
houses possibly burnt in the siege have been
excavated at osborne street (shimmin 1994,
56–7) and lion Walk (CAR 3, 84). Cannon
balls probably from the siege have been found
at margaret road (Cm records) and Culver
street on the corner of st nicholas Passage
(unpublished note by a m Jarmin in Cm).
Agriculture
an analysis of post-medieval agricultural
development within the borough is beyond
the scope of this study. in general terms the
agricultural evolution of north-east essex is
characterised by piecemeal enclosure of open
fields and common land over a long period.
the ridge and furrow earthworks characteristic
of the midlands are absent in essex. this
may result from a number of factors, such as
early enclosure patterns, the use of ditches
rather than ploughed furrows for drainage
and perhaps the relatively larger proportion
of pasture and common land that existed
during the medieval period in essex compared
with the midlands. a different method of
cultivation, called ‘stetch’ ploughing, which
was used in east anglia, produced only low
and short-lived ridges that have not survived
19th- and 20th-century arable intensification,
except in isolated fragments.
speed’s map shows that in 1610 a number
of large arable fields, as well as a series of
garden and horticultural plots, survived within
the walls. traces of intramural agricultural
activity have not traditionally preoccupied
archaeologists but, nevertheless, at Culver
street a number of small pits filled with dark
earth may have been traces of 16th- to 17thcentury horticultural activity (CAR 6, 123).
the post-medieval period was significant
for the disappearance of woodland from
the northern part of the borough. morant
recorded in 1768 that, 200 years earlier, ‘King’s
wood made a considerable appearance on the
north side of town but [now] is entirely gone’
(morant 1768, bk i, 12). another documentary
trace of ancient woodland is a record of 1568
that notes that an ancient limewood in the
borough was only recently extinct (rackham
1999, 31). such woods had been in retreat since
the Bronze age.
295
POST-MEDIEVAL COLCHESTER, 1540–1700
The current state of knowledge
by Philip Crummy
The development of late medieval and postmedieval houses has been characterised
archaeologically, particularly by noting changes
in the character of plinths and the insertion
of brick chimney stacks for the conversion
of open halls into two-storey structures.
Although a growing body of surveys has been
accumulated, there is still considerable potential
for further survey of standing structures.
In contrast, the development of the former
monastic institutions following the Dissolution
remains uncharted and little studied.
The 1648 siegeworks remain largely
unexplored, although an attempt has been
made to map them as far as the available
information will allow (Crummy 1998b; 1999a).
Apart from the three forts mentioned above,
the Parliamentarian earthworks, including the
ditch which linked the forts together, remain
unlocated on the ground. The Royalists also
built earthworks, but these are even more
obscure. Although the excavation of the
Sheepen fort was never fully published, the
records and finds show that the investigation
of siegeworks could prove very fruitful in
terms of earthwork morphology and related
finds of equipment and munitions.
the effects of the great plague of 1665–6,
or indeed any of the other serious epidemics to
affect Colchester (vCh 1994, Essex IX, 67–8),
are invisible in the archaeological record. the
traditionally held belief that the mound which
stands in the south-east corner of st John’s
abbey precinct was a ‘plague pit’ may well be
true, especially as there is an unsubstantiated
record on the 1875 os map to the effect that
human bone was found in the mound in 1867.
however, in the absence of proper fieldwork,
other explanations for the mound, such as
that it is the remains of a garden feature or a
royalist earthwork of 1648, cannot as yet be
discounted (Crummy 2002d, 27).
Physical evidence in the ground for the cloth
trade in this period, as in the previous one (see
page 268), is almost nil, despite its importance
to the town. archaeological deposits of postmedieval date can contain substantial quantities
of well-preserved animal bone and other
ecofacts, but, like all post-roman deposits,
these suffer from the problem of potential
contamination through the presence of earlier
material, which is difficult to distinguish from
the later.
Preservation
the below-ground remains of post-medieval
buildings have been badly affected by
subsequent redevelopments of various kinds,
especially the construction of cellars on street
frontages in the 18th and 19th centuries and the
invasive groundworks which characterise many
of the building projects of later times. this
means that the post-medieval archaeological
remains along the high street and head street
frontages tends to be limited to rear wings and
any ancillary structures which stood in the
backyards. it is normally only where buildings
are well away from the core of the town
centre that complete building plans might be
recoverable, as, for example, at middleborough
(CAR 3, 190–209).
Places where the ground water is relatively
high (notably in the osborne street area and
the foot of Balkerne hill/north hill and st
Peter’s street areas) are likely to produce wellpreserved leather and wood.
Importance
Post-medieval Colchester is of considerable
regional archaeological importance as a
market and a port, as well as for its pottery
assemblages, although much of what the
town has to offer on a domestic scale can be
replicated in other essex and east anglian
towns and villages. as with the late medieval
town, post-medieval Colchester ought to be
of national importance for buildings and finds
relating to the cloth industry, although that is
yet to be well demonstrated. the siegeworks
stand out as relatively important. Colchester
and newark were the only towns in the Civil
War where a besieging force built a complete
circumvallation (hutton and reeves 1998,
215), and the excavation of a small part of the
fort at sheepen has shown the archaeological
potential of such works.
Potential for future research
the potential for future research is similar to
that for late medieval Colchester: excavations
of the quays at the hythe are likely to provide
archaeological evidence for trade as well
as related organic finds for post-medieval
Colchester. similarly, a wider investigative
296
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
programme at the Hythe is likely to provide
information on the buildings behind the
waterfront and up Hythe Hill as far as and
beyond St Leonard’s church. House sites
available elsewhere in Colchester for excavation
are likely to be especially important if significant
parts of their timber frames are intact. so too
will be any which can be associated with
particular merchants or industrial industries,
such as weaving and fulling, recorded in
historical sources. the excavation of sites rich
in organic remains is likely to provide evidence
for leather and cloth industries. the finds of
post-medieval glass made in the town would
benefit from further study and publication.
although the excavation of the sheepen
fort was never published, the records and finds
show that the investigation of the siegeworks
could prove fruitful in terms of earthwork
morphology and the equipment and munitions
in use at the time. finding the sites, however,
will prove tricky. excavations in the former
precincts of st John’s abbey and st Botolph’s
Priory should lead to a better understanding of
the post-Dissolution history of both sites.
13 Post-1700 Colchester
by Andrew Phillips
Introduction and historical
framework
In 1700 Colchester was a major industrial town
and, with an estimated population of 9,000,
still among the 15 largest provincial towns in
England. Already, however, the cloth trade on
which its growth had rested was facing longterm decline, a process which accelerated after
1715 when a major crisis in the industry caused
widespread local unrest.
In the decades that followed, the economy
became stagnant and the population seems
to have fallen. Political corruption led to the
suspension of the town’s charter of selfgovernment in 1742; not until 1763 was the
effort made to restore it. Nevertheless the
cloth trade died slowly, a few of the larger
concerns remaining in business until almost
the end of the century. Colchester also enjoyed
that urban renaissance which was common
in mid-18th-century England, with improved
travel facilities, pleasure opportunities and
retail growth (Wise 2009). It was still a major
market town – the largest in Essex. It was also
an important port, and the Hythe became a
busy industrial centre.
In a century of almost continuous warfare,
Colchester often found itself hosting troops,
which were usually billeted in its inns and
houses. The onset of the French Wars (latterly
the Napoleonic Wars) led to the establishment
of a large military garrison in Colchester. At
times as many as 6,000 men were based in the
area, considerably boosting the local economy
and leading to the building of the largest new
barrack complex in Britain.
This garrison was totally disbanded (and
demolished) after 1815 and Colchester reverted
to its market town status for its livelihood. The
period 1815–40 was, in consequence, one of
limited economic progress even though the
town’s population grew steadily throughout
that time. Matters improved after 1843 with the
arrival of the railway, which in turn encouraged
the government to once more make Colchester
a major garrison town: then, it had a population
of 3,000 military and 19,000 civilians (Fig 13.1).
One calculation suggests that an additional
£60,000 a year was spent in the town, rising
by 1914 to £100,000, when extensive garrison
accommodation covered a large area to the
south of the rapidly expanding town (Fig 13.2;
Douet 1998, 134–7).
A rail and water transport system boosted
not only agriculture-related industries like
brewing, milling and grain exporting, but
also a flourishing retail centre and the rise of
factory production in engineering, footwear
and clothing manufacture (see, for example,
the role of the engineer James Paxman in
this process: Phillips 2002). In the period
1880–1914 Colchester experienced prosperity
and something of a late industrial revolution
(Fig 13.3). Public buildings reflect this new
self-confidence: these were exemplified by
a giant water tower (nicknamed Jumbo)
providing a 24-hour municipal water supply
and a lavish town hall, opened in 1902, itself
298
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Fig 13.1 A view of
Colchester High Street
in 1858, including three
buildings now demolished:
the Cups Hotel in 1972,
the first Victorian Town
Hall in 1899 and St
Runwald’s Church
in 1878 (Colchester
Museums)
a public celebration of the town’s long history
and recent prosperity.
The 20th century was marked by two World
Wars, in both of which Colchester played
a large part. During 1914–18 the town was
full of soldiers, whose numbers occasionally
equalled the current civilian population of
40,000. Colchester became a major training and
hospital centre. Its engineering and clothing
factories were exceptionally busy with war
work. Full employment was matched by a high
death toll among the town’s enlisted young
men and widespread Home Front fatigue.
The 1918 ’flu epidemic took its toll and the
cumulative psychological damage was still
evident in the decade that followed. As in
Britain as a whole, the 1920s were a period of
economic dislocation and class conflict. The
improving 1930s economy was particularly
marked in the town, with rearmament keeping
the engineering firms busy. Nevertheless,
population growth and industrial advance were
minimal during the inter-war period.
World War II saw the town once more full
of soldiers (which now included both the
Dominion and American troops) and busy
with war manufacture. Once more engineering
and the clothing industry were particularly
important. As part of the hastily assembled
defences of Greater London, the so-called
‘Colchester Stop Line’ (or more formally the
Eastern Command Line) passed through the
town, while Colchester itself was fortified as
an ‘anti-tank island’ (Nash 1997, iv–v; 2002, 33,
35). While initially in receipt of evacuees from
Greater London, the town itself became an
evacuation area after the fall of France. Radar
and the little regarded war of the North Sea
lanes were important in the area, but the town
suffered surprisingly little war damage. The
most severe was an incendiary raid in February
1944 which destroyed two large factories, an
POST-1700 COLCHESTER
299
Fig 13.2 (left) The
officers’ quarters at the Le
Cateau Barracks built in
the period 1873–5 for the
Royal Artillery and part
of a very rare surviving
group of military
buildings (Colchester
Museums).
Fig 13.3 (below) Workmen
leaving Paxman’s
engineering works at the
Hythe in 1910 (Colchester
Museums).
300
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
engineering works building engines for D-day
and 10 retail premises.
In 1950 Colchester was still a very provincial
town, viewed by newcomers as rather quaint
and at the end of the line. From the mid-1960s
change accelerated as the population once
more grew apace and immigrants began to
outnumber the indigenous. For a provincial
town, manufacturing industry, especially
engineering, was remarkably prominent, but
the town made a successful transition into
service and light industry and did better than
most when engineering began to decline from
the 1970s onwards. From 1946 a massive
programme of house building, rolling on into
the 1960s and 1970s, transformed Colchester.
So large a population put great strain on its
historic core and much agonising attended the
efforts to accommodate the motor car and the
consumer needs of an affluent society. Large
and successful industrial estates arose and
the town’s bypass received its own bypass.
Nevertheless, change was achieved with less
agony than in many other historic towns.
Opinion polls conducted in the 1990s showed
Colchester to be a contented town with a high
degree of satisfaction among a population
which now topped 100,000. The century ended
with accusations of Colchester being part of
Estuary England and with a failed bid to secure
city status.
Assessment of importance and
potential
Despite the major redevelopment of Colchester
which marked the period 1965–2000, a great
deal of rescue archaeology has concentrated
on the evidence for Roman Colchester. The
post–1700 period (and, indeed, the entire ‘early
modern’ period) has received little focused
attention. Surviving timber-framed buildings
have yet to receive a dedicated (as opposed to
piecemeal) study, and knowledge of the town’s
important cloth trade is based on documentary
evidence and the assumptions drawn from
those documentary sources. The recent ‘cellar
survey’ by the Colchester Archaeological Group
needs to be followed up with an ‘upstanding
structure’ study of the town’s central shopping
area. The current development of the Hythe
has seen little attention to its below-ground
industrial archaeology.
Given the size and importance of the town’s
Napoleonic garrison it is remarkable that no
images of this have survived: we have only
one plan from this time. Nevertheless, there
are undoubtedly some residual archaeological
remains, which, as sites become available, will
need detailed study – the very large military
hospital, for example, one wing of which
was reassembled to form the Colchester and
Essex Hospital, which still exists on Lexden
Road. The garrison, in turn, encouraged
the building of one of the largest porter
breweries outside London at St Botolph’s
Corner. This magnificent complex, which
had a Boulton and Watt engine, can be
researched via surviving documents and could
probably be reconstructed using OS maps and
isometric projection from several surviving
photographs.
Mid- and late Victorian Colchester saw
the building of a growing range of specialist
industrial buildings, many of which, their
equipment destroyed, have been reused for
modern purposes. These included breweries,
maltings, grain stores, lime kilns, large gas
works (at the Hythe) and engineering premises.
Others have been demolished so recently
that plans and photographs can be used to
reconstruct them – for example, one of only
two silk throwing mills in southern England
was in St Peter’s Street. Photographs of
these premises in their industrial days should
also be sought. On Stanwell Street is part
of the oldest foundry building in Essex and
perhaps the oldest purpose-built ready-made
clothing factory in the world. The enormous
Paxman complex on Hythe Hill, dating from
1865, included timber-framed workshops
and a very early riveting tower, and is a
major regional site, deserving of study and
preservation. It is currently under threat and
should be photographed. Colchester is still
surprisingly full of street furniture, railings and
manhole covers made in local foundries and
proudly displaying makers’ names, of which
a photographic survey is also needed. The
same applies to the garrison site, which is vast
and very important, being probably the bestpreserved Victorian garrison site in Britain.
Domestic housing is another important
Victorian legacy. New Town was made a
‘conservation area’ when the majority of its
buildings had been significantly modified
with modern materials, including new roofs
and new windows. Similarly, the Lexden Road
301
POST-1700 COLCHESTER
enclave of Victorian ‘mansions’ needs study:
their historic occupiers could be researched
and building dynasties such as the Haywards
studied. Specialist facilities such as coach
houses, cellarage, Victorian greenhouses,
cottage gardens, servants quarters, even shrubs
and trees are constantly subject to change with
new (often multiple) current ownership.
The 20th century has in turn produced a
number of important industrial buildings and
housing initiatives, although not one Colchester
‘pre-fab’ survives! A similar programme of
photography, documentary research and oral
history should be undertaken now for these
remains. The Severalls Hospital site is an
obvious example. The unnecessary destruction
of its documentary archive is now followed by
the threat of the destruction of its buildings.
Major redevelopments at Lion Walk (1968–
76) and Culver Precinct (1984–7) have changed
central Colchester from an area of multiperiod buildings and mixed housing and retail
into a modern shopping town little different
from other large towns in Essex, and those
envisaged at St Botolph’s would continue this
trend. The town’s historic core, never very
large, has come under immense pressure from
large-scale redevelopment and the motor car.
A major and urgent task should be to assess
the balance between new and old, to draw up
a local conservation plan and to make this a
blueprint for 21st-century development.
Appendices
Gazetteer of prehistoric monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
E
N
FND117
FND209
FND258
FND16
FND277
FND16
FND277
FND253
FND204
FND16
FND203
FND248
FND277
FND121
FND54
FND201
FND18
FND19
FND212
FND217
FND252
FND263
FND9
FNS16
FND277
FND215
ELM186
FND16
FND120
FND240
FND35
FND278
FND122
FND3
axe
axe
axe
axe
axe
flakes
flakes
flints
axe
flints
blades
flints
flints
arrowhead
arrowhead
axe
axe
axe
axe
axe
axe
axe
flint
flints
flints
knife
pit
pottery
scraper
scraper
waste flake
arrowhead
axe
axe
Palaeolithic
Palaeolithic
Palaeolithic
Acheulian
Acheulian
Palaeolithic
Palaeolithic
Palaeolithic
Mesolithic
Mesolithic
Mesolithic
Mesolithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neo–EBA
Neolithic
Neolithic
Neoliithic
Neolithic
Neolithic?
Neolithic?
BA
BA
BA
9742
9862
9720
9950
9865
9950
9865
9722
0105
9950
0005
0056
9865
0087
9875
0178
0051
9792
9842
0094
0059
9868
9988
9950
9865
0074
9950
9950
2370
2331
2521
2506
2569
2506
2569
2493
2706
2506
2706
2499
2569
2393
2503
2629
2310
2242
2551
2539
2524
2542
2479
2506
2569
2391
2506
2506
?
2623
2503
2565
2566
24
9996
9875
9866
9936
01
site code
1.81
1970
1.81
1970
1.81
11/94a
1970
IRB 72
1.81
1.81
1.81
notes
All Saints Road
Reed Hall Camp
Lexden Park
Culver Street
Sheepen
Culver Street
Sheepen
Lexden Park
Parsons Heath
Culver Street
Priory Street
Brooklands
Sheepen
Magdalen Street
Smallwood Road
Pondsfield Farm
Middlewick Ranges
Layer Road
Sheepen
East Street
East Bay
Sheepen
St John’s Abbey Grounds
Culver Street
1970, Sheepen
Bourne Valley
Culver Street
Culver Street
Villa Road
Cowdray Ave
Oaks Drive
1971, Sheepen
North Bridge
Hythe
304
FND326
FND229
FND24
FND202
FND164
FND260
ELM1124
ELM1270
ELM188
ELM189
ELM190
ELM191
ELM36
ELM57
ELM58
ELM37
GRP17
FND144
FND13
FND206
FND207
FND8
FND9
MON1001
MON983
FND256
FND167
FND210
FND254
FND98
ELM1223
ELM868
ELM869
ELM870
ELM871
ELM872
ELM873
ELM1272
ELM1224
ELM1269
FND13
FND229
FND110
FND259
FND266
GRP41
FND249
FND169
FND228
FND11
FND8
ELM1127
ELM192
ELM193
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
cauldron
flint
knife
macehead
palistave
palistave
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
post holes
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
ring ditch
ring ditch
scraper
spearhead
spearhead
spearhead
spearhead
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
urn
pottery
pottery
axe
axe
axe
ditch
flake
flint
flint
flints
knives
pit
pit
pit
BA
BA?
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA?
BA?
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
BA
EPRIA
MPRIA
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
Prehistoric
9854
9913
87
0156
9761
9794
9890
9854
9950
9950
9950
9950
9929
9928
9928
9929
9858
9858
9860
9916
9965
9930
9988
9768
0084
996
9745
9800
9893
9741
9954
9932
9932
9932
9932
9932
9748
9663
9753
9912
9860
9913
9911
9713
9995
9747
0158
0079
9906
9928
9930
9889
9949
9948
2547
2523
2393
2578
2532
2391
2320
2547
2506
2506
2506
2506
2529
2481
2481
2529
2519
2519
2542
2453
2469
2529
2479
2607
2429
262
2365
2469
2577
2367
2438
22559
22559
22559
22559
22559
2496
2484
2526
2526
2542
2523
2695
2507
2517
2484
2686
2531
2533
2528
2529
2312
2506
2507
5/97c
?
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
IRB 72
IRB 72
GBS 84–5
CAM 71
CAM 71
GBS 84–5
IRB 72
5/97c
0/82d
5/97c
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
?
1.81
1.81
Sheepen
St Mary’s Hospital
Gilbert Court
Parsons Heath
Glen Ave
Maldon Road
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Cauldron Pit, Sheepen
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
St John’s Abbey Grounds
St John’s Abbey Grounds
Gilberd School
Kiln Road, Sheepen
Kiln Road, Sheepen
Sheepen
Butt Road
Flagstaff Road
Gilberd School
St John’s Abbey Grounds
Moat Farm
Recreation ground
Turner Rise
Prettygate
County High School for Girls
St Helena’s School
Pond Chase
Abbey Field
Water Lane, Middleborough
Water Lane, Middleborough
Water Lane, Middleborough
Water Lane, Middleborough
Water Lane, Middleborough
St Clare Road
Shakespeare Road
Ackland Ave
Union, St Mary’s Hospital
Sheepen
St Mary’s Hospital
Mile End
Church Lane
Queen Street
St Clare Road
Dilbridge Farm
East Street
St Mary’s Hospital
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Culver Street
Culver Street
305
APPENDICES
Gazetteer of late Iron Age monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
E
N
MON682
FND302
MON1014
MON779
MON780
MON1015
FND231
FND303
FND189
FND188
ELM885
ELM1148
ELM878
ELM1201
ELM1202
ELM1204
ELM1205
ELM1118
ELM1117
ELM1215
ELM1216
ELM1239
ELM1238
ELM1190
MON837
MON838
MON728
MON829
MON833
MON830
MON831
MON828
MON832
MON400
MON1048
ELM1111
MON690
FND305
MON428
FND230
ELM84
ELM83
ELM85
ELM81
ELM141
ELM136
ELM140
ELM137
ELM138
ELM139
ELM105
ELM130
ELM76
barrow
bone lance
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery?
coin
coin
coin
coin
cremation
cremation
cremation
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
dyke
field system
hearth?
industrial site
jug
mint
mirror
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L?
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L?
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L?
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
597534
600579
224746
225279
600039
597425
223566
224883
598047
225460
598687
598284
598925
224843
224867
225537
600750
223826
L
site code
2/97e
2/97e
2/97e
2/97e
598802
598840
223120
223130
1930–9
1930–9
99/06a
99/03g
600121
600062
597589
597603
597577
597343
597392
597695
597566
223299
223240
224352
224240
224257
224959
225542
224256
226126
598
598810
598678
222
223114
225354
598689
600220
598646
598695
598749
598756
598651
598670
598707
598656
598646
598632
598521
598525
598687
225316
224399
225874
225890
225904
225787
225372
225489
225515
225465
225462
225458
225791
225277
225869
43,56–7,87
1932
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
–
–
notes
Lexden Tumulus
East Hill
Lexden Grange
Colchester Cemetery
St Clare Road, Lexden
Abbey Field
Hillyfields
Ship design, Sheepen
Beverley Lodge
London Road
Colchester Institute
St Clare Rd
Bourne Road
Northern Approach Road
Northern Approach Road
Northern Approach Road
Northern Approach Road
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Sheepen
Sheepen
Colchester Institute Car Park
The Lindens, Lexden Road
The Lindens, Lexden Road
Barnhall Dyke
Berechurch Dyke
Blue Bottle Grove Dyke
Heath Farm Dyke Middle
Heath Farm Dyke North
Lexden Dyke Middle (Lexden Park)
Lexden Dyke North
Lexden Dyke South
Moat Farm Dyke (Lexden Dyke)
Sheepen Dyke
Berechurch Hall Road
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Manufacturing and commercial site at Sheepen
Abbey Field
Sheepen
Hyderabad Barracks
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
306
ELM76
ELM78
ELM80
ELM79
ELM82
ELM77
MON997
ELM1126
ELM1125
GRP118
GRP64
GRP66
GRP119
GRP76
FND295
FND293
FND294
FND261
FND225
FND226
FND227
FND304
FND220
FND184
FND136
FND214
FND192
FND213
FND195
FND179
FND174
FND181
FND208
FND129
FND17
FND238
FND126
MON996
MON998
MON427
MON1005
ELM86
ELM87
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
occupation site
oppida
pit
pit
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
settlement
settlement
trackway
trackway
well
well
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L?
L?
L
L?
L?
L?
L?
L?
L?
L?
L?
L?
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L?
L
L
L
L
L?
L?
598687
598704
598774
598761
598722
598735
225869
225876
225814
225859
225883
225908
598814
598808
223100
223075
597740
598414
225154
224289
599330
227382
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
1930–9
99/03g
1946
99/03g
99/03g
597564
599467
599472
599477
225136
226956
226868
226776
599194
598413
599729
600187
599733
600792
599629
597741
599087
597672
598953
599738
600027
597330
597517
224979
224287
224878
223586
224878
224026
225951
225153
223770
225098
223933
226045
225275
224965
225266
2/97e
2/97e
2/97e
1946
1932
1930–9
598588
225596
1930–9
598756
598769
225849
225781
1930–9
1930–9
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Camulodunum
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
The Lindens,Lexden Road
The Lindens' Lexden Road
Cambridge Road
Colchester Institute
Northern Approach Road
Colchester Institute
The Lindens, Lexden Road
Colchester Institute Car Park
The Glen, Lexden Road
Northern Approach Road
Northern Approach Road
Northern Approach Road
Colchester Grammar School
Crouch Street
Cambridge Road
Stanwell Street
Mersea Road
Stanwell Street
Winsley's Almshouses
Margaret - Catchpool Road
The Lindens' Lexden Road
Googerat Barracks
Lexden Road
Goojerat Barracks
New Fire Station
Winsley's House
Lexden Dyke
Acland Ave
Sheepen
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Sheepen
Trackway, west of Colchester Cemetery
Sheepen
Sheepen
307
APPENDICES
Gazetteer of Roman monuments, elements and finds from the study area
not plotted
x
x
x
x
x
x
UAD no.
type
date
MON439
aqueduct
ditch?
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
barracks
building
building
building
building
building
ditch
ditch
drain
footway
hearth
hearth
industrial site
oven
oven
oven
oven
pits
pits
pits
pits
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
building
building
building
building
building
F
MON267
MON269
MON462
MON463
MON464
MON465
MON466
MON467
MON522
MON523
MON524
MON525
MON526
MON527
MON727
MON804
MON533
MON534
MON535
MON721
MON816
MON513
MON386
ELM1054
MON712
ELM937
GRP11
MON270
ELM197
ELM196
ELM194
ELM195
GRP11
GRP85
GRP4
GRP5
MON528
MON387
MON1016
MON532
MON531
MON529
MON530
MON560
MON268
MON536
MON519
MON517
MON518
MON53
MON272
MON549
MON711
MON471
MON542
MON543
MON544
MON545
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
B
B
B
B
B
E
N
599261
599295
599691
599690
599688
599685
599686
599686
599490
599488
599489
599481
599488
599486
599304
599293
599542
225280
225269
225023
225035
225046
225058
225070
225083
225091
225073
225062
225044
225032
225020
225337
225124
225111
599527
599504
599470
599961
225018
225333
225329
225429
599329
599323
599462
599495
599299
599550
599464
599459
599461
599495
599474
599297
599190
225259
225259
225324
225054
225274
225100
225096
225099
225099
225054
225322
225282
225137
599483
599466
225051
225099
599523
599259
599538
225061
225272
225102
599693
225029
599613
599317
225270
225291
599319
599715
599542
599543
599537
599553
225259
225102
225119
225119
225099
225100
site codes
notes
1930–9
Sheepen
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
7/97g
6/97a
1.81
1.81
1.81
1966
1965
LWC 71–5, COC 79
LWC 71–5, BKC 73–6
6/95a
6/95a
1965
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk, Building 3
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
6th Form College
Mercury Theatre
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Telephone Exchange Site
North Hill
Fortress Annexe Ditch
Fortress Ditch
Freda Gunton Lodge
Freda Gunton Lodge
North Hill
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Culver Street
Culver Street
Fortress
Culver Street
Culver Street
NCP Car Park, Nunn's Road
Gilberd School
Balkerne Lane
Via prinipalis, fortress
Via sagularis, fortress
Fortress, N–S
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Fortress
Lion Walk
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
GBS 84–5
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1965
GBS 84–5
BKC 73–6
1.81, 1966, 1950
BKC 73–6
CPS 73–74
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
0/75, GBS 85–5
1.81
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
AGY 86/9
GBS 84–5
1.81
6/95a
LWC 71–5
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
insula
CATB / other
131
132
1
2
3
4
5
6
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
10
9
86
87
88
89
308
x
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON546
MON547
MON548
MON271
MON282
MON283
MON284
MON638
MON722
MON718
MON687
ELM209
ELM210
MON551
MON550
GRP5
GRP22
GRP5
GRP85
GRP109
GRP5
GRP11
MON461
FND275
FND268
FND244
FND327
FND328
MON827
MON408
MON468
MON470
MON472
MON473
MON474
MON475
MON477
MON478
MON480
MON481
MON482
MON483
MON484
MON485
MON486
MON487
MON488
MON489
MON815
MON491
MON390
MON391
MON392
MON393
MON394
MON398
MON401
MON402
MON403
MON404
MON405
MON406
MON407
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
drain
drain
footway
footway
industrial site
midden
midden
pit
pits
pits
pits
allotment
altar
altar
altar
altar
altar
altar?
aqueduct ?
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599558
599524
599526
599276
599305
599265
599305
599562
599510
599780
225100
225082
225048
225286
225287
225285
225271
225225
225333
225184
599556
599522
599543
599190
599374
599190
599474
599334
599190
599495
599753
225116
225101
225116
225137
225222
225137
225322
225212
225137
225054
224916
598591
599241
224845
224983
599872
599202
599667
599661
599752
599689
599689
599693
599692
599691
599666
599710
599761
225278
225098
225092
225100
225109
225027
225028
225038
225061
225067
225098
225101
225112
599356
225073
599178
599192
599191
599212
599209
599171
599180
599182
599193
599218
599206
599198
599201
225149
225145
225158
225180
225207
225144
225143
225149
225153
225165
225114
225105
225094
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
CPS 73–74
1966
1955–6
1970
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
BKC 73–6
5/94c
BKC 73–6
1965
1965
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
1934
LWC 71–5
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Cups Hotel
Telephone Exchange Site
St Nicholas's Church
Sheepen
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Balkerne Lane
Waggon and Horses PH
Balkerne Lane
NCP Car Park, Nunn's Road
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Lane
Culver Street
Balkerne Lane
West Lodge
Balkerne Hill
Lexden
Balkerne Hill
S. of Temple of Claudius
Balkerne Hill
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Post Office Site, Head Street
Lion Walk
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane (strip house)
Balkerne Lane (strip house)
Balkerne Lane (strip house)
Balkerne Lane (strip house)
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
90
91
92
133
134
135
136
152
29
RIB192
RIB193
RIB196
7
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
309
APPENDICES
MON413
MON414
MON415
MON416
MON417
MON420
MON421
MON422
MON423
MON424
MON425
MON440
MON441
MON442
MON443
MON444
MON446
MON291
MON292
MON293
MON294
MON295
MON296
MON297
MON552
MON553
MON554
MON556
MON555
MON575
MON576
MON577
MON578
MON579
MON580
MON581
MON582
MON583
MON584
MON585
MON586
MON587
MON588
MON589
MON590
MON591
MON594
MON595
MON598
MON599
MON600
MON597
MON601
MON602
MON603
MON604
MON572
MON608
MON285
MON287
MON399
MON619
MON620
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599174
599185
599193
599193
599177
599166
599174
599179
599186
599192
599176
599195
599156
599158
599161
599155
599219
599349
599345
599342
599317
225135
225142
225148
225152
225076
225141
225146
225149
225153
225157
225118
225078
225173
225176
225175
225184
225468
225544
225537
225541
225537
599349
599372
599463
599493
599494
599475
599496
599502
599546
599540
599549
599559
599560
599535
599541
599544
599552
599557
599541
599462
599466
599493
599479
599493
599465
599492
599484
599494
599501
599486
599517
599553
599519
599555
599531
599544
599256
599308
599244
599805
599791
225568
225564
225093
225089
225078
225063
225036
225030
225118
225092
225092
225097
225097
225101
225101
225102
225102
225103
225118
225091
225113
225090
225076
225063
225017
225038
225020
225031
225023
225027
225087
225096
225081
225120
225042
225096
225277
225289
224850
225120
225123
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
BUC76–9
COC 79
COC 79
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Hill
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Butt Road
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
34
34
34
35
34
34
27
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
27
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
35
35
27
35
35
47
48
49
50
51
54
55
56
57
58
59
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
127
137
138
140
141
142
310
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON621
MON622
MON623
MON624
MON625
MON626
MON639
MON640
MON671
MON380
MON647
MON680
MON458
MON1039
MON1041
MON1011
MON1012
MON1040
MON708
MON788
MON797
MON817
MON818
MON429
MON672
MON730
MON51
MON732
MON731
MON951
MON950
MON746
MON745
MON805
MON734
MON737
MON736
MON702
MON752
MON753
MON751
MON754
MON755
MON698
MON733
MON723
MON748
MON787
MON45
MON47
MON759
MON717
MON819
MON801
MON490
MON563
MON858
MON432
MON430
MON822
MON1017
MON436
MON694
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
barrow
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599791
225124
599786
225121
599788
599559
599562
598906
599147
599182
599714
599886
225123
225231
225232
225851
224904
224978
225072
224881
COC 79
COC 79
COC 79
COC 79
COC 79
COC 79
CPS 73–4
CPS 73–4
HEC 76
MRC 71
CAP 83
234.84
4/98c
4/98c
?
?
4/98c
596862
599982
598263
599463
599458
598580
599328
599356
599627
599329
599329
599339
599343
599980
599990
599711
599248
224868
225370
224395
225318
225328
225599
225797
225407
225254
225212
225210
225212
225212
225197
225193
225437
225139
599296
225135
600074
600058
600072
600002
600006
600167
599290
599512
599886
599982
599674
599676
599261
599782
599468
599976
225129
225105
225125
225109
225097
225199
225137
225335
225094
225432
225236
225279
225018
225204
225281
225128
599943
599886
598760
598391
599422
225121
225146
225778
225430
224969
598724
225262
LWC 71–5
1947
1965
1963, 65
Sheepen 1930–9
1965
1967
AGY 86/9
1965
1965
1965
1965
1966
1966
1955
1967
1967
1967
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955
8/83e
1967
1966
1967
1927
1964
1962, 3
1955–6
1965
8/1990/c
LWC 71–5
1968
1930–9
1930–9
4/90a
1968
1930–9
1959
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Cups Hotel Site
Cups Hotel Site
St Helena's School
Maldon Road
Crouch Street
Lion Walk Church
Osborne Street
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
High Street
High Street
Long Wyre Street
Lexden Mount
Shrine?, Castle Park
CRGS Playing Field
North Hill
North Hill
A1, Sheepen
North Station Road
North Hill
Angel Yard
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Queen Street
Queen Street
St Helen's Lane
St Mary's Rectory
St Mary's Rectory
St Mary's Rectory
Colchester Sixth Form College
Lewis's Garden Site
Lewis's Garden Site
Lewis's Garden Site
Lewis's Garden Site
Lewis's Garden Site
Mulberry Tree Family Centre
St Mary's Rectory
Telephone Exchange Site
Locke's Site
Holly Trees Meadow
East Stockwell Street
East Stockwell Street
Church Walk
St Nicholas's Church
North Hill
Queen Street
Lion Walk
Queen Street
Sainsbury's Site
Sheepen
Sheepen
St John's Street
Sainsbury's Site
Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
143
144
145
146
147
148
153
154
159
160
162
170
179
191
192
194
195
191?
15
1b
31
31
25a
25a
25a
9a
39
39
39
39
39
25a
38a
15
20
20
33a
29
18
311
APPENDICES
x
MON808
MON844
MON719
MON567
MON568
MON569
ELM944
ELM852
ELM715
ELM1107
ELM599
ELM600
ELM601
ELM603
ELM969
ELM966
ELM801
ELM850
ELM663
ELM659
ELM1087
ELM825
ELM644
ELM829
ELM594
ELM666
ELM556
ELM560
ELM73
ELM68
ELM69
ELM70
ELM71
ELM72
ELM545
ELM976
ELM1152
ELM818
ELM802
building
building
building
building
building
building
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599516
599488
599799
599854
599870
599898
599423
598846
599019
598574
599052
599052
599052
598788
598258
597519
597417
599132
598215
599253
598926
599248
599194
599119
599987
598917
599321
599871
599218
599219
599218
599218
599218
599218
599261
598507
225409
225407
225190
225463
225474
225478
224971
224973
224684
225568
224898
224897
224896
224859
224978
224759
225082
224621
225204
224619
224842
224795
225139
224733
224610
224901
224759
224478
225168
225143
225158
225159
225161
225168
224890
224839
597143
599136
225158
226348
ELM977
ELM978
burial
burial
R
R
598545
598590
224746
224751
ELM974
ELM975
ELM1142
ELM535
ELM428
ELM438
ELM597
ELM598
ELM632
ELM625
ELM642
ELM612
ELM661
ELM626
ELM631
FND196
FND269
MON685
MON843
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial
burial?
carved stone
cellar
cemetery
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
598521
598544
597415
598636
600085
599360
599051
599051
599457
599871
598565
598882
599530
599560
599474
598697
599487
598716
598633
224642
224810
224892
224827
225139
225666
224898
224898
224761
224203
224900
224400
224464
223995
223952
224981
225605
225720
224724
1964
1964
1955–6
4/90a
5/79c
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
BKC 73–6
1970
Lorgarth, North Hill
Lorgarth, North Hill
St Nicholas's Church
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
St John's Street
Lexden Road
Maldon Road
Sheepen, Sand Pit
Wellesley Road
Wellesley Road
Wellesley Road
CRGS.
Lexden Road
N. of Lexden Tumulus
St Clare Road
Beaconsfield Road
Endsleigh Court
Artillery Barracks
Essex County Hospital
Burlington Road
Balkerne Hill
Maldon Road
Fairfax Road
Essex County Hospital
Mill Place
Napier Road
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Crouch Street
West Lodge Road
Serpentine Walk
Lexden
Colchester Railway Station
+I1303
'Ingleglade' garden
Ingleglade garden, S of West
Lodge
Queens Road
S. of West Lodge
Mr J Harper's Garden
Beverley Road
East Hill House
N. of North Bridge
Wellesley Road
Wellesley Road
Chapel Street
ATS Quarters, Abbey Field
Errington Lodge
Errington Road
Garrison Football Pitch
N. of Military Hospital
N. of Military Hospital
Lexden Road
St Peter's House
Sheepen
Cremation cemetery, Beverley
Road
3
2
30
312
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON457
MON988
cemetery
cemetery
R
R
598539
225308
1930–9
MON396
MON792
MON374
MON683
MON397
MON688
MON987
MON379
MON756
GRP26
GRP22
GRP5
MON395
FND31
FND124
FND30
FND211
FND197
FND73
FND37
FND58
FND51
FND42
FND69
FND57
FND50
FND173
FND216
FND127
FND71
FND113
FND111
FND75
FND83
FND112
FND205
FND43
FND99
FND39
FND145
FND222
FND163
FND28
FND154
FND1
FND93
FND23
FND26
FND97
FND45
FND78
FND96
FND47
FND94
FND61
FND109
FND70
FND67
FND25
FND59
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cess pit
cess pit
cess pit
church?
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599304
598694
599895
598555
599292
224844
224848
224789
224859
224798
BUC 76–9
1934
599131
598305
599329
599374
599190
599266
598384
224906
224867
225258
225222
225137
224849
224098
598817
597188
599297
600938
599544
598991
598045
598959
599187
599147
598533
598535
600840
598458
600980
597743
597368
600187
599146
599156
600550
601528
598560
598754
599172
598278
598797
599153
599107
601459
601015
597505
600313
598297
599409
598584
224880
224404
225895
225904
225389
225676
224153
224374
224976
224601
224899
224911
223820
223986
223948
223364
225122
225617
225168
224744
224020
225973
224048
225054
225443
224410
224883
225603
225106
224577
223972
223053
225431
224224
225985
223751
601322
600083
599856
597708
601360
600443
600670
601232
226324
225673
224281
225047
225386
225779
224722
226249
BUC 76–9
1970
1971
6/84b
6/95a
5/94c
BKC 73–6
BUC 76–9
10/83a
1947
1964
1958
6 Roman burials, Sheepen
Mixed c, NE or Everett's
Brickyard
Mixed Pagan, Butt Road
Walled, CRGS
Inhumation, St John's Church
Cremation, West Lodge
Christian?, Butt Road
Inhumation, Sheepen
Inhumation, Union
Inhumation, Maldon Road
Vint Crescent
Freda Gunton Lodge
Waggon and Horses PH
Balkerne Lane
Church, Butt Road
Drury Road
North Station Road
Oxford Road
Prettygate Road
John Harper Street
Ipswich Road
Walter's Yard
Sheepen Road
Irvine Road
Butt Road
Brook Street
Beaconsfield Avenue
West Lodge Road
West Lodge Road
Bourne Valley
Gladwin Road
Old Heath Road
Willett Road
High Trees
Leicester Close
Crowhurst Road
Alexandra Road
Goring Road
Drury Road
Oaks Drive
Anglia Water Offices
CRGS playing field
CRGS
Sheepen Place
Crowhurst Road
Hythe Quay
Old Heath Road
Hazell Avenue
Durham Square
Audley Road
Mercers Way
Layer Road
nr Leather Bottle PH
Wilson Marriage Road
Everett's Brickyard
Abbey Fields, football pitch
Lexden Road
St David's Close
Bristol Road
Barrack Street
Wilson Marriage Road
139
313
APPENDICES
FND69
FND66
FND22
FND32
FND21
FND68
FND2
FND36
FND56
FND27
FND95
FND100
FND106
FND46
FND125
FND34
FND60
FND255
FND64
FND65
FND55
FND62
FND77
FND44
FND80
FND107
FND105
FND48
FND5
FND63
FND170
FND40
FND52
FND41
FND123
FND72
FND102
FND38
FND101
FND74
FND76
MON573
MON699
ELM1090
ELM1146
ELM1155
ELM672
ELM972
ELM531
ELM854
ELM853
ELM845
ELM847
ELM543
ELM837
ELM576
ELM634
ELM1139
ELM1136
ELM453
ELM534
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coin
coins
coins
coins
coins
coins
coins
coins
corn drying
oven
counterscarp
bank
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
600557
600118
600467
598581
598519
599275
601244
599163
225113
225778
225673
223607
223521
224758
224687
225080
599752
600075
599014
599762
223359
225665
225127
224759
599062
598367
601545
598927
600232
599349
599105
597469
599498
597464
599622
598998
598267
224762
223665
226670
226633
225486
224761
225068
225199
226110
223780
225886
224920
224180
601427
598092
599004
598834
224856
224028
225008
224194
598321
598998
598569
600764
599265
600086
599188
598305
224309
224421
223994
225305
226451
225659
224575
225099
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
Butt Road
Wakefield Close
Wells Road
Layer Road
Layer Road
Mersea Road
Crowhurst Road
Old Swimming Pool
Gurdon Road
Everiett's Brickyard
Rawstorn Road
Abbey Gate
Hereford Way
Wellesley Road
Rainsborowe Road
St Dominic's Road
Lincoln Way
West Street
Papillon Road
Lexden Road
Cowdray Avenue
Plume Avenue
Meadow Road
Hospital Gardens
Audley Road
Straight Road
1983
Irvine Close
Crouched Friars
Butt Road
Old Swimming Baths
Athelstan Road
Butt Road
Gladwin Road
East Street
North Station Roundabout
Everett's Brickyard
Butt Road
Endsleigh Court
Culver Street
Town ditch
599123
224650
598930
598620
598026
599933
598859
599471
599451
599245
600036
599438
600624
598590
598629
598871
598452
224626
224806
224673
224725
224964
224950
226383
224577
223594
226399
225241
224840
224768
224874
224731
Beaconsfield Road
Park Road
St Clare Road
Maldon Road
Beverley Road
Altnacealgach House
Mersea Road
Lexden Road
Chapel Street
North Station
Artillery Barracks
Mersea Road
Turner Rise
East Bay dump
Beverley Road
Beverley Road
Oxford Road
Queens Road
314
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM542
ELM541
ELM557
ELM558
ELM544
ELM819
ELM611
ELM667
ELM653
ELM533
ELM616
ELM617
ELM618
ELM536
ELM824
ELM851
ELM807
ELM572
ELM843
ELM1147
ELM1144
ELM654
ELM577
ELM998
ELM999
ELM1003
ELM997
ELM996
ELM635
ELM636
ELM637
ELM638
ELM1143
ELM831
ELM1045
ELM1044
ELM658
ELM657
ELM656
ELM1029
ELM1031
ELM622
ELM682
ELM655
ELM1135
ELM1000
ELM1001
ELM800
ELM1154
ELM664
ELM665
MON846
MON986
ELM1156
ELM649
ELM970
ELM792
ELM1039
ELM1040
ELM821
ELM794
ELM660
ELM1140
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599231
599236
599377
599379
599487
598692
598420
599781
599844
598524
599482
599481
599484
598809
599208
599485
597412
599991
600045
224592
224603
224700
224699
224712
224847
224299
225312
224140
224695
224965
224963
224962
224900
224755
225930
224853
224900
223599
597399
598734
598535
598652
598641
598708
598650
598673
600247
600248
600249
600250
597396
599608
598333
598335
598997
598652
598751
598284
598284
599695
598624
598630
598916
598642
598642
597462
224878
224886
225108
225288
225281
225270
225287
225293
225121
225121
225120
225122
224879
224796
224632
224639
224799
224343
224976
224894
224891
224437
224792
224741
224920
225281
225254
225077
598558
598553
599386
599317
224905
224896
224339
224536
598628
598455
599494
598430
598431
599548
224741
224913
224962
224822
224826
225186
1930–9
?
5/93b
597545
225282
Artillery Barracks
Artillery Barracks
Artillery Barracks
Artillery Barracks
Artillery Folley
Beverley Road
Cambridge Road
Maidenburgh Street
Mersea Road
Queens Road
St John’s Terrace
St John’s Terrace
St John’s Terrace
Nr CRGS
Alexandra Road
Mercer Way
St Clare Road
Britannia Works
Colchester Cemetery
St Clare Road
St Clare Road
Gurney Benham House
St Mary's Terrace
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
St Botolph's Vicarage
St Botolph's Vicarage
St Botolph's Vicarage
St Botolph's Vicarage
St Clare Road
St John's Green School
Queens Road
Queens Road
Wellesley Road
Maldon Road
The Oaks
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Abbey Field, nr Camp Post Office
Beverly Road
Creffield Road
Essex County Hospital
Sheepen
Sheepen
St Clare Road
The Avenue
Errington Lodge
Errington Lodge
Garrison Sports Field
Artilery Barracks
Wellesley Road
Creffield Road
The Avenue
St John Street
The Avenue
The Avenue
High Street
Lexden Road
Abbey Field
Acland Ave
315
APPENDICES
ELM968
ELM1131
ELM1145
ELM1149
ELM858
ELM1091
ELM888
ELM582
ELM583
ELM648
ELM639
ELM640
ELM1096
ELM883
ELM884
ELM859
ELM1032
ELM619
ELM620
ELM621
ELM1150
ELM1151
ELM63
ELM1043
ELM1158
ELM1157
ELM1038
ELM1034
ELM1036
ELM1037
ELM1030
ELM1033
ELM1035
ELM848
ELM839
ELM840
ELM838
ELM1131
ELM575
ELM1134
ELM1113
ELM826
ELM1138
ELM614
ELM1137
ELM528
ELM530
ELM591
ELM808
ELM1153
ELM1242
MON793
ELM988
ELM989
ELM990
GRP7
MON564
MON565
MON571
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
cremation
crematorium?
crematorium?
crematorium?
cultivation
plot
cultivation
plot
cultivation
plot
cultivation
plot
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599753
598775
226141
224730
598917
599530
597858
598815
598814
597619
599915
599919
599263
598927
598929
598917
598284
599622
599624
599625
224976
224653
225112
224977
224976
225053
224390
224394
224764
225538
225538
224978
224890
224742
224743
224741
599112
598336
224935
224647
598295
598295
598295
598295
598284
598284
598295
599370
600035
600040
600033
600179
599661
599047
598863
599424
599090
599594
598755
598339
598235
599274
597414
224889
224894
224892
224890
224892
224888
224893
225638
223602
223602
223598
225704
226039
224688
223047
224864
224668
224969
224733
224843
224769
223689
224876
599630
598711
598712
598712
599306
226280
224815
224815
224816
224844
1937
1937
1937
BUC 76–9
Cowdray Avenue
Creffield Road
St Clare Road
Honeywood Road
Lexden Road
Le Cateau Barracks
Lexden Grange
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Mersea Road
Mersea Road
Mill Place
Sheepen Road
Sheepen Road
Lexden Road
Vint Crescent
Osborne House
Osborne House
Osborne House
Serpentine Walk
Serpentine Walk
Crouch Street
Queens Road
Castle Park
Wellesley Road
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
Vint Crescent
North Bridge
Colchester Cemetery
Colchester Cemetery
Colchester Cemetery
Everret's Brickyard
Serpentine Walk
Beaconsfield Road
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Essex Street
Beaconsfield Avenue
St John’s Street
Creffield Road
Buntings Ground
Queens Road
Sabraon Barracks
St Clare Road
Blatch's Square
West Lodge Road
Cowdray Avenue
CRGS
CRGS
CRGS
Butt Road
R
599487
225043
1.81
Culver Street
R
599493
225020
1.81
Culver Street
R
599525
225025
1.81
Culver Street
316
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM570
MON729
ELM526
ELM160
ELM155
ELM156
ELM1219
ELM1217
ELM1220
ELM1214
ELM1212
ELM1213
ELM1211
ELM1218
MON409
MON648
MON411
MON410
MON447
MON855
ELM103
ELM104
ELM1200
ELM986
ELM1018
ELM759
ELM645
ELM993
ELM799
ELM931
ELM932
ELM933
ELM1120
ELM1121
ELM1122
ELM1199
ELM1203
ELM506
ELM1112
ELM1221
ELM1222
MON631
MON632
MON633
MON616
ELM1123
ELM994
ELM926
ELM152
ELM150
ELM778
ELM779
ELM780
ELM1253
GRP20
ELM206
ELM203
ELM688
ELM213
ELM677
ELM483
ELM1053
ELM255
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
ditch
dog burial
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599351
599230
225409
224978
599222
601020
599193
599197
225154
225312
225094
225089
598670
598648
225859
225865
598791
600041
600073
597866
598798
598263
598261
598245
598846
598850
598819
599070
224886
225152
225627
224648
224882
224487
224753
224375
223117
223119
223112
225434
599187
598846
224977
223137
599512
599513
599520
599486
598816
225034
225034
225018
225032
223142
599328
225165
599106
598697
598698
225105
225068
225064
598992
599493
599494
599501
599457
599846
599799
599509
599756
224938
225097
225083
225333
225093
225233
225128
225092
225536
1970
1964,67
IRD 73
Sheepen
North Hill, perimeter ditch?
Crouch Street
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Colonia defensive ditch
Crouch Street
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Colonia ditch
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Northern Approach Road
CRGS ‘camp ditch'
CRGS
Queen Street Bus Station
Castle Gardens
Altnacealgach site
CRGS
CRGS playing fields
CRGS playing fields
CRGS playing fields
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Colchester Institute
Gurney Benham House
Crouch Street
Sheepen
Sheepen
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
34
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Altnacealgach house
St Mary's Rectory
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Lane
Crowhurst Road
Mrs.Reid's Field, Lexden
Mrs.Reid's Field, Lexden
1/84a
Inner Relief Road, Southway
Culver Street
Culver Street
Telephone Exchange site
Culver Street
Long Wire Street
Culver Street
Maidenburgh Street
317
APPENDICES
ELM182
ELM404
ELM436
ELM480
ELM816
ELM815
ELM1057
ELM1012
ELM421
ELM1110
ELM1050
ELM419
ELM259
ELM946
ELM728
ELM478
ELM524
ELM765
ELM335
ELM425
ELM336
ELM697
ELM218
ELM397
ELM398
ELM401
ELM683
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599759
599496
599511
599528
225127
225070
225083
225018
599242
599792
599583
599974
225083
225379
225524
225047
599421
599902
599846
599858
599287
599525
599959
600044
599557
599560
599560
599877
599476
599490
599494
599494
224998
225038
225453
225283
225023
225020
225372
225127
225097
225099
225108
225202
225095
225028
225025
225019
ELM475
ELM482
ELM184
ELM1056
ELM481
ELM479
ELM502
ELM684
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599475
599534
599740
599492
599535
599534
599524
225099
225020
225124
225405
225018
225020
225013
1.81
1.81
ELM689
ELM525
ELM268
ELM39
ELM477
ELM269
ELM265
ELM694
ELM678
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599719
599464
599285
599516
599466
599535
599329
599847
225075
225107
225276
225063
225101
225106
225214
225233
234.84
1.81
GBS 84–5
1.81
1.81
1.81
ELM211
ELM212
ELM1063
ELM1055
ELM1129
ELM1061
ELM1062
ELM220
ELM311
ELM40
ELM183
ELM198
ELM200
ELM201
ELM41
ELM161
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599462
599462
599514
600014
599825
600189
599741
599880
599491
599290
599741
599482
599457
599477
599285
599158
225096
225098
225003
225406
225019
225249
225013
225213
225139
225270
225123
225052
225096
225080
225270
225166
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
LWC 7105
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
Lion Walk
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Eastern National Bus Depot
Town Wall
Castle Park
St Peter's Street, wall arch
Bus Garage
Castle Park
Head Gate
Queen Street
Castle Park
S. of the Castle
Church Street
Culver Street
Castle Park
Queen St Bus Station
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
High Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
S. of the precinct wall of the
Temple of Claudius
Culver Street
Culver Street
Lion Walk
Lorgarth House
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Drain S. of the precinct wall of
the Temple of Claudius
Telephone Exchange site
Lion Walk Church
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Balkerne Gardens
Drain S. of the precinct wall of
the Temple of Claudius
Culver Street
St John's St, wall arch,
Castle Park
Short Wyre St, wall arch
St James’s Church, wall arch
Vineyard St, wall arch
High Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Lion Walk
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Balkerne Hill
15
10
318
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM204
ELM205
ELM159
ELM145
ELM67
ELM207
ELM47
ELM157
ELM158
MON763
MON851
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
drain
dyke
dyke
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599484
599484
225027
225024
1.81
1.81
599215
599541
599353
225177
225099
225540
1.81
MID 78
597989
224668
ELM1095
GRP5
GRP7
GRP11
FND142
FND322
earthwork
extraction pit
extraction pits
fence
figurines
finds from
evaluation
finds from
evaluation
finds
finds
finds
finds
finds
footpath
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
footway
garden
garden
garden
gate
gate
gate
gate
gate
gateway
R
R
R
R
R
R
599472
599190
599306
599495
598643
225582
225137
224844
225054
224719
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
600048
599880
599331
224985
224878
227373
599941
598611
599491
225522
225638
225330
599477
599466
599527
599719
225098
225110
225101
225075
599510
599715
599741
599667
599681
599495
599502
599685
599680
599682
599238
600186
225091
225113
225121
225115
225129
225298
225332
225036
225046
225066
225194
225260
599896
599390
598565
225025
225501
225318
gateway
glass vessel
glass vessel
glassworking
site
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
R
R
R
R
599417
598406
598778
598634
225002
224910
224968
225261
FND300
FND236
FND14
FND224
FND190
FND137
ELM555
MON725
MON715
MON607
MON557
MON558
MON605
MON681
ELM980
MON606
MON539
MON538
MON540
MON541
MON799
MON724
ELM234
ELM232
ELM233
MON412
MON835
MON786
MON924
MON850
ELM144
MON765
FND160
FND140
MON812
ELM1167
ELM1174
ELM1206
ELM1208
ELM1207
ELM1188
BKC 73–6
BUC 76–9
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
Culver Street
Culver Street
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Lane
Culver Street
Middleborough
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Prettygate Dyke
Triple Dyke, County High School
for Girls
St Peter's House
Balkerne Lane
Butt Road
Culver Street
Creffield Road
S. of Victoria Inn, North Station
Road
Rear of 21 Middleborough
30 St Julian’s Grove
Osborne St Excavation 1988–9
Northern Approach Rd (Tr 15)
Abbeygate Street
Castle Park greenhouse
Path at Sheepen
Culver Street
Culver Street
10
22
27
34
34
35
Lion Walk Church
11
35
36
37
36
28
Telephone Exchange Office
11
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Balkerne Gate
East Gate, East Hill
Duncan's Gate
South Gate (St Botolph's Gate)
North Gate
Gate in palisaded trench at
Sheepen
Head Gate, Head Street
Buntings Ground
Crouch Street
Sheepen
Gilberd School
Balkerne Hill
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
319
APPENDICES
ELM1194
ELM1210
ELM1175
ELM1164
ELM1165
ELM1166
ELM1209
ELM1193
ELM122
ELM216
FND6
FND264
FND153
FND178
GRP21
ELM902
ELM515
ELM447
ELM1114
ELM356
ELM1013
ELM365
FND92
GRP7
GRP11
MON689
MON684
MON469
ELM42
ELM111
ELM297
ELM296
ELM208
ELM295
ELM43
ELM178
ELM179
ELM180
ELM106
ELM107
ELM900
ELM1179
ELM1180
ELM1181
ELM1182
ELM1183
ELM1184
ELM1185
ELM1186
ELM1187
ELM257
ELM282
ELM281
ELM291
ELM258
ELM510
ELM289
ELM630
ELM131
ELM132
ELM1254
ELM313
ELM312
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hoard
hoard
hoard
hoard
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust
hypocaust?
industrial site
industrial site
industrial site
industrial site
industrial site
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
infant burial
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
GBS 84–5
598826
599386
599631
599341
599353
598553
599843
599490
599960
599181
598846
599820
599610
599955
225581
225045
225254
225212
225234
224876
225194
225304
225425
224981
223091
225115
225056
225233
599306
599495
598590
598719
599665
599300
599199
599471
599483
599523
599485
599293
599680
599708
599708
224844
225054
225612
225716
225112
225270
225075
225029
225031
225081
225031
225279
225074
225105
225105
600003
225060
599523
599481
599484
599484
599519
599918
599480
600163
598507
598652
225017
225082
225085
225067
225022
225542
225068
225159
225363
225252
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
1.81
599541
599539
225103
225104
1.81
1.81
SPT83
BUC 76–9
GBS 84–5
1.81
1.81
1.81
GBS 84–5
1.81
Angel Yard
Culver Street
Balkerne Lane
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Culver Street
Mercury Theatre
Sheepen
Head Gate Court
Angel Yard
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
West Lodge, garden
High St, possible bath house
Telephone Exchange Site
Castle Park
Crouch Street
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Long Wyre Street
Trinity Street
Queen Street–East Hill
The Minories
Butt Road
Culver Street
Sheepen
Sheepen
Lion Walk
Gilberd School
Balkerne Lane
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Queen Street Bus Station
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Castle Park
Culver Street
Mulberry Tree Family Centre
Sheepen
Lead coffin, Sheepen
Kiln 26 (human skull fragments)
Culver Street
Culver Street
18
320
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM593
ELM1002
ELM995
ELM690
ELM162
ELM764
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
R
R
R
R
R
R
599944
598688
598649
599492
599192
599753
224320
225276
225292
225329
225105
225309
ELM783
ELM804
ELM767
ELM646
ELM647
ELM768
ELM769
ELM623
ELM624
ELM987
ELM811
ELM844
ELM584
ELM585
ELM586
ELM587
ELM588
ELM589
ELM590
ELM860
ELM861
ELM862
ELM863
ELM864
ELM865
ELM866
ELM911
ELM62
ELM803
ELM539
ELM529
ELM549
ELM550
ELM551
ELM571
ELM574
ELM578
ELM579
ELM581
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599892
599133
598882
600074
600075
598862
598864
599698
599699
598660
598586
599418
598815
225243
224928
225189
225626
225626
225157
225151
224495
224494
224824
224795
224855
224974
598817
598819
598819
598819
598817
598917
598917
598921
598925
598926
598926
598926
599167
599109
598183
599031
598708
599254
599255
599272
599270
600067
598891
598354
598816
224973
224973
224975
224976
224978
224979
224981
224981
224982
224980
224979
224978
225271
224936
225222
224887
224698
224793
224793
224800
224800
225643
224967
224981
225015
ELM580
ELM1141
ELM629
ELM643
ELM606
ELM607
ELM798
ELM605
ELM610
ELM613
ELM592
ELM867
ELM61
ELM548
FND131
FND29
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
jar
jar
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599497
598374
600162
598632
599513
599514
598848
599512
599516
599475
599273
598920
599102
599253
598588
598618
224872
225005
225158
224802
224798
224797
224953
224800
224798
224941
223689
224989
224938
224797
225123
225127
Lead coffin, Mersea Road
Sheepen
Sheepen
Telephone Exchange site
Lead coffin, Balkerne Hill
Maidenburgh Street (disarticulated
human bones)
Castle Inn, High Street
Crouch Street
Oaks Drive
Castle Gardens
Castle Gardens
Oaks Drive
Oaks Drive
Spinney N. of Military Post Office
Spinney N. of Military Post Office
Beverley Road
Beverley Road
Essex Street
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
Lexden Road
St Mary's Hospital
Crouch Street
Lead coffin, Endsleigh Court
Lead coffin ,Wellesley Road
Lead coffin (J1731) Creffield Rd
Lead coffin, Burlington Road
Lead coffin, Burlington Road
Lead Coffin, Butt Road
Lead Coffin, Butt Road
Lead coffin, Everett's Brickyard
Lead Coffin, Lexden Road
Lead Coffin, Lexden Road
Lead coffin, Silver Birches,
Lexden Road
Lead Coffin, St John's Street
Lead Coffin, Sussex Road
Mulberry Tree Family Centre
Gilberd House
Cedars Road
Cedars Road
Lexden Road
Cedars Road
Cedars Road
Chapel Street
Lead coffin, Sabraon Barracks
Lexden Road
Crouch Street
Stone Coffin, Burlington Road
Oaks Drive
Oaks Drive
321
APPENDICES
MON777
kiln
R
598940
226061
MON705
MON918
MON451
MON614
MON456
MON450
MON435
MON298
MON782
MON781
MON848
MON849
MON854
FND223
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
598207
598929
598670
599959
225296
224986
225276
225183
598668
598635
599263
597600
597802
598056
598059
599661
598835
225265
225267
225576
224844
224953
225171
225170
224427
226599
FND270
MON847
MON758
MON738
MON776
MON706
MON707
MON618
MON920
MON692
MON693
MON783
MON778
MON703
MON704
MON636
MON921
MON919
MON452
MON449
MON691
MON644
MON646
MON645
MON455
MON453
MON454
MON767
MON814
MON811
MON761
MON984
MON985
MON798
FND53
MON385
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599949
598054
598853
599012
598927
598211
598242
599699
598744
598717
598719
598199
598942
598187
598220
599256
599721
598931
598703
226020
225170
225180
226051
224931
225304
225321
226420
225677
225263
225264
225158
226061
225296
225314
224703
225958
224987
225267
598705
598896
598897
598887
598703
598707
598704
598027
598219
599269
598711
597764
599261
597422
599561
225261
225118
225118
225111
225269
225271
225275
226141
225191
225159
225087
224846
224764
225203
225229
FND323
GRP18
GRP99
GRP4
GRP19
GRP108
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln?
kiln?
kiln?
kiln?
finds
legionary
fortress
tesserae
midden
midden
midden
midden
midden
R
R
R
R
R
R
598609
599163
599297
600177
599464
225635
225053
225282
225185
224966
ELM424
ELM429
mosaic
mosaic
R
R
600179
599310
225151
225771
S. of the River Colne, N. of
Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Hospital Lane
Sheepen
Queen Street (Brick kiln)
Sheepen (kiln enclosure)
Sheepen
Middleborough
19 Fitzwalter Road
8 Fitzwalter Road
Endsleigh School
Endsleigh School
Abbey Field
Colchester Railway Station Car
Park (kiln furniture)
Serpentine Walk(kiln waste)
Endsleigh School
Oaks Drive
River Colne, Colne Bank
Essex County Hospital
Warren Field, Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Mile End
Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Endsleigh Court Road
N. of Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Butt Road
Strowglers Ground
Hospital Lane
Sheepen
Sheepen
Warren Field, Sheepen
Oaks Drive
Oaks Drive
Oaks Drive
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Lexden Lodge Farm
Endsleigh School
St Mary's Rectory
Lexden
Fitzwalter Road
Mill Place
Lexden Road
Cups Hotel
1970
1/89a
GBS 84–5
8/83e
1928
4 St Peter's Street
Sheepen
Crowhurst Road
Gilberd School
Mulberry Tree Family Centre
Playhouse Theatre, St John's
Street
East Hill House
nr Victoria Inn PH
34JRS
9
3
18
17
15
41
13a
13b
27
28
24
26
1
10
11
2
23
30
31
32
35
7
8
12
33
4
19
16
29
34
36
35
22
20
21
25
322
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM399
ELM465
ELM9
ELM275
ELM248
ELM240
ELM142
ELM877
ELM991
ELM2
ELM982
ELM669
ELM927
ELM959
ELM952
ELM250
ELM334
ELM915
ELM432
ELM953
ELM904
ELM1267
ELM123
ELM88
ELM93
ELM102
ELM101
ELM94
ELM89
ELM90
ELM91
ELM97
ELM92
ELM98
ELM100
ELM99
ELM95
ELM96
ELM121
ELM125
ELM115
ELM112
ELM118
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
mosaic
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599911
599831
599684
599635
599278
599329
599183
599372
599447
599674
599518
599422
599790
599671
599685
599418
599673
599298
599337
599683
599260
225113
224897
225185
225396
225451
225308
225127
225273
225347
225236
225350
225413
225081
225181
225176
225408
225152
225143
225784
225181
225124
Queen Street
Osborne Street
Red Lion Hotel
Bear Lane
North Hill
St Peter's Vicarage Garden
Balkerne Hill
North Hill
North Hill
The Bear PH
598676
225638
North Hill
Co-op, Long Wire Street
Marks & Spencer’s, High Street
Red Lion Yard
North Hill
Marks & Spencer’s, High Street
Mercury Theatre
North Station Road
Red Lion Yard
Mercury Theatre
S. of Victoria Inn
L3, Sheepen
R
598638
225843
F1, Sheepen
R
598676
225889
F12, Sheepen
R
598702
225893
F13, Sheepen
R
598629
225863
F14, Sheepen
R
598735
225901
F17, Sheepen
R
598634
225844
F2, Sheepen
R
598638
225847
F3, Sheepen
R
598649
225859
F4, Sheepen
R
598644
225855
F5, Sheepen
R
598658
225854
F6, Sheepen
R
598637
225840
F7, Sheepen
R
598628
225856
F8, Sheepen
R
598723
225899
F9, Sheepen
R
598748
225833
H1, Sheepen
R
598732
225802
H7, Sheepen
R
598795
225594
D10, Sheepen
R
598677
225657
L1, Sheepen
R
598528
225676
A3 Sheepen
R
598572
225817
E2, Sheepen
R
598704
225583
L5 at Sheepen
10
11
323
APPENDICES
ELM116
ELM126
ELM128
ELM129
ELM124
ELM127
ELM119
ELM1168
ELM1169
ELM1170
ELM1171
ELM1176
ELM1178
ELM1177
ELM1172
ELM692
ELM693
ELM1084
ELM596
ELM1119
ELM199
ELM147
ELM148
ELM151
ELM146
ELM149
ELM1163
ELM691
ELM1085
ELM1086
GRP86
ELM143
ELM552
ELM553
ELM554
GRP42
ELM435
GRP37
GRP21
GRP68
GRP98
GRP28
GRP24
GRP34
GRP49
GRP67
GRP58
GRP90
GRP15
GRP77
GRP121
GRP107
GRP105
GRP112
GRP35
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
occupation
site
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
oven
palisade
palisade
palisade
palisade
palisade
path
pavement
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
R
598561
225608
A5, Sheepen
R
598835
225719
D4, Sheepen
R
598784
225652
D7, Sheepen
R
598794
225597
D9, Sheepen
R
598706
225594
L17, Sheepen
R
598841
225730
D5, Sheepen
R
D8, Sheepen
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Hill
Gilberd School
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Warren Field, Sheepen
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Lion Walk
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Freda Gunton Lodge
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Altnacealgach House
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
Sheepen
St Mary's Rectory
North Station Road
Medical Centre, County Hospital
High Street
Eastern National Bus Depot
East Stockwell Street
Cambridge Road
Lexden Road
Castle Road
Manor Road
Lexden Road
Balkerne Gardens
CRGS
Castle Park
Castle Park
Colchester Institute
Queens Road
Freda Gunton Lodge
Head St Post Office
Maldon Road
599330
599330
599335
598707
598891
599745
225206
225208
225211
225260
223122
225118
599329
599336
599345
598122
598561
598613
598619
598620
599293
599353
598948
599843
599989
599643
598538
598881
600066
599009
597610
599346
598690
599945
599910
225205
225212
225212
224633
225321
225638
225635
225630
225134
225778
224930
225194
225071
225327
224613
225004
225454
225044
225096
225235
224822
225537
225383
598323
599353
599349
598959
224762
225244
225060
224637
1956
1967
11/79b
SPT83
1931
5/86b
5/96a
1/95b
6/76a
5/84b
11/86b
1963
CAP83
1950
?
1/84a
5/79c
324
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
GRP19
GRP85
GRP81
GRP86
GRP31
GRP3
GRP23
GRP89
GRP65
GRP63
GRP11
GRP111
GRP120
GRP47
GRP4
GRP20
GRP113
GRP10
GRP82
GRP33
GRP62
GRP114
GRP42
ELM1100
ELM947
FND175
FND219
FND194
FND118
FND162
FND139
FND162
FND198
FND150
FND147
FND151
FND187
FND247
FND119
FND104
FND79
FND182
FND183
FND133
FND132
FND134
FND128
FND138
FND135
FND165
FND185
FND180
FND186
FND177
FND273
FND193
FND158
FND157
FND320
FND257
FND130
FND33
FND235
pit
pit
pit
pit
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
plinth
plinth
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
600177
599474
597673
598122
598628
599631
599205
598703
599998
599002
599495
600078
225185
225322
225212
224633
224851
225253
224994
224892
225366
225008
225054
225707
600071
599297
598992
598859
599686
225121
225282
224938
223109
225061
599329
598797
599065
599293
599352
599850
597702
600492
599437
597552
599161
597515
598724
598841
598850
597697
225217
224891
225200
225134
225058
225280
225081
225213
226361
224766
225643
224948
224945
224784
225202
225068
597611
598999
598841
599482
598457
597853
598865
225096
224969
224797
224774
223999
224981
224988
599133
597539
598351
599305
599529
599696
597731
597724
597731
597522
600174
599625
598696
598710
225088
224763
224699
224958
226015
225873
225137
225123
225120
224960
225729
224984
224768
224778
598987
599988
599105
599085
224923
223751
225070
225083
8/83e
1965
1960
1956
4/97c
AGY 86/9
10/94a
1958
1928
1983–4
1926
?
1955
GBS 84–5
1/84a
LWC 71–5
8/97a
1965
1964
5/97c
1967
Mulberry Nursery
NCP Car Park, Nunn's Road
Lexden Road
Altnacealgach House
Beverley Road
Angel Yard
Crouch Street
Lexden Road
Castle Park
Crouched Friars
Culver Street
Everett's Brickyard
High Street
Lewis's Gardens
Gilberd School
Inner Relief Road, Southway
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Lion Walk
Maternity Home, Lexden Road
Balkerne Gardens
CRGS
St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Rectory
Post Office
S. of Temple of Claudius
Lexden Road
Rosebery Avenue
nr Colchester Railway Station
Lexden Tumulus
Sheepen Road
St Clare Drive
The Oaks', Lexden Road
13 Oxford Road
St Albans Road
86 Lexden Road
24 South Street
94 Lexden Road
Crouch Street
13 Oxford Road
35 Chapel Street
41 Gladwin Road
74 Lexden Road
9 Lexden Road
Creffield Road
Crowhurst Road
Fitzwalter Road
Queens Road
Regal Cinema, Crouch Street
Serpentine Walk
Serpentine Walk
The Lindens', Colchester
The Lindens', Lexden Road
The Lindens', Lexden Road
9 St Clare Road
Scheregate Steps
CRGS Grounds
CRGS Grounds
Crouch Street
Hospital Lane
King George Road
Papillon Road
Rawstorn Road
325
APPENDICES
FND269
FND20
MON772
MON713
pottery
pottery
precinct
precinct
R
R
R
R
GRP128
ELM18
MON388
MON514
MON596
ELM979
quarry
rampart
rampart
rampart
rampart
.
R
R
R
R
R
R
GRP9
MON834
MON445
MON384
revetment
road
road
road
R
R
R
R
MON794
MON791
MON943
MON990
MON821
MON686
MON299
MON448
MON947
MON946
MON841
MON853
MON839
MON842
MON945
MON716
MON438
FND325
FND321
FND143
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
MON709
MON860
MON419
FND241
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
road
finds
finds
'roman
remains'
‘roman
remains’
shop
shop
shrine?
sphinx
FND141
MON735
MON615
MON742
MON635
MON743
MON46
MON634
MON784
MON561
MON803
MON802
MON807
MON714
MON696
MON740
MON520
MON845
statuette
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
FND159
599487
599105
598928
225605
225071
226067
599671
225303
599960
225427
599152
225140
599882
599685
599192
224874
225176
225038
601241
226681
599420
598628
599346
224965
225633
225555
599900
599647
597717
598974
598722
597564
225010
224857
224904
224896
224869
224787
598562
225578
598670
224720
St Peter's House
Papillon Road
2 temples nr River Colne
Precinct of the Temple of
Claudius
Spring Lane
turf bank
Legionary Fortress
Legionary Fortress Annexe
Roman Town Wall
Remains found in Mr Brown's
garden, 40(?) Crowhurst Road
Osborne Street Car Park
along slighted Prettygate Dyke
Balkerne Hill
Nr main Colchester to London
Road
London Road
Norwich Road
from East Hill to Colne
from Gosbecks to Colchester
from South-west Gate
Sheepen Hill running SW–NE
NW from North Gate
through Sheepen Dyke entrance
St Botolph's Gate?
Abbeygate House
crossing Fitzwalter Road
Essex County Hospital
CRGS
N. of Lexden Tumulus
N. from Duncan's Gate
SW to NE, W. of Colonia
Sheepen
12 Culver Street
Spring Lane, (part of voussoir)
Creffield Road
R
598639
224738
Creffield Road
R
R
R
R
599518
599703
599220
598898
225218
225201
225165
224895
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
598201
599247
599488
599247
599488
599249
599668
599521
224764
225140
225012
225138
225011
225140
225300
225015
599966
225058
599516
225401
599597
225012
599489
225404
Pottery shop (Insula 19 )
Pottery shop, Curry's, High Street
Shrine? at Balkerne Lane
Essex County Hospital, Lexden
Road
W. of Queen's Rd, 1844 (Jupiter)
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
53
RIB211
326
MON800
MON925
MON944
MON278
MON559
MON673
MON861
MON592
MON813
MON757
MON928
MON789
MON762
MON939
MON929
MON750
MON744
MON930
MON810
MON766
MON749
MON720
MON710
MON790
MON697
MON521
MON948
MON806
MON949
MON809
MON852
MON769
MON864
MON739
MON630
MON637
MON574
MON675
MON617
MON993
MON741
MON674
MON431
MON434
MON785
MON433
MON770
MON836
MON773
MON795
MON796
MON771
MON418
FND307
FND221
ELM707
ELM708
ELM934
ELM951
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street?
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
temple
terret
terret
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599474
599917
599355
225309
225405
225199
599457
599920
599242
599566
599759
599754
599958
600020
599596
225101
225553
225192
225296
225406
225324
225156
225416
225455
599711
599749
599952
225232
225525
225248
599323
599631
599889
599792
225165
225065
225098
225201
600018
600186
225533
225149
600024
599500
599325
599618
225298
225162
225084
225146
599248
599272
225202
225090
600004
225249
599871
225124
599599
599920
598792
598860
225012
225542
225903
225824
598816
598921
599068
598927
598278
598283
598915
599216
225862
226049
225320
226058
224413
224427
226050
225217
599531
599411
225776
225406
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Colonia
Sheepen
Sheepen
Temple of Claudius
Sheepen
River Colne and Colne Bank Ave
St Mary's School
River Colne. nr Sheepen
CRGS Playing Field
CRGS Playing Field
nr River Colne
Balkerne Lane
St Nicholas Church
Causton Road
North Hill
R
599414
225405
North Hill
R
599344
225030
Head Street
R
599682
225192
Red Lion Yard
52
327
APPENDICES
ELM828
ELM753
ELM755
ELM758
ELM239
ELM217
ELM272
ELM215
ELM710
ELM276
ELM264
ELM293
ELM278
ELM393
ELM747
ELM748
ELM749
ELM249
ELM245
ELM349
ELM237
ELM247
ELM242
ELM243
ELM244
ELM370
ELM251
ELM501
ELM423
ELM422
ELM279
ELM260
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
R
599989
225065
Eastern National Bus Depot
R
600042
225146
Queen St Bus Station
R
600042
225141
Queen St Bus Station
R
600048
225082
Queen St Bus Station
R
599381
225235
North Hill
R
599611
225361
Youth House
R
599512
225354
North Hill
R
599494
225246
Williams and Griffin
R
599406
225407
North Hill
R
599700
225395
St Helen's Lane
R
599419
225358
North Hill
R
599725
225237
High Street
R
599670
225429
East Stockwell Street
R
599815
225097
Long Wyre Street
R
599929
225093
Queen Street
R
599933
225097
Queen Street
R
599936
225096
Queen Street
R
599305
225446
North Hill
R
599373
225398
North Hill
R
599711
225200
High Street
R
599728
225200
High Street
R
599261
225450
6th Form College
R
599252
225223
Balkerne Gardens
R
599389
225267
Balkerne Gardens
R
599282
225229
Balkerne Gardens
R
599355
225046
Kings Head PH
R
599536
225508
Bishop's Blaise
R
600562
225310
East Hill
R
600178
225152
East Hill House
R
599980
225050
Culver Street
R
599934
225462
Castle Park
R
600061
225495
Castle Road
328
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
pavement
tessellated
pavement
ELM261
tessellated
pavement
ELM445
tessellated
pavement
ELM446
tessellated
pavement
ELM456
tessellated
pavement
ELM382
tessellated
pavement
ELM960
tessellated
pavement
ELM309
tessellated
pavement
ELM310
tessellated
pavement
ELM320
tessellated
pavement
ELM340
tessellated
pavement
ELM343
tessellated
pavement
ELM355
tessellated
pavement
ELM360
tessellated
pavement
ELM426
tessellated
pavement
ELM427
tessellated
pavement
ELM366
tessellated
pavement
ELM367
tessellated
pavement
ELM368
tessellated
pavement
ELM1161
tessellated
pavement
ELM262
tessellated
pavement
ELM267
tessellated
pavement
ELM955
tessellated
pavement
ELM288
tessellated
pavement
ELM292
tessellated
pavement
ELM1098
tessellated
pavement
ELM1099
tessellated
pavement
ELM303
tessellated
pavement
ELM1101
tessellated
pavement
ELM287
tessellated
pavement
••••••••essellat tessellated
pavement
ELM301
R
599273
225118
Cherry Garden
R
599286
225308
Colchester 6th Form
R
599198
224981
Crouch Street
R
599213
224968
Crouch Street
R
599119
225119
Crowhurst Road
R
599464
225044
Culver Street
R
599675
225155
Culver Street
R
599451
225143
Culver Street
R
599462
225141
Culver Street
R
599586
225142
Culver Street
R
599670
225155
Culver Street
R
599758
225158
Culver Street
R
Culver Street
R
599920
225180
East Culver Street
R
600152
225101
East Hill House
R
600085
225140
East Hill House
R
600048
225199
East Hill House
R
600085
225218
East Hill House
R
600157
225153
East Hill House
R
599632
225436
East Stockwell Street
R
599368
225410
North Hill
R
599535
225334
West Stockwell Street
R
599673
225112
Trinity House
R
599559
225268
High Street
R
599734
225236
George Hotel
R
599350
225076
Head Street
R
599346
225075
Head Street
R
599395
225191
Head Street
R
599346
225077
Head St Post Office
R
599555
225217
High Street
R
599677
225425
Independent Chapel
329
APPENDICES
ELM329
ELM387
ELM388
ELM390
ELM331
ELM337
ELM389
ELM396
ELM415
ELM394
ELM357
ELM485
ELM486
ELM487
ELM488
ELM489
ELM490
ELM443
ELM454
ELM763
ELM302
ELM918
ELM252
ELM246
ELM448
ELM430
ELM434
ELM466
ELM364
ELM451
ELM371
ELM395
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
R
599514
225119
Library
R
599700
225027
Lion Walk
R
599704
225037
Lion Walk
R
599692
225064
Lion Walk
R
599692
225149
Lion Walk
R
599704
225139
Lion Walk
R
599731
225045
Lion Walk Church
R
599828
225043
Long Wire Street
R
599821
225102
Long Wire Street
R
599783
225080
Long Wyre Street
R
599817
225107
Long Wyre Street
R
599808
225094
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599812
225094
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599814
225098
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599809
225102
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599806
225113
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599790
225116
1956
Co-op, Long Wyre Street
R
599043
225091
Lords Land
R
599137
225046
Lords Land
R
599752
225309
Maidenbugh Street
R
599282
225154
Mercury Theatre
R
599285
225125
Mercury Theatre
R
599558
225428
West Stockwell Street
R
599288
225433
North Hill
R
599059
225114
Papillon Road
R
599341
225777
North Station Road
R
599353
225779
North Station Road
R
599491
225488
Northgate Street
R
600026
225177
East Hill House
R
598870
224874
Nurses Home
R
599350
225057
Head Street
R
599852
225104
Long Wyre Street
330
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM330
ELM420
ELM417
ELM405
ELM304
ELM270
ELM463
ELM464
ELM462
ELM408
ELM504
ELM795
ELM403
ELM954
ELM738
ELM238
ELM380
ELM381
ELM285
ELM376
ELM375
ELM727
ELM913
ELM914
ELM450
ELM254
ELM903
ELM919
ELM905
ELM1022
ELM1021
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
R
599532
225119
Old Library
R
599955
225083
Old Police Station
R
599922
225067
Old Police Station, Queen Street
R
599927
225121
Queen Street
R
599454
225134
Bank Passage
R
599570
225321
St Martin’s Church
R
599834
224895
Osborne Street
R
599905
224907
Osborne Street
R
599993
225016
Priory Street
R
599911
225126
Queen Street
R
599900
225086
Queen Street
R
599969
225153
Queen Street
R
599912
225036
Queen Street Bus Garage
R
599684
225190
Red Lion Yard
R
599490
225223
Ryegate Road
R
599391
225235
North Hill
R
599475
225016
Sir Isaacs Walk
R
599427
225005
Sir Isaacs Walk
R
599461
225260
St George's Hall
R
599287
225078
St Mary's Church
R
599301
225056
St Mary's Churchyard
R
599286
225033
Church Street
R
599297
225114
St Mary's Rectory
R
599303
225155
St Mary's Rectory
R
599179
225124
St Mary's Road
R
599646
225444
Stockwell Street
R
599259
225111
1/96a
Mercury Theatre
R
599299
225133
6/97a
Mercury Theatre
R
599265
225124
1/96a
Mercury Theatre
R
599281
225129
1970
Mercury Theatre
R
599271
225127
1970
Mercury Theatre
331
APPENDICES
ELM1020
ELM1019
ELM1023
ELM1024
ELM383
ELM385
ELM256
ELM1041
ELM392
ELM342
ELM266
ELM271
ELM413
ELM414
ELM373
ELM444
ELM518
ELM922
ELM1097
ELM1082
ELM1077
ELM1073
ELM1064
ELM519
ELM670
ELM514
ELM777
ELM983
ELM984
ELM985
ELM1048
ELM452
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
R
599267
225127
1970
Mercury Theatre
R
599263
225127
1970
Mercury Theatre
R
599264
225164
1970
Mercury Theatre
R
599267
225166
1970
Mercury Theatre
R
599546
225079
Trinity Street
R
599611
225018
Trinity Street
R
599700
225522
Trusloves Yard
R
Union Grounds (not plotted)
R
599796
225066
Victoria Place
R
599765
225115
Weslian Chapel
R
599563
225335
West Stockwell Street
R
599567
225352
West Stockwell Street
R
599852
225114
Wire Street Arcade
R
599877
225105
Wire Street Arcade
R
599282
225024
St Mary's Cottage
R
599166
225045
Manor Road
R
599957
225415
Castle Park
R
599279
225108
St Mary's Rectory site
R
599351
225080
Head Street Post Office
R
599961
225393
Castle Park
R
599991
225487
Castle Park
R
599979
225479
Castle Park
R
599791
225455
Castle Park
R
599956
225415
Castle Park
R
599435
225416
North Hill
R
599963
225432
Castle Park
R
599106
225104
Crowhurst Road
R
599515
225352
Insula 11
R
599509
225346
Insula 11
R
599514
225343
Insula 11
R
599967
225184
Queen Street
R
Papillon Road
15
15
15
15
332
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON823
MON865
MON774
MON775
MON437
FND265
FND176
ELM1027
ELM971
ELM540
ELM1250
ELM1252
ELM1251
ELM532
ELM527
ELM1248
ELM1249
ELM537
ELM538
MON570
MON508
FND161
ELM733
ELM615
ELM45
ELM44
ELM24
ELM21
ELM230
ELM231
ELM227
ELM787
ELM857
ELM1008
ELM742
ELM307
ELM1007
ELM1009
ELM1010
ELM781
ELM940
ELM771
ELM221
ELM222
ELM223
ELM739
ELM738
ELM13
ELM793
ELM822
ELM308
ELM823
ELM241
pavement
tessellated
pavement
tessellated
pavement?
theatre
tile clamp
tile kiln
tile kiln
tile kiln
tile kiln
tomb
tomb
tomb
tomb
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
tombstone
town wall
triumphal arch
vase
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
ELM925
ELM15
ELM16
ELM14
wall
wall
wall
wall
ELM1160
ELM284
R
North Hill
R
599420
225227
St Peter's Church
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599736
598540
598329
598326
598592
598218
598725
598636
598454
599085
225377
225310
226406
226405
225802
226227
224819
224878
224941
224874
Maidenburgh Street
Sheepen
Moat Farm, Lexden
Moat Farm, Lexden
Sheepen
nr Lexden Lodge Farm
CRGS (carved head of a woman)
Beverely Road
Highfield, Lexden Road
Wellesley Road
Balkerne Hill (fragment)
St John's Abbey Wall
West Lodge
Beverley Road, (Longinus)
Beverley Road (Facilis)
CRGS
Essex and Colchester Hospital
Hospital Lexden Road
Manor Road
R
R
R
R
598588
598642
224839
224825
598864
598963
224872
225009
599231
598737
599287
598646
599303
599312
599690
599671
599998
599965
599405
599497
598934
599369
599009
599470
599394
599376
599371
599611
599800
599334
599607
599606
599607
599478
225194
225025
225023
225285
225299
225291
225183
225284
225254
225247
225001
225161
225018
225370
225047
225181
225178
225373
225370
225048
225224
225219
225228
225227
225227
225229
599649
598511
600214
599486
600012
599329
225245
224904
225250
225184
225045
225307
599600
599600
599601
225241
225242
225239
Balkerne Gate
The Oaks, Lexden Road
St Mary's Cottage
Sheepen
Gilberd School
Gilberd School
Vineyard Press Site
nr East Hill House
nr Hollytrees, High Street
High Street
High Street
25
Manor Road
North Hill
9b
Manor Road
High Street
Head Street
North Hill
North Hill
Trinity Street
High Street
Balkerne Gardens
West Stockwell Street
West Stockwell Street
West Stockwell St (foundation)
William's & Griffin (foundation)
William's & Griffin (foundation)
(foundations with hollow flue tile)
24 Lexden Road (foundations)
East Hill (foundations)
High Street (foundations)
Priory Street (foundations)
St Peter's Vicarage garden North
Hill (foundations)
Long Wire Street
West Stockwell Street
West Stockwell Street
West Stovkwell Street
36
37
14
RIB205
RIB207
RIB206
RIB201
RIB200
RIB202
RIB204
RIB203
333
APPENDICES
ELM891
ELM935
ELM890
ELM1105
ELM185
ELM1271
ELM722
ELM907
ELM1246
ELM322
ELM1241
ELM1267
ELM912
ELM716
ELM928
ELM685
ELM1094
ELM745
ELM746
ELM709
ELM608
ELM762
ELM796
ELM957
ELM956
ELM958
ELM923
ELM921
ELM943
ELM898
ELM899
ELM696
ELM411
ELM412
ELM229
ELM1005
ELM235
ELM305
ELM812
ELM920
ELM1109
ELM461
ELM776
ELM772
ELM773
ELM774
ELM775
ELM1067
ELM1068
ELM1070
ELM1069
ELM916
ELM924
ELM687
ELM1065
ELM1066
ELM1106
ELM409
ELM410
ELM673
ELM674
ELM1016
ELM236
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599493
599491
599502
599826
599643
225298
225332
225301
225139
225073
599447
599273
225414
225125
599298
599765
599790
599847
599311
599923
599923
599411
598719
599757
599971
599661
599662
599661
599276
599274
599490
600003
600003
599625
599873
599859
599936
599830
600028
599440
599000
599274
599288
599367
599333
599334
599337
599350
599350
599994
599999
600012
600012
599285
599281
599800
599786
599991
599814
599867
599869
225136
225180
225080
225228
225723
225095
225095
225405
225266
225346
225151
225160
225156
225165
225107
225108
225349
225065
225063
225145
225108
225122
225124
225159
225277
225182
224920
225108
225449
224983
225227
225214
225213
225232
225228
225521
225522
225509
225524
225141
225109
225196
225455
225521
225291
225106
225110
599628
599480
600027
225224
225214
225276
Telephone Exchange Site
Telephone Exchange Site
Long Wyre Street
Lion Walk
Trinity Street
North Hill
Mercury Theatre
North Hill
nr Victoria Inn PH
Colchester Institute
nr Victoria Inn PH
Mercury Theatre
St Nicholas Passage
Co-op, Long Wire Street
98–99 High Street
Old Poultry Site
Queen Street
Queen Street
North Hill
Sheepen
Maidenbugh Street
Queen Street
Marks & Spencers?
Marks & Spencers?
Marks & Spencers?
St Mary's Rectory site (S+J2309)
St Mary's Rectory site
Telephone Exchange
Bus Garage Queen Street
Bus Garage Queen Street
Culver Street
Long Wire Street Arcade
Long Wire Street Arcade
Queen Street
Culver Street
Winsley's House
High Street
Hospital Gardens
St Mary's Rectory site
Sixth Form College
Bull Hotel
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Balkerne Gardens
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Mercury Theatre
St Mary's Rectory site
St Nicholas's Church
Castle Park
Castle Park
Temple of Claudius Precinct
Long Wire St Arcade
Long Wire St Arcade
High Street
High Street
Williams & Griffin
Winsley's House
18
10
11
31
25a
10
30
334
ELM306
ELM756
ELM641
ELM836
ELM835
ELM830
ELM832
ELM833
ELM842
ELM841
ELM827
ELM741
ELM46
ELM17
ELM609
ELM908
ELM1247
ELM294
ELM290
ELM893
ELM892
ELM1191
ELM1047
ELM602
ELM1046
ELM880
ELM879
ELM817
ELM1257
ELM1075
ELM1079
ELM1081
ELM1074
ELM1076
ELM1080
ELM1083
ELM1071
ELM754
ELM757
ELM760
ELM766
ELM12
ELM11
ELM10
ELM516
ELM513
ELM512
ELM604
ELM814
ELM744
ELM743
ELM1072
ELM813
ELM627
ELM628
ELM508
ELM48
ELM509
ELM522
ELM523
ELM517
ELM520
ELM521
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599454
600043
599537
599988
599988
599989
599989
599988
599987
599988
599989
600003
599304
225184
225140
225499
225080
225076
225067
225069
225073
225097
225085
225063
225104
225293
598714
599803
225283
225036
599461
599579
599488
599489
225024
225276
225307
225306
598712
599796
599365
225261
225250
225274
599989
599486
599995
600006
600009
599989
599998
600003
599961
599975
600042
600044
600049
600023
599697
599698
599698
599957
599962
599961
598722
600024
600003
600007
599972
600022
600166
600170
599916
599354
599923
599957
599958
599956
599955
599956
225061
225341
225487
225473
225479
225478
225478
225479
225388
225471
225143
225128
225079
225058
225235
225244
225235
225419
225433
225443
225261
225416
225120
225107
225469
225533
225184
225184
225546
225535
225542
225385
225379
225418
225413
225390
DTC 1975
1931
1931
1931
1931
1931
1931
1931
1931
1950
GBS 84–5
High Street
Queen Street Bus Station
Dutch Quarter
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Eastern National Bus Depot
Lewis's Gardens site
Gilberd School Site
East Stockwell Street
Sheepen
Eld Lane
Balkerne Lane
Culver Street
St Runwalds Street
Telephone Exchange Site
Telephone Exchange Site
Manor Road
Queen Street
Sheepen
Maidenburgh Street
North Hill
North Hill
Eastern National Bus Depot
Telephone Exchange
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Queen St Bus Station
Queen St Bus Station
Queen St Bus Station
Queen St Bus Station
High Street
High Street
High Street
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Sheepen
Castle Park
Lewis' s Garden Site
Lewis' s Garden Site (Insula 39)
Castle Park, 1927/8
Castle Park
Mulberry Tree Family Centre
Castle Park
Middleborough
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
164
18
18
17b
17b
10
15
15
15
15
16
39
29
8
15
15
15
15
15
335
APPENDICES
ELM511
ELM507
ELM652
ELM650
ELM651
ELM1108
ELM219
ELM1078
ELM348
ELM752
ELM751
ELM1162
ELM686
ELM3
ELM1104
ELM876
ELM1093
ELM455
ELM298
ELM299
ELM300
ELM945
ELM897
ELM789
ELM790
ELM663
ELM500
ELM788
ELM700
ELM441
ELM442
ELM785
ELM280
ELM1004
ELM491
ELM492
ELM493
ELM494
ELM495
ELM496
ELM497
ELM498
ELM351
ELM723
ELM460
ELM324
ELM339
ELM347
ELM361
ELM362
ELM363
ELM353
ELM505
ELM721
ELM734
ELM735
ELM791
ELM457
ELM328
ELM1116
ELM346
ELM372
ELM378
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599960
599918
599837
225447
225549
225187
599836
599428
599944
599999
599737
600042
600041
225181
225411
225166
225477
225154
225148
225151
599802
599632
599827
599382
599343
599117
599750
599753
599754
599085
599415
599834
599837
598218
599392
599642
599877
599165
599208
599891
599991
599968
599796
599807
599814
599808
599796
599793
225197
225203
225158
225277
225697
225119
225231
225235
225236
225081
225442
225146
225143
225204
225064
225327
225200
225422
225442
225234
225353
225348
225093
225095
225096
225102
225100
225099
599794
599799
599946
599266
599590
599672
599742
599881
599898
599919
225112
225155
225250
224969
225151
225155
225156
225169
225171
225174
599557
599447
599287
599273
599760
598900
599542
598844
599799
599349
599400
225238
225416
225027
225016
225055
224849
225138
223094
225171
225033
224991
Castle Park
Castle Park
High Street
High Street
High Street
North Hill
Queen Street
Castle Park
nr Potters Dairy
Queen St Bus Station
Queen St Bus Station
St Botolph's Priory
St Nicholas's Church
High Street
Long Wyre Street
North Hill
Old Poultry Site
Crowhurst Road
High Street
High Street
High Street
Rawstorn Road
North Hill
Long Wyre Street
Long Wyre Street
Endsleigh Court
Head Street
West Stockwell Street
High Street
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Castle Inn
Castle Park
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Long Wyre Street
Cowdray Crescent
Crouch Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
High Street
North Hill
St Mary's Cottage
St Mary's Cottage
Eld Lane Baptist Church
Essex County Hospital
Essex County Standard Office
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
St Nicholas's Churchyard
Head Street
Head Street
15
30
17b
30
30
12
22
37
336
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
ELM379
ELM283
ELM322
ELM323
ELM286
ELM433
ELM703
ELM704
ELM705
ELM369
ELM1115
ELM805
ELM806
ELM761
ELM449
ELM676
ELM906
ELM1025
ELM881
ELM882
ELM559
ELM274
ELM344
ELM358
ELM712
ELM472
ELM439
ELM431
ELM437
ELM354
ELM374
ELM503
ELM416
ELM469
ELM352
ELM770
ELM338
ELM225
ELM418
ELM1088
ELM1102
ELM1103
ELM1026
ELM384
ELM359
ELM402
ELM273
ELM377
ELM730
ELM731
ELM732
ELM695
ELM910
ELM1089
ELM345
ELM440
ELM253
ELM386
ELM319
ELM321
ELM325
ELM326
ELM327
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599394
599408
599508
599508
599531
599357
599768
599767
599776
599354
598849
599817
599818
599764
598959
599286
599258
599267
599806
599808
599263
599584
599801
599936
599107
599375
599359
599337
599343
599822
599271
225087
225219
225194
225193
225209
225756
225031
225036
225039
225045
223094
225131
225131
225338
225058
225130
225124
225138
225231
225234
224652
225305
225165
225232
225076
225337
225667
225784
225762
225167
225023
599918
599385
599855
599306
599618
599955
225067
225458
225173
225214
225197
225049
599963
599348
599349
599263
599621
599932
599894
599571
599288
599285
599290
599290
599168
599104
599090
599795
599399
599610
599607
599608
599582
599604
599604
599604
225183
225076
225075
225127
225015
225178
225035
225303
225078
225033
225030
225027
225354
225322
225267
225166
225517
225452
225076
225118
225128
225141
225139
225137
Head Street
High Street
High Street
High Street
High Street
North Station Road
Victoria Place & Eld Lane
Victoria Place & Eld Lane
Victoria Place & Eld Lane
Kings Head PH
Kirkee McMunn Barracks
Long Wire Street
Long Wire Street
Maidenbugh Street
Manor Road
Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
Museum Street
Museum Street
nr Artillery Barracks, Butt Road
nr St Martin's House
nr St Nicholas Church
nr War Memorial
Papillon Road
North Hill
North Bridge
North Station Road
North Station Road
nr Old Cross Keys Inn
nr St Mary's Cottage
Culver Street
Queen Street
North Hill
Culver Street
Balkerne Gardens
Pelham's Lane
Queen St Bus Garrage
Queen Street
Queen Street
Old Post Office
Old Post Office
Mercury Theatre
Scheregate
S. of All Saints Church
St Botolph's Street
St Martins House
St Mary's Church
Church Street
Church Street
Church Street
St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Hospital
St Mary's Hospital
St Nicholas Church
North Hill
Stockwell Street
Trinity Street
Trinity Street
Trinity Street
Trinity Street
Trinity Street
Trinity Street
25a
337
APPENDICES
ELM1049
ELM458
ELM459
ELM391
ELM468
ELM333
ELM849
ELM981
ELM936
ELM187
ELM706
ELM680
ELM992
GRP21
ELM214
ELM175
ELM174
ELM173
ELM109
ELM110
ELM202
ELM108
ELM889
ELM263
ELM484
ELM400
ELM154
ELM153
MON701
ELM846
ELM74
ELM909
ELM133
ELM573
ELM1028
ELM120
ELM66
ELM65
ELM64
ELM341
ELM350
ELM332
ELM117
ELM113
GRP11
MON426
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water main
water tank
water tank
water tank
waterworks?
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
wheel ruts
workshop
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
599111
599148
599175
599775
599454
599710
599584
599513
598113
599548
599412
599387
599451
599843
599466
225274
225232
225280
225065
225187
225165
225432
225354
224617
225102
225404
225202
225345
225194
225107
599192
599192
599214
599189
599475
599187
599496
599542
599808
225165
225165
225171
225164
225083
225081
225298
225115
225122
600003
600578
599296
600161
225376
225279
224792
225679
598662
598995
598839
599286
599282
599261
599524
225759
224663
225694
225578
225571
225570
225166
599632
598824
598513
599495
599196
225153
225583
225798
225054
225120
St Mary's Hospital
Union Grounds
Union Grounds
Victoria Place
White Hart Inn
High Street
Stockwell Arms
11
SPT83
Altnacealgach House
Culver Street
North Hill
North Hill
North Hill (Insula 10)
High Street
Culver Street
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Balkerne Hill
Culver Street
Balkerne Hill
Telephone Exchange Site
Culver Street
Long Wire Street
Culver Street
Balkerne Lane
Balkerne Hill
Castle Park
East Hill
Butt Road
Everetts Brickyard
Sheepen
Sheepen
Maldon Road
Sheepen
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
High Street
Long-Wyre Street
Pelham's Lane
Sheepen
Sheepen
Culver Street
Balkerne Hill
10
60
338
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Gazetteer of early Saxon monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
FND301
FND281
FND282
FND267
ELM595
MON1009
MON1010
MON1008
MON1007
MON48
MON325
FND280
FND285
FND91
GRP13
GRP117
FND279
FND284
FND297
FND239
FND146
FND90
FND172
MON516
MON515
MON610
MON593
ELM973
ELM163
ELM967
FND288
FND116
GRP85
GRP3
FND191
FND171
FND232
FND242
FND234
FND233
FND7
FND148
FND290
FND291
brooch
brooch
brooches
buckle
burial
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
church
churchyard
coin
coin
coin
finds
finds
finds
finds
finds
finds
finds
hut
hut
hut
hut
industrial site?
inhumation
inhumation
knife
loom weight
pit
pit
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
pottery
finds
finds
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
FND82
FND84
FND289
seax
seax
spear
S
S
S
FND287
spearhead
S
FND88
FND286
spearhead
spearhead
S
S
E
N
site codes
599275 224813
599985 224610
599622 225219
599630 225352
599561 225231
1950
1973–6
600092 225604
599428 225410
599955
599657
599688
599541
599480
599488
599215
600091
224588
225109
225066
225105
225079
225413
225237
225601
599381
599474
599631
600031
599623
599462
599490
599474
599500
599633
599281
225018
225322
225253
224841
225335
225329
225409
225312
225331
225254
225032
599764 225656
1925
1965
AGY 86/9
notes
Magdalen Street
Head Street
Union House
Butt Lane Sand Pit
Fairfax Road
Butt Road Sandpit
Guilford Road Estate
Mersea Road
Union Grounds
St Runwald's Church
St Martin's Churchyard
Queen Street
Castle Park
Colchester
Cups Hotel
Lorgarth, North Hill
Castle Park
Balkerne Hill)
22–24 High Street
outside NE circuit of town
18 North Hill
10 Mersea Road
Mersea Road
Hut 2, Lion Walk
Hut 1, Lion Walk
Culver Street
Culver Street
NCP Car Park, Nunn’s Road
Balkerne Hill
outside NE corner of town
River Colne
Head Street
NCP Car Park, Nunn's Road
Angel Yard
Magdalen Street
St Martin's Church
North Hill
Logarth, North Hill
North Hill
Telephone Exchange
Angel Yard
St Mary's Cottage
Joslin Collection
Spears and shield boss,
Colchester
Seax Blade, River Colne
Seax, River Colne
Spear from 'Anglo-Saxon
cemetery' nr Colchester
Spearhead was found in
Colchester
Spearhead, Colchester
Spearhead, Union
339
APPENDICES
FND12
FND4
FND89
MON958
MON957
FND81
FND108
ELM1237
FND15
spindle whorl
strap end
strap end
street
street
sword
urn
urn
pottery
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
599305 224820
601343 224672
599617
599768
599761
599949
225443
225359
225663
224515
LWC 71–5
Butt Road
Hythe Hill
Colchester
Stockwell Street
Maidenburgh Street
found in river at Colchester
Meanee Barracks
Meanee Barracks
Lion Walk
Gazetteer of late Saxon monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
FND86
FND87
FND85
ELM949
ELM948
MON824
MON345
MON340
MON336
MON341
FND292
MON512
FND103
ELM961
ELM962
ELM963
ELM964
ELM965
FND262
FND152
GRP30
MON954
MON955
MON961
MON964
MON965
FND237
axe
axe
axe
burial
burial
chapel
church
church
church
churchyard
disc
ditch
fitting
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
pottery
pottery
slots
street
street
street
street
street
wall
LS
LS
LS
LS?
LS?
LS
LS
LS
LS?+D2589
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS?
LS?
LS?
LS?
LS?
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
E
N
599807
599808
599875
599888
599616
599433
599616
225300
225297
225288
224790
225113
225233
225095
599863
599798
599799
599799
599803
599800
599414
600071
599847
599341
599382
599577
599938
599607
599877
225280
225382
225382
225375
225374
225372
225439
225131
225227
225117
225007
225144
225134
225099
225287
site codes
1964
notes
River Colne
River Colne
River Colne
Maidenburgh Street
Maidenburgh Street
Castle bailey l
St John's
Holy Trinity
St Peter's
Holy Trinity
Morant Road (ivory disc)
11th-century Town Ditch
Castle Park (mount)
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
Castle Park
North Hill (Thetford ware sherd)
Mr Lewis's Garden site (Thetford-type ware sherd)
Temple of Claudius precinct wall (element group)
Church Street
Church walk
Culver Street
Queen Street (Southgate Street)
Trinity Street
Castle Bailey Chapel (wall plaster)
340
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Gazetteer of early medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
E
N
MON367
MON1027
MON764
MON678
MON676
MON825
MON923
MON922
MON55
MON57
MON58
MON54
MON56
MON381
MON611
MON613
MON331
MON348
MON332
MON347
MON968
MON995
MON333
MON650
MON494
MON641
ELM938
ELM939
ELM725
ELM726
FND298
MON288
MON760
MON609
MON382
MON989
MON378
MON375
GRP11
GRP21
MON976
MON354
MON994
MON305
MON346
MON353
MON327
MON281
MON344
MON324
MON342
MON329
MON371
MON334
MON328
MON377
MON286
MON330
MON372
MON991
abbey
alley
bailey rampart
bailey rampart
bailey rampart
barbican
bridge
bridge
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
building
burial
burial
burial
burial
canister
casting pit
castle
cellar
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cemetery
cess pit
cess pit
chapel
chapel
chapel
chapel
chapel
chapel
church
church
church
church
church
church
church
church
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M?
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
599767
224693
599871
225405
599938
599858
600683
599366
599632
599618
599615
599626
599639
599101
599485
599471
225539
225291
225289
225655
225241
225261
225274
225253
225263
224945
225048
225028
599378
599374
600582
225551
225565
224797
599375
600004
599694
599559
599991
599993
599275
599275
225564
224797
225002
225228
224983
224983
225029
225028
599302
599881
599417
599122
225274
225315
225062
224949
599850
599895
599495
599843
599337
599664
224788
224794
225054
225194
225066
224794
599759
601151
599672
599930
601924
600581
599604
599824
600152
597139
599775
599911
599784
601908
600137
597148
225388
225414
224799
225205
224992
224836
225349
224817
225241
225112
225197
225186
224807
225006
225247
225152
site codes
1.81
1.81
MSC 74
LWC 71–5
GBS 84–5
1.81
11/86a, 12/84, 3/83
SPT83
notes
St John's Abbey
Childwell Alley
Colchester Castle Bailey Rampart
Outer bailey bank of Colchester Castle
Outer bailey ditch of Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle Barbican
East Bridge, Colchester
North Bridge, Colchester
High Street
High Street
West Stockwell Street
Angel Court, High Street
High Street
Crouch Street
Culver Street
Culver Street
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Part of Leper Hospital, St Mary Magdalen's
Part of Leper Hospital, St Mary Magdalen's
Middleborouugh I
Magdalen Street
Lion Walk
Cups Hotel Site
St Botolph's Priory
St Botolph's Priory
Church Street
Church Street
High Street
Gilberd School Site
Colchester Castle
Cellar at Culver Street
Crouched Friars
Grey Friars
St John's Abbey monks burial ground
St John's Church
Culver Street
High Street
St Andrew's Chapel
St Thomas's Chapel
Maudlin Chapel
St Helen's Chapel, Maidenburgh Street
St Anne's Chapel
St Mary's Chapel
All Saints Church
Church of St Andrews, Greenstead
St Mary Magdalen's Church (demolished)
St Martin's Church
St Giles's Church
St James's Church
St Leonard's Church
St Nicholas's Church (demolished)
All Saints Churchyard
St Giles's Churchyard
St Andrews Churchyard, Greenstead.
St James's Churchyard
St Leonard's Churchyard
St Mary Magdalens Churchyard
CAT B / other
129
75
76
33
341
APPENDICES
MON339
MON940
MON335
MON337
MON389
MON992
MON19
GRP120
ELM1189
ELM59
MON679
ELM1058
ELM1059
ELM1014
GRP9
MON264
GRP9
MON262
MON263
MON820
MON927
MON926
MON566
MON826
GRP56
CC2566
ELM1195
GRP3
FND296
FND218
MON649
MON978
MON492
MON383
MON981
MON980
MON98
MON953
MON914
MON36
MON643
MON166
MON975
ELM181
ELM56
ELM675
ELM53
ELM54
ELM55
MON1046
MON350
MON351
MON360
MON361
MON362
MON363
MON365
MON366
MON349
MON1047
MON747
MON972
MON41
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
churchyard
cultivation plot
ditch
ditch
ditch
drain
drain
drain
drain
ducking stool
fence
fish pond
gallows
gate
gate
gate
glass kiln
hall
hearth
hearth
hearth
hearth
hoard
hoard
hollow way
hospital
house
house
house
house
house
house
watermill
house
house
house
house
infant burial
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
inhumation
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln
kiln?
lane
lane
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
599247
225067
599772
599417
599583
599297
601267
225171
225261
225270
226740
224722
597953
599897
599876
599885
599879
599932
599882
600549
599882
600574
600548
599820
599713
599621
599381
599883
599892
224828
224793
225424
224877
224880
224925
224874
223813
224874
223793
223808
225241
225540
225006
225241
225263
225237
11/85b
599631
225253
AGY 86/9
599560
600008
599370
225177
224797
224950
599115
599611
599516
599753
599398
599200
599705
599558
599639
600116
599676
599372
599625
599347
599348
599368
224942
225198
225231
225206
225357
225757
225210
225244
225416
225358
225128
225540
225224
225569
225566
225552
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
599346
599345
599358
599356
599364
599341
599345
599347
599349
225547
225548
225550
225551
225551
225543
225542
225541
225541
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
MID 78
599287
600239
599619
225029
225332
225192
?
CPS 73–74
MID 78
St Mary's at the Walls Churchyard
St Michael's Church, Mile End (demolished)
St Nicholas' Churchyard
St Peter's Churchyard
St Runwald's Graveyard
Churchyard of St Michael
St Leonard's Churchyard+I2585
High Street
Norman Way
St John's Church
Castle Inner Bailey Ditch
Osborne Street
Osborne Street
St Botolph's Street
Osborne Street Car Park
Bourne Ponds
Osborne Street Car Park
Bourne Mill Fish Pond
Bourne Ponds
Dunbarr Gate, Museum Street
Ryegate
Scheregate, site of Medieval gateway
Simkin's Shop, North Hill
Castle Park
Castle Inn
Manor Road
Angel Yard
Angel Yard
High Street
Silver Pennies of Henry I – III, High Street
Grub Street, Magdalen Street
St Cross Hospital
Lion Walk
House of the Crouched or Crutched Friars
Pelham's Lane
Foundry Yard
No 56 & 57 High Street
North Hill
North Mill, River Colne
Site of medieval house and cellars at 48–49 High Street
Stone house at the Cups Hotel Site
30 (formerly 30–32) East Stockwell Street
House of the Greyfriars
Lion Walk
Middleborough
High Street
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Trinity Street
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Middleborough
Trinity Street
Church Street
Land Lane
Whitefotes Lane
28
342
MON963
FND49
MON376
MON498
MON495
MON677
MON496
MON497
MON499
MON289
MON507
MON506
MON500
MON502
MON503
MON504
MON501
MON505
MON935
MON49
MON265
MON27
MON915
MON916
MON917
MON913
MON1049
MON1050
MON261
MON862
MON974
ELM314
ELM316
ELM315
ELM75
GRP53
GRP1
GRP126
GRP15
GRP77
GRP6
GRP100
GRP104
GRP2
GRP83
GRP46
GRP3
GRP11
GRP29
GRP80
MON28
FND299
FND155
MON369
MON364
MON942
MON969
MON973
MON977
MON970
MON1025
MON1026
MON971
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
lane
lead token
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
lime kiln
manor
shambles
mill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
mill pond
moat
moot hall
oven
oven
oven
oven
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pit
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
pits
plinth
port
pottery
pottery
precinct wall
priory
road
road
road
school
street
street
street
street
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M?
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
599707
600948
599828
599713
599664
599960
599751
599754
599685
599307
599687
599687
599686
599683
599684
599685
599682
599686
597676
599652
600566
601440
599720
600680
597296
600297
225394
225900
224798
225141
225094
225348
225120
225124
225026
225274
225027
225029
225031
225026
225028
225029
225027
225026
226237
225223
223842
224854
225647
225348
225711
225969
600542
597634
599584
599557
599489
599548
599304
599596
599675
599460
599945
599910
599347
599897
599414
599671
599791
599483
599631
599495
599390
599300
601504
223845
226235
225225
225108
225060
225115
224847
225453
225285
225161
225537
225383
225551
225308
225439
225299
225081
225224
225253
225054
225202
225126
224691
599595
599895
599961
601723
599262
598799
599332
599909
225457
224831
224969
224878
224676
225755
225065
224899
599746
224908
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
BBS 84–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
LWC 71–5
1958
12/89b
8/76a
CAP83
1950
MID 78
12/89,
3/94a
1964
12/97e
3/83,
AGY 86/9
4/97b
6/97a
99/04d
STG 75
St Helen's Lane
Ipswich Road
St Giles's Graveyard
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Castle Park
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Gilberd School Site
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lion Walk
Lexden Manor
Middle Row
Bourne Mill, old mill now demolished
Hythe Mill
Middle Mill, River Colne
East Mill, River Colne
Corn Mill, north of Lexden Bridge
Stokes Mill
Hull Mill
Cannock Mill
Bourne Mill Pond
Lexden Lodge Farm Moat
High Street
Oven, Culver Street
Oven, Culver Street
Oven, Culver Street
Oven, Butt Road
Stockwell
Vineyard Press site
High Street
Castle Park
Castle Park
Middleborough
Castle Park
North Hill
East Stockwell Street
Long Wire Street Co-op
Williams & Griffin
Angel Yard
Culver Street
North Hill
Element Group Mercury Theatre Evaluation
Port at the Hythe
Hythe Hill
Pottery from Stockwell Street
Precinct wall of St John's Abbey
St Botolph's Priory
Greenstead Road
Butt Road
Sheepen Road
School near St Mary's Church
St Botolph's Street
St John's Street
St Peter's Street
Stanwell Street
343
APPENDICES
MON1019
MON962
MON510
MON960
MON959
MON952
MON956
MON859
MON44
MON511
MON43
MON509
MON966
MON1002
MON1003
MON1003
MON1004
ELM176
ELM177
ELM4
ELM5
ELM6
ELM7
ELM60
ELM19
ELM35
ELM797
ELM737
ELM1
ELM32
ELM33
ELM1006
ELM941
ELM942
ELM896
MON908
ELM786
ELM711
ELM226
ELM467
ELM1159
ELM27
ELM476
ELM718
ELM719
ELM720
FND156
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
street
synagogue
trackway
trackway
trackway
trackway
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
well
worked stone
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M?
M?
M?
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M?
M?
M?
M
599210
225274
599824
600200
599402
600307
599151
599669
225074
225093
225108
225264
224973
225241
599607
225232
599591
225309
599888
599886
599657
599646
599641
599636
599837
599629
599607
224884
224880
225231
225230
225230
225230
224798
225226
225256
599448
601474
599629
599627
599385
599814
599818
599434
601145
599493
599431
599511
599978
224996
224612
225249
225259
225193
225235
225242
225417
225417
225165
225406
225315
225228
599683
599792
599553
599555
599558
599653
225266
225138
224946
224946
224946
224967
DOC
Abbeygate Street
Balkerne Hill
Lion Walk (Early Medieval Street)
Long Wyre Street
Priory Street
Head Street
East Hill, East Street
Crouch Street
East Stockwell Street
Eld Lane
West Stockwell Street
Vineyard Street ('Bere Lane')
East or West Stockwell Street
Trackway, south of Colne & Lexden Lodge (Moat) Farm
Trackway, south of Colne & Lexden Lodge (Moat) Farm
Trackway, south of Colne & Lexden Lodge (Moat) Farm
Trackway, south of Colne & Lexden Lodge (Moat) Farm
Osborne Street
Osborne Street
High Street
High Street
High Street
High Street
St John's Abbey
High Street
West Stockwell Street
St John's Abbey Grounds
Cameo Cinema
Hythe
Angel Yard
Angel Yard
Head Street
Museum Street
Museum Street
North Hill
St Anne's Holy Well, Harwich Road
High Street
North Hill
West Stockwell Street
High Street
King Coel's Pump or Town Well, High Street
Vineyard Press site
Long Wire Street
St John's Street Car Park
St John's Street Car Park
St John's Street Car Park
Stanwell Street
344
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Gazetteer of the significant late medieval
buildings of Colchester
by Dave Stenning
The more significant, or better preserved and understood,
timber-framed buildings in the town are briefly described
and their salient features highlighted. These descriptions
should help illustrate points made in the discussion above
(see pages 269–71) and also answer the question: What
are the links between standing buildings and the evidence
from excavations? These unquestionably exist, yet the two
types of evidence do not readily agree or complement each
other. This is partly because the excavations relate to the
floors and the fittings set in or on them, none of which
survive today.
Rose and Crown Hotel, East Street (MON277)
As a building of the late 13th or early 14th century, the Rose
and Crown is likely to be the oldest surviving timber-framed
building in Colchester (Menuge 1997). An aisled structure
of three unequal bays, that to the west was originally
floored and, on the ground floor, opened to the relatively
long central bay. The carpentry includes passing braces,
notched-lap joints and scarf-joints of the splayed, tabled
and under-squinted type, all commensurate with an early
date. However, some timbers are curved and the passingbraces are of the later type that terminates at the tie-beams.
Whether this building was a domestic open-hall is open to
question, and the relative small size and poor quality of the
timbers might suggest a lower-status use.
In the late medieval period, the ‘hall’ was floored and
raised in height and a small cross-wing superimposed over
the western bay. To the east is a single jettied and gabled
extension, probably originally in separate ownership.
Interpretation of this intriguing complex is seriously
hindered by the speculative restoration of the 1930s.
No. 7 Trinity Street (MON196)
No.7 forms part of a bewildering complex of old buildings,
presently occupied by a solicitor’s office. The part in question
is set back from the street frontage and contains the arched
entrance to Tymperleys yard. Currently, only the remarkable
roof is visible, but the overall proportions suggest a small,
but impressive, open hall. Of two equal bays, the roof
has queen-posts of cross-quadrate crown-post type and
double-ogee moulded triangular section purlins. Clearly not
the work of a vernacular carpenter, this roof would look
more at home in Norfolk or north Suffolk and evidently
was the product of a high-status craftsman. Despite the
limited evidence, it seems reasonable to suggest that no. 7
represents the elegant remains of a public building of the
late 15th or early 16th centuries.
Nos. 7–9 Queen Street (MON187)
This is a relatively early, possibly late 14th-century, two-bay
cross-wing that was partially exposed during repair works
in 1988. The pair of service doors, in the conventional
location, is of ‘durn’ type, half of the arched head and one
jamb being shaped out of a single timber. The front bay was
a shop, with a window with a central post dividing it into
two half-arches and a narrow, so-called ‘coffin’, door with
conventional arched head.
No. 8 Trinity Street (MON197)
Abutting the south-west corner of no. 6 (see below) is a
high-quality cross-wing of probable 15th-century date. All
that is now visible is a very complete roof and exposed
framing on the north flank wall. The former has a central
octagonal crown post with a moulded capital and base,
and short high-mounted braces somewhat Suffolk-like in
character. The central truss was open, with an arched-braced
tie-beam, suggestive of a former solar. Both ends were
gabled, with that to the east having tension braces, indicating
that it was publicly visible. The flank wall is of uncertain
credibility, but contains one wide and one narrow arched
timber head, unfortunately partially obscured. A shop front
seems possible, but both the location and the position on
the buildings throw doubt on this interpretation. A short
distance east of the cross-wing, a further tie-beam with a
solid knee-like brace can just be detected. Either there was
a further bay or, more likely, the wing was later extended
forward, towards the present street frontage.
No. 39 East Hill (MON238)
This is a late medieval, two-bay, jettied, cross-wing with a
crown-post roof. The hall was to the east where Rosemary
Avenue now intervenes. Good evidence remains for an
overshot cross-passage and an original shop front, with at
least one arch-headed (?door) opening.
No. 93 Hythe Hill (MON11)
A late medieval, jettied (now underbuilt) two-bay crosswing with evidence for a shop front, it is probably of
overshot cross-passage type. It has a longitudinally-braced
crown-post roof. The exposed first-floor front framing has
Colchester tension braces and a large window. Evidence for
a hall parallel to the street consists of the end crown post
of its roof on the flank top plate, with a brace towards the
cross-wing.
No. 98 Hythe Hill (MON13)
A mid- to late 14th-century jettied cross-wing, this was
probably originally of three bays with an overshot crosspassage. The front room was a shop, possibly the earliest
surviving in the town, with a window of two half-arches
divided by a central post. The front door had a two-piece
two-centred arch of steep early form. The second bay had
joists aligned across the width. The studs of the partition
for the service room wall are tenoned into a separate
header plate set beneath the joists. There are splayed scarf
APPENDICES
joists with under-squinted abutments in both flanking wall
plates and the collar purlins. The surviving crown-post has
broad, gently curving braces to the collar purlin. The spered
opening is of conventional form, moulded towards the hall.
The adjacent half of no. 97 appears to have been a very
narrow, single-bay hall, and the right-hand half a repeat
of no. 98. This would suggest the interesting possibility
of a semi-detached pair of speculative units akin to the
Wealden semi-detached pairs found in Maldon (Andrews
and Stenning 1996) and widespread south of the Thames.
Bay House, West Stockwell Street (MON160)
This house currently has the appearance of two adjoining
cross-wings. That to the right (east) is jettied, of two bays,
and of probable overshot cross-passage type, with a hall to
the east. The widely spaced studs and thick, almost straight,
crown-post braces suggest a 14th-century date. The lefthand wing was built against and is substantially reliant on
the older wing for parts of the party wall. Despite first
impressions, this wing seems to be the parlour/solar of a
Wealden house that later had a gable superimposed. This
two-bayed structure now seems to be the only example of
this popular building type to survive in Colchester.
No. 3 West Stockwell Street (MON40)
This 15th-century merchant’s house is one of the most
conspicuous and photographed medieval buildings in the
town. It provides an interesting example of standard local
carpentry features, such as posts without jowls and studto-stud tension bracing allied to interesting variations on
standard plan forms.
Viewed from the street, it appears as two side-by-side
and jettied cross-wings, all of a single build. Such an
arrangement is unusual. A superficially similar looking
structure in Lavenham High Street is the only obvious
parallel that comes to mind. As is so often the case, it has
been thoroughly restored, but with more sensitivity than
usual. Looking at the exterior, the twin gables and first
floors appear to be reasonably reliable, with the traceried
windows, based on a surviving example, in the left of the
left-hand wing. The 45-degree pitches of the gables seem
an early example of pitch reduction, which is more often
a 16th-century feature. The ground floor retains its pair of
entrance openings and its major posts, with attractive and
unusual carved angel imposts at the corners. Unfortunately,
the fenestration seems to be pure invention, making for
difficulties in interpreting the function of the ground-floor
front rooms.
What is not immediately apparent is that the contemporary
hall also survives to the north, behind a disguise of plain
render. This was short and tall, and of two extremely
unequal bays. It has been thoroughly remodelled inside.
What do survive are: a crown-post collar purlin, one baydefining storey post and remnants of a moulded top plate.
345
The last, a real high-quality feature, is exactly matched over
the spered opening to the adjoining cross-wing. The pair
of adjoining cross-wings share a relatively deep plan form
and some complexity of internal sub-division. This led the
carpenter to take liberties with the customary coincidence
of structure and room shapes. Generally, a cross-wing can
be described as being of a finite number of structural bays,
with rooms defined by these divisions. Here, storey posts
and tie-beams appear in less logical locations, reflecting the
primacy of the internal planning.
The left-hand (northern) wing contains an overshot
cross-passage adjoining the hall. This opened to the latter,
with a spered opening of particularly unusual form, most
reminiscent of Lowes hardware shop in the Market Place
at Thaxted (Stenning 1986). Normally, and elsewhere in
Colchester, the spered opening is spanned by a continuous
side girt, supported on flanking spere posts. Here, one
side is supported on a full two-storey-post and the girt is
spectacularly cambered. This cross-wing flank survives more
completely than other parts of the complex, displaying
superimposed, paired, tension braces of subtly doublecurved (ogee) form. Traces also survive of a muntin-rail
screen, of Kentish type, and normally only encountered in
north-west Essex.
The cross-passage is a particularly sophisticated example
with no less than four four-centred ‘door heads’ (the rear one
now missing) across its width, effectively suggesting front
and rear porches. Originally, the first-floor joists projected
out beyond the jetty line, forming a flat-roofed external
canopy, as at the Ancient House, Thetford, and a number
of examples in York.
This cross-wing is spatially of a two-bay format with two
more or less equal rooms on each floor. These are accessed
from a pair of arched door openings in the flank of the
cross-passage, spaced unusually a short distance apart. The
first gave onto the ground-floor front room which, in view
of its location, was likely to have been a shop. The second
provided access to the rear rooms and also, by a stair trap,
to the upper rear room. This first-floor room would appear
to have served as an anteroom to a solar in the front.
Uniquely, this cross-wing has a second undershot passage
on its other, southern flank, reducing severely the width of
the ground floor rooms. Narrower than the main entrance
passage, it seems to have served as an access to the rear and
for entry to the right-hand wing. The evidence suggests
that this was an entirely separate unit of accommodation,
presumably occupied by a tenant. Spatially, if not structurally,
this seems to have contained a two-bay front room on each
floor, with an additional smaller space to the rear.
Sadly, the rear part of both cross-wings has been seriously
disturbed, this being where early 20th-century function
took priority over scrupulous restoration. However, the
format of side passage and three bays is a reasonably
familiar one, exemplified in Essex in the former Cock Inn in
346
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Thaxted. This type forms one of the standard, truly urban,
accommodation units with limited domestic space over, and
to the rear of, a ground-floor shop. On occasions the rear
bay formed a small open hall, as at The Cock and in other
examples in the West Midlands. Interestingly, the southern
flank wall is partially open-framed, indicating the presence
of a pre-existing earlier building on the plot to the south.
Access in this wing to the upper floor was gained via a stair
trap in the rear part of the main front room, providing
evidence of the possibility of a full-height open hall in the
rear part. It seems conceivable that there may well have
been two similar adjoining buildings of this type within that
complex of fragments that now comprises the Minories Art
Gallery in Colchester High Street.
All of the accommodation so far described appears to be
of a single build. In addition, a short time later, a two-bay
structure was erected, abutting the low end of the hall in
the corner formed by the overlapping cross-wing. It is now
unclear whether this was of one or two storeys, as the issue is
confused by an abrupt change in ground level. What remains
visible is a simple crown-post roof and a central arch-braced
open truss. The location would suggest a possible kitchen
and there are very slight traces of possible soot-blackening
of the roof timbers.
No. 3 West Stockwell Street is thus a building of exceptional interest and one that still provides a vivid insight into
life in 15th-century Colchester.
Bonners, 37 Long Wyre Street (MON193)
This corner building is a tall two-bay cross-wing, probably
of the early 15th century. Jettied on both public elevations, it
incorporates a number of interesting non-standard features.
Part of the ground floor appears to be domestic, with close
studwork and a diamond-mullioned window fronting Eld
Lane. The rest of this frontage, and the Long Wyre Street
elevation, was composed of shop windows and a narrow
shop door. The windows were of the half-arch type,
but only partially survive, concealed now behind plaster.
Interestingly, some of the jetty brackets are fixed midway
over the large shop openings, rather than to storey-height
posts. The first floor contained two rooms, each with an
arch-headed window, on the east flank. Such arched heads
are extremely unusual and, perhaps, denoted commercial use
of this floor. The most surprising feature is the presence of
a contemporary attic floor, fixed over small spacer-pieces,
tenoned into each stud. This floor must be an exceptionally
early example, demonstrated by the experimental nature of
the structural solution. In order to provide a clear open attic
space, there was no central tie-beam and the collar purlin of
the cross-post roof (now replaced after a fire) was supported
between two clasping collars. It seems likely, from mortise
evidence, that the southern gabled elevation had multiple
decorative wall bracing.
Nos. 5–7 Stockwell (MON164)
A remarkable 15th-century three-bay building with one
large chamber on the first floor, this is described as ‘the
old wool hall’ in a 17th-century deed in the possession of
the owner. The ground floor was built with an open arcade
fronting two long narrow rooms, possibly workshops. The
building has a simple crown-post roof, jowled posts and was
open framed to the west. The roof was hipped to the east
over a pair of grouped four-light windows and presented a
windowless first floor to the street.
Nos. 13–15 North Hill (MON129)
This is an intriguing, truly urban complex, the original use
of which is difficult to ascertain. There are two parallel
ranges forming a double pile building, that on the frontage
being of uncertain date and probably an encroachment. The
adjoining building, no. 11, is also of double pile form, and a
through passage, adjoining no. 13, reveals no. 13’s northern
flank. Here it can be seen that the undatable front range has
close studwork and stud-to-stud tension braces. The inner
range of no.13 consists of a single bay, probably always of
two storeys, with a crown-post roof with substantial braces.
It is possible that no. 11’s rear range is of the same build, as
the through passage has evidence for having been a crosspassage with rear door, formerly with an arched head.
To the rear again of no. 13 is a two-storeyed four-bay
range, at right angles to the street, with a substantial longwall jetty, facing south. This early 15th-century structure is
clearly later than the frontage block, in that the framing of
the latter has been cut back to accommodate it.
The rear range has, on the first floor, two two-bay
chambers and a crown-post roof with substantial braces.
That closest to the frontage is the larger and was relatively
poorly lit, with only a three-light window in front and rear
walls. The rear chamber seems to have been physically
separate and was accessed from a stair leading to an outward
opening door on the ground floor. The top plates have
halved and bridled scarf joints with sallied abutments, a
relatively rare type and the best dating feature evident. The
ground floor has a two-bay chamber, coinciding with that
above. This has a relatively impressive arched entrance door,
immediately adjoining the frontage range. The exposed
spine-beam has an axial brace, a relatively early feature. To
the rear of this and apparently separate, is a small room
encroached upon by the staircase to the upper rear room.
This has its own arched external door and a two-light
traceried window of remarkable interest. To the rear again
is a further small room, with an arched door and two small
flat lintelled adjoining windows with low sills. The eastern
end of the building has been slightly truncated, but evidence
for its original length can be deduced. The building has a
number of external tension braces, but those in the internal
partitions have both serpentine and inverted curvature
profiles. It seems likely that the whole of the complex
APPENDICES
was intended for commercial use, with a series of separate
compartments in the rear range.
The rear ground floor room could have been a shop or,
more likely, a workshop, given the unusual window type.
At a later date, a chimney stack was inserted through the
overlapping zone, between the front and rear range. A
fireplace to the upper rear chamber has wall painting of c
1600 of the simulated panelling type, with the colours still
remarkably bright.
No. 6 Trinity Street (MON195)
The wide entrance passage of this distinguished 18th-century
brick house has good quality close studwork forming its
flanking wall. Roughly central, there is a substantial storey
post, suggesting that this structure is the last surviving part
of a late medieval cross-wing. At the rear, there is a full
two-storey post and the partially visible end of a tie-beam
with mortises for studs.
Beyond this point there is a rather more complete
building, which is either an extension to, or was contiguous
with, the aforementioned cross-wing. With somewhat lower
ceiling heights, this consists of a two-storeyed structure, of
uncertain function, with a long wall jetty along its northern
flank. On each floor, it has a short bay fully open to a
squarish room. Beyond this again is a chamber, of at least
two bays, but here the structure is now too obscured to allow
for full interpretation. The square room at ground-floor level
had a pair of adjoining windows on its north side, beneath
the overhanging jetty. To the south, there is another window,
of two wide lights, and another above but slightly to its
side. The rear two-bay room has a stair trap in its north-east
corner. All of this part of the building, which seems to be
mid-16th-century in date, is most likely to be domestic and
could represent a response to a narrow urban plot.
Red Lion Hotel, High Street (MON34)
The Red Lion Hotel is probably the most significant surviving
timber-framed building in Colchester. It seems likely that it
was first built as a town house by the noble Howard Family,
but by 1515 it had become an inn. This elaborate building is
of at least three phases and has been exhaustively reported
upon elsewhere (Stenning 1994). In that article it was
suggested that the earliest structure was a jettied two-bay
block, well back from the frontage and aligned against the
western site boundary. Unfortunately, it is also possible to
make a case for it post-dating the other phases. However,
this block, which comprises two superimposed chambers,
was clearly only part of a larger new or pre-existing building.
Within a few years, it unquestionably came to form part
of an H-plan complex, the central bar of which was also
composed of two superimposed two-bay chambers. These
similar two-bay blocks could be interpreted as either two
superimposed halls, or as a great chamber over a hall, or as
a first-floor hall over an above-ground undercroft.
347
The precise functions are unclear, but each has an upper
and a lower end, and the ground-floor ‘hall’ of the central
bar of the ‘H’ had a wide carriage-arch-like cross-passage
in its eastern bay. The other accommodation is all of three
storeys and jettied, both to the High Street and elsewhere.
It would appear that, before this work was complete, the
scheme was drastically modified to form a continuous threestoreyed frontage to the street. The completed development
was composed of a series of self-contained, but linked,
suites of rooms, arranged vertically, possibly over a ground
floor of shops. The external elevations are elaborately carved
and moulded; this is a rare extravagance in a building that
seems to be the work of a local carpenter.
No. 118 High Street (MON113), almost opposite the Red
Lion Hotel, is another three-storeyed building with a hybrid
roof with both side-purlins and crown post. The George
Hotel (below) was also probably a three-storey building.
It seems that these are all that survive of a number of
prestigious tall buildings that once lined the High Street.
The George Hotel, High Street (MON112)
This extensive complex of buildings with various remnants
of framing incorporates a building jettied on two faces on
the corner with George Street. In the flank there remains
two good half-arch shop fronts exposed to the interior. To
the north of these there is a blocked carriage arch. Within
the main range is one wall, probably the flank of a crosswing, with widely spaced studs and substantial tensionbraces. Adjoining this is a re-sited octagonal crown post
with moulded and castellated capital. Wall paintings were
found in the front range and one moved panel survives.
The roof is said to include the moulded top plates of a
three-storey structure.
Ye Olde Marquise Public House (formerly Marquis
of Granby), 24 North Hill (MON132)
A relatively standard long-wall, jettied house of the 1520s,
this is remarkable for its elaborate decoration. It has a long
hall bay with central spine beam, and typical service rooms
with paired doors with leaf-carved spandrels. The parlour
had a door to the rear corner of the high-end partition,
which has evidence for a protruding bench enclosing spere.
The cross-passage was part differentiated by a front spere;
the joists protruded over the pavement as a porch hood (as
at 8 West Stockwell Street). The building was open-framed
to no. 23 at the south service end. The front elevation
was almost totally rebuilt early in the 20th century in a
relatively unconvincing manner. However, part of the wall
containing the entrance door with its four-centred arch and
decorated spandrels was reused. The rear door, with carved
spandrels to the outside, also survives. The joists of hall
and parlour carry busy mouldings, typical of the period.
The service room joists are chamfered. Similar multiple
mouldings decorate the rear girt, and in the rear corner of
348
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
the service partition is an impressive corbel carved with a
bearded head.
The first floor displays the usual three rooms, with the
room over the services being larger, as is sometimes the case
in the 16th century; this may well have been the solar. The
rear walls contain two extremely substantial posts which may
have been incorporated from an earlier building.
To the rear, behind and overlapping the parlour, is a slightly
later building of two storeys, jettied on both long frontages.
This is open-framed towards the Marquise and also at its
other end, against fragments of an earlier cross-wing. The
ground floor has a remarkable room, of two unequal bays,
divided by an exuberantly carved bridging joist. The latter is
set on post corbels, with figure carving of proto-renaissance
character. Towards the centre is a merchant’s mark and
initials. Towards the east end of this richly moulded room
is a cambered mantle-beam with medallion busts, probably
introduced from elsewhere. The upper floor appears to have
been one large three-bay chamber with tie-beams, some
moulded, and top plates also with mouldings. It remains
possible that this curious and delightful building was not
originally part of the Marquise.
No 23 North Hill (MON309)
This is a long-wall jetty building of narrow plan form, with
the joists spanning the full width of the building. It adjoins
no. 24, the end elevation with radiating arch braces being
exposed to the interior of the public house. The plan form
is now difficult to ascertain, but includes one partition and
a former stair well.
No 37 (former Castle Book Shop), North Hill
(MON134)
Almost opposite Ye Olde Marquise, this is another latemedieval long-wall jetty house that has been severely
truncated. Much less elaborate, it retains an interesting area
of 17th-century pargeting motifs, now enclosed but visible
with the aid of a mirror.
Gazetteer of late medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
MON1028
MON1029
MON1030
MON1031
MON1032
MON1033
MON1034
MON1037
MON459
MON21
MON1013
MON627
MON642
MON153
MON840
MON612
MON695
MON18
ELM318
MON343
MON373
MON352
MON277
MON31
MON302
MON857
MON172
MON241
MON251
MON258
MON34
bastion
bastion
bastion
bastion
bastion
bastion
bastion
bastion
building
building
building
building
building
building
cellar
cellar
cemetery
church
drain
gatehouse
hospital
hospital
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
E
N
599884
601330
224880
224680
599784
599559
599584
599411
599474
225125
225232
225429
225007
225019
601276
598457
599768
599105
601148
600914
599640
224714
223999
224753
224986
225412
225359
225191
599420
599754
600558
600821
600903
599675
225075
225437
225247
225308
225323
225193
site codes
12/94a
1.81
IRB 72
notes
CATB / other
Town Wall, Priory Street
Town Wall, Priory Street
Town Wall, Priory Street
Town Wall, Priory Street
Town Wall, Priory Street
Town Wall, Vineyard Street
Town Wall, Vineyard Street
Town Wall, Vineyard Street
Osborne Street
Hythe Hill
High Street
Long Wire Street
Cups Hotel Site
Stockwell Arms
Cellar of possible Medieval Head Gate?
Culver Street
St John's Abbey precinct
St Leonard-at-the-Hythe
Culver Street
St John's Abbey Gatehouse+K194
St Catherine's Hospital
St Anne's Hospital
The Rose and Crown Hotel
No. 35–37 High Street
No. 197 Lexden Road
No. 40 Head Street
No. 61 Maidenburgh Street
Nos. 1 & 2 East Bay
Nos. 24 & 25 East Street
Nos. 39 & 40 East Street
Red Lion Hotel
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
349
APPENDICES
MON258
MON34
MON14
MON242
MON243
MON112
MON1
MON66
MON187
MON863
MON5
MON199
MON110
MON6
MON129
MON117
MON118
MON119
MON155
MON133
MON192
MON40
MON193
MON160
MON164
MON68
MON69
MON255
MON134
MON197
MON249
MON231
MON159
MON136
MON67
MON17
MON183
MON132
MON1045
GRP21
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
inn
inn
inn
kiln
latrine
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM?
600903
599675
601470
600503
600488
599735
601227
600789
599959
597670
601327
599603
599767
601330
599416
599513
599499
599383
599559
599403
599820
599605
599820
599571
599606
225323
225193
224668
225281
225284
225243
224706
225329
225199
226215
224708
225054
225234
224704
225378
225214
225213
225118
225447
225488
225039
225283
225033
225404
225434
601307
600878
599377
599576
600763
600332
599515
599388
600743
601487
599817
599411
225155
225318
225449
225088
225302
225242
225506
225324
225321
224577
225160
225466
599843
225194
MON78
GRP21
GRP16
GRP11
GRP4
GRP9
MON29
MON1022
MON1023
MON1024
MON1021
ELM1243
ELM1244
ELM1245
ELM317
ELM950
ELM681
GRP44
GRP14
FND299
GRP12
GRP101
ELM1273
ouse
pit
pits
pits
pits
pits
river bank
road
street
street
street
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
wall
cess pit
pit
pottery
cess pits
pit
well
LM
LM?
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM?
LM?
LM
599395
599843
599220
599495
599297
599882
601997
225597
225194
224904
225054
225282
224874
224008
599474
599818
599389
599447
600007
225015
225292
225202
224995
224796
599806
600780
225120
225248
SPT83
SPT83
CSC 71
GBS 84–5
5/82a
MSC 74
99/04d
COC 79
3/93c
Nos. 39 & 40 East Street
Red Lion Hotel
Nos. 4 & 5 Hythe Quay
Nos. 60 & 61 East Hill
Nos. 63–4 East Hill
The George Hotel
House 133, 133 A, 133B Hythe Hill
Nos. 64–5 East Street
Nos. 7 & 9 Queen Street
Lexden Lodge Farmhouse
House, 127 Hythe Hill/Dolphin Inn
11, 12 & 13 Trinity Street
111 High Street
126 Hythe Hill/Dolphin Inn
13–15 North Hill
149 High Street
151 High Street
21 Head Street
23 & 24 West Stockwell Street
26 to 29 North Hill
33 & 35 Long Wyre Street
3–6 West Stockwell Street
37 Long Wyre Street
53 & 54 West Stockwell Street
5–7 Stockwell Street
No. 1 Greenstead Road
No. 137 Greenstead Road
No. 36 East Street
No. 37 North Hill
No. 8 Trinity Street (Tymperlies)
Nos. 11–13 East Street
Nos. 16 & 17 East Hill
Nos. 36 & 37 West Stockwell Street
Nos. 55 & 56 North Hill (Cock & Pye Inn)
The Siege House, East Street
The Neptune Inn, Hythe Quay
Cross Keys Inn
Marquis of Granby
Medieval Kiln, 1–5 Trinity Street
High Street
Nos. 17–19 Middleborough
High Street
Maldon Road roundabout
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Osborne Street Car Park
Waterfront deposits, riverbank at the Hythe
Maldon Road
Middleborough
Queen Street
High Street
Hythe Hill
Hythe Hill
Hythe Hill
Culver Street
Maidenburgh Street
North Hill
Cameo Theatre
Magdalen Street
Hythe Hill
Long Wire Street
Element Group, Royal Mail Depot
Stanwell, public well
350
GRP101
ELM1273
ELM1159
MON1049
MON1050
MON912
MON914
MON915
MON913
MON916
MON27
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
pit
well
well
well
well
well
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
watermill
LM?
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
LM
600780
225248
597237
225628
3/93c
Element Group, Royal Mail Depot
Stanwell, public well
Stockwell, public well
Chiswell, public well
Childswell, public well
King Coel's Pump, public well
Hull Mill
Cannock Mill
Lexden Mill
North Mill
Middle Mill
Stokes Mill
East Mill
Hythe Mill
351
APPENDICES
Gazetteer of post-medieval monuments, elements and finds from the study area
UAD no.
type
date
ELM1015
ELM1017
ditch
wall
ELM1092
ELM1173
ELM1196
ELM1197
ELM1198
ELM1240
N
site codes
notes
P-M 600321
P-M 600223
224776
225233
9/97a
wall
oven
drain
drain
drain
wall
P-M 599336
P-M
P-M 599536
P-M
P-M
P-M
225698
ELM134
ELM135
ditch
latrine trench
P-M 598472
P-M 598487
225378
225339
1930–9
ELM22
ELM23
ELM34
ELM679
ELM736
well
hearth
drain
well
wall
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599690
599689
599679
600268
599447
225184
225183
225286
224787
224996
5/82a
ELM894
ELM895
ELM930
FND149
FND274
FND276
wall
plith
well
pottery
cannon balls
Civil War
pottery, pipes
and musket
balls at High
Woods
pottery
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599537
599536
601374
599638
225168
225147
224711
225026
Magdalen Street
Wall footing, west of no. 3 East
Hill
Wall, Old Poultry Site
Vineyard Press Site
High Street
Osborne Street
Osborne Street
Brick chute/wall circa late 17th
century, 22 High Street
Parliamentarian siege works
Civil War Latrine Trench,
Sheepen
Red Lion Hotel
Red Lion Hotel
Vineyard Press site
Magdalen Street
Wall, Watching Brief at Cameo
Cinema
Wall, 19 High Street
High Street
Hythe Hill
Eld Lane
Mercer Way
High Woods
P-M
GRP103
GRP110
GRP48
GRP69
MON10
MON100
MON101
MON102
MON103
Civil War finds
nr The Lindens
pits
revetment
cess pits
midden
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
600597
599486
599601
599375
601415
599977
599988
599999
600015
224893
225610
225027
225274
224676
225226
225234
225236
225238
MON1035
MON1036
MON1038
MON104
MON105
inn
cage
water house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M 599999
P-M 599983
225261
225257
MON106
MON107
MON108
MON109
MON11
MON111
MON113
MON114
MON115
MON116
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
225227
225226
225241
225235
224673
225233
225238
225238
225214
225213
FND306
FND324
E
225148
P-M
16th and 17th century pottery
from Fitzwalter Road
nr The Lindens Lexden Road
599813
599808
599782
599772
601431
599755
599719
599707
599538
599530
7/93a
10/98f
9/83b
1945
Brook Street
St Peter's House Evaluation
Trinity Street
North Hill
nos. 89 & 90 Hythe Hill
69–70 High Street
71 & 72 High Street
73A & 73B High Street
no. 74 High Street (The
Minories)
Swan Inn, High Street
Town cage
The Gate House & East Lodge
Frere House (nos. 85 & 86 High
Street)
no. 105 High Street
106 High Street
108 High Street
Swan Hotel
nos. 91–93 Hythe Hill
no. 113 High Street
117–118 High Street
119 & 120 High Street
145 High Street
146 High Street
CATB /
other
352
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON12
MON120
house
house
P-M 601454
P-M 599366
224675
225054
MON121
MON122
MON123
MON124
MON125
MON126
MON127
MON128
MON13
MON130
MON131
MON135
MON137
MON138
MON139
MON140
MON141
MON142
MON143
MON144
MON145
MON146
MON147
MON148
MON149
MON15
MON150
MON151
MON152
MON154
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
building
house
building
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599383
599388
599429
599437
599412
599410
599434
599406
601466
599413
599404
599377
599384
599386
599376
599389
599392
599392
599349
599441
599461
599530
599495
599596
599594
601467
599590
599588
599588
599577
225036
225004
225036
225022
225281
225364
225330
225418
224673
225430
225459
225398
225308
225269
225249
225237
225223
225210
225494
225504
225506
225521
225500
225359
225374
224651
225385
225405
225411
225441
MON156
MON157
MON158
MON16
MON161
MON162
MON163
MON165
MON167
MON168
MON169
house
house
house
warehouse
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599545
599541
599532
601480
599572
599571
599567
599624
599642
599644
599658
225456
225476
225508
224590
225394
225385
225342
225439
225381
225324
225413
MON170
MON171
MON173
MON174
MON175
MON176
MON177
MON178
MON179
MON180
MON181
MON182
MON184
MON185
MON186
MON188
MON189
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
almshouse
school
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599664
599758
599751
599777
599778
599775
599772
599765
599764
599822
599680
599742
599866
225324
225260
225478
225377
225396
225412
225443
225481
225506
225174
225142
225139
225164
599626
599930
599899
225190
225139
225088
no. 97 Hythe Hill
no. 3 Headgate Court (Formerly
The Kings Head Inn)
next to the Kings Head
Church Street
54 Head Street
60 Head Street
no. 2 North Hill
no. 12 North Hill
8 North Hill
17, 18, 18a & 18b North Hill
nos. 98 & 99 Hythe Hill
nos. 19 & 20 North Hill
24 North Hill
45 & 46 North Hill
57 North Hill
60 North Hill
63 North Hill
65 & 65 North Hill
Waggon and Horses Inn
67 North Hill
Cistern Yard tenements
4 & 6 Northgate Street
10 Northgate Street
34 Northgate Street
nos. 13 & 15 Northgate Street
no. 10 West Stockwell Street
13 West Stockwell Street
no. 7 Hythe Quay
no. 14 West Stockwell Street
14A–16 West Stockwell Street
17 West Stockwell Street
20–22 (now 19–21) West
Stockwell Street
25 & 27 West Stockwell Street
29–32 West Stockwell Street
35 West Stockwell Street
55 West Stockwell Street
56 West Stockwell Street
62 West Stockwell Street
Stockwell
37 & 38 East Stockwell Street
Stockwell House
no. 15 (formerly 14) East
Stockwell Street
The Gables, East Stockwell Street
no. 1 George Street
nos. 51 & 52 Maidenburgh Street
no. 10 Maidenburgh Street
nos. 14 & 15 Maidenburgh Street
nos. 18–20 Maidenburgh Street
23 Maidenburgh Street
27 & 29 Maidenburgh Street
no. 33 Maidenburgh Street
Culver Street
Lion Walk
Finches Almshouse
Grammar School, Culver Street
All Saints Court
Pelhams Lane
6–12 Queen Street
nos. 20–24 Queen Street
353
APPENDICES
MON190
MON191
MON194
MON195
MON196
MON198
MON2
MON20
MON200
MON201
MON202
MON203
MON204
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
inn
house
house
house
inn
gate
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599806
599812
599594
225104
225092
225124
599598
599595
601198
601458
599600
599619
599622
599629
599609
225082
225074
224689
224705
225038
225067
225049
225023
225010
MON205
MON206
MON207
house
house
house
P-M 599614
P-M 599627
P-M 599617
225005
225001
224995
MON208
MON209
MON210
house
house
house
P-M 599576
P-M 599682
P-M 599651
224964
224959
224997
MON211
MON212
MON213
MON214
MON215
MON216
MON217
MON218
MON219
MON22
house
house
house
house
almshouse
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599686
599615
599915
599910
600115
600127
600161
600263
600271
601335
224829
224757
225002
224982
224712
224807
224805
224783
224783
224682
MON220
inn
P-M 600490
224768
MON221
MON222
MON223
MON224
MON225
MON226
MON227
MON228
MON229
MON23
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
600560
600177
600232
600264
600433
600718
600164
600227
600231
601341
224771
224780
224769
224763
224744
224756
225077
225220
225100
224684
MON230
MON232
MON233
MON234
MON235
MON236
MON237
MON238
MON239
MON24
MON240
MON244
MON245
MON246
MON247
MON248
MON25
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
bridge
house
house
house
house
house
house
warehouse?
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
600280
600369
600379
600398
600420
600448
600455
600467
600490
601510
600509
600464
600447
600435
600294
600254
601513
225109
225255
225255
225257
225258
225260
225261
225262
225263
224770
225262
225280
225279
225279
225275
225307
224631
Long Wyre Street
17–23 Long Wyre Street
2 & 3 Trinity Street
no. 6 Trinity Street
no. 7 Trinity Street
nos. 9 & 10 Trinity Street
50–52 Hythe Hill
The Perseverance Inn
no. 14 Trinity Street
25 & 26 Trinity Street
no. 22 Trinity Street
The Clarence Inn
Scheregate (Previously 6a–6b Sir
Isaac's Walk)
no. 3 Scheregate
nos. 1 & 2 Scheregate Steps
nos. 3a & 4 Scheregate (now 4a
and 38 St John's Street)
St John's Street
Stanwell Street
Claudius House 62 & 62a
Stanwell Street
nos. 11–14 St John's Green
St John's Green
no. 45 St Botolph's Street
nos. 40 & 41 St Botolph's Street
Winnock's Almshouses
no. 187 Magdalen Street
no. 181 Magdalen Street
no. 166 Magdalen Street
nos. 164–165 Magdalen Street
16th/17th century house, Hythe 79
Hill
The Bakers Arms Inn, Magdalen
Street
no. 111 Magdalen Street
no. 35 Magdalen Street
43–5 Magdalen Street
no. 53 Magdalen Street
nos. 81 & 82 Magdalen Street
no. 29 Barrack Street
nos. 76–82 Priory Street
nos. 55–57 Priory Street
Priory Street
Mid 17th–late 18th century house 79
at the Hythe, Colchester
nos. 1–5 Childwell Alley
no. 22 East Hill
no. 23–24 East Hill
25–27 East Hill
nos. 29 & 32 East Hill
no. 35 East Hill
no. 36–37 East Hill
nos. 38–39 East Hill
no. 47 East Hill
Hythe Bridge
nos. 48–51 East Hill
no. 67 East Hill
nos. 68–69 East Hill
The Goat and Boot Public House
nos. 79–81 East Hill
Land Lane
354
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON250
MON252
MON253
MON254
MON256
MON258
MON259
MON26
MON260
MON266
MON273
MON274
MON275
MON276
MON279
MON280
MON290
MON3
MON30
MON300
MON301
MON303
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
building
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
600784
600835
600849
600872
600887
600896
600912
601450
600930
599348
600517
600520
600417
600398
600240
600229
599596
601284
599626
600024
597212
599773
225304
225304
225310
225318
225321
225323
225322
224700
225317
225256
225261
225287
225278
225278
225242
225252
225191
224685
225198
225263
225195
225353
MON304
MON306
MON307
MON308
MON309
MON310
MON311
MON312
MON313
MON314
MON315
MON316
MON318
MON318
MON319
inn
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
innhouse
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
597090
599387
599803
599402
599401
599407
599413
599388
599334
599914
599634
599544
599514
599506
599414
225136
225620
225248
225440
225452
225397
225348
225285
225770
225053
224994
224994
224987
224982
224966
MON32
MON320
house
inn
P-M
P-M 597035
223248
MON322
MON323
MON326
MON33
MON338
MON35
house
house
house
house
church
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599574
600254
599657
599266
225371
225253
225202
225073
MON368
house
P-M 599768
224672
MON37
MON370
house
church
P-M 599672
P-M 599380
225268
225132
MON38
house
P-M 599621
225235
MON39
MON4
MON42
MON460
MON493
MON50
MON52
inn
house
house
building
almshouse
market cross
building
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599608
601295
599647
599753
225256
224684
225301
224916
599602
599679
225212
225274
nos. 17 & 18 East Street
no. 26 & 27 East Street
nos. 29–33 East Street
nos. 34–5 East Street
no. 37 East Street
no. 38 East Street
no. 41 East Street
103 Hythe Hill
House, East Street
Tudor Cottage
no. 52 East Hill
56–58 East Hill
no. 71 & 72 East Hill
no. 73 East Hill
54 Priory Street
no. 5 East Hill
28–30 High Street
68–70 Hythe Hill
no. 34 High Street
Winsley's House
no. 187 Lexden Road
no. 7 Maidenburgh Street (The
Sun Inn)
Lexden Rd
Fisher's Yard
nos. 1–3 Museum Street
no. 21 North Hill
no. 22 & 23 North Hill
no. 16 North Hill
10 North Hill
no. 59 North Hill
The Victoria Inn
nos. 39 & 41 Queen Street
no. 63 (now 33) Stanwell Street
nos. 35–39 St Johns Street
nos. 41–44 St Johns Street
nos. 45–47 St John's Street
Headgate Hotel, no. 1 St John's
Street
38 High Street
Ye Olde Leather Bottle Public
House
nos. 2 & 3 Tinity Street
no. 56 West Stockwell Street
no. 8 East Hill
39 High Street
St Mary's-at-the-walls
J465
45–47 High Street, 16th century
house and 14th century cellar
The Lucas House, St John's
K749
Abbey Precinct
East Stockwell Street
Dutch Refugee Church
(demolished)
17th century house and shops on
High Street
Angel Inn
nos. 71–72 Hythe Hill
44 East Stockwell Street
Building, Osborne Street
Almshouse, Eld Lane
High Street
Vineyard Press site
355
APPENDICES
MON59
MON628
MON629
MON63
MON64
MON65
MON7
MON70
MON71
MON72
MON73
MON74
MON75
MON76
MON77
MON79
MON8
MON80
MON81
fort
building
building
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
598489
599787
225316
225128
600848
600806
600798
601347
225327
225327
225325
224708
599401
599406
599410
599409
599407
599407
599351
601374
599387
599369
225506
225553
225563
225576
225582
225589
225615
224703
225671
225692
MON82
MON83
MON84
MON85
MON856
MON86
MON867
house
house
house
house
house
house
flanker
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599375
599367
599354
599319
599884
599334
600157
225713
225749
225815
225896
225219
225781
225593
MON868
MON869
MON87
fort
fort
house
P-M
P-M
P-M 599347
225686
MON870
MON871
fort
fort
P-M
P-M
MON872
MON873
fort
bridge
P-M
P-M
MON874
MON875
circumvallation P-M
fort
P-M
MON876
MON877
circumvallation P-M
fort
P-M
MON878
MON879
MON88
MON880
MON881
MON882
MON883
MON884
MON885
MON886
MON887
MON888
MON889
MON89
MON890
MON891
MON892
MON893
MON894
bastion
circumvallation
house
circumvallation
bastion
circumvallation
bastion
circumvallation
fort
fort
circumvallation
circumvallation
bastion
house
circumvallation
bastion
fort
circumvallation
bastion
P-M
P-M
P-M 599383
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M 599372
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
224989
224989
Fort, Sheepen
Long Wyre Street
Long Wire Street
151
no. 59 East Street
nos. 60–61 East Street
nos. 62–63 East Street
122–123 Hythe Hill
nos. 283–7 Greenstead Road
no. 309 Greenstead Road
no. 1 Middleborough
no. 10 Middleborough
no. 11 Middleborough
nos. 12 & 13 Middleborough
north of 12 & 13 Middleborough
no. 16 Middleborough
nos. 20 & 21 Middleborough
Hythe Hill
no. 1 North Station Road
no. 3 North Station Road (Old
Numbering)
nos. 7 & 9 North Station Road
nos. 25 & 27 North Station Road
nos. 45 & 47 North Station Road
nos. 52–58 North Station Road
93 High Street
nos. 12–24 North Station Road
Royalist earthwork, NE corner of
Town Wall
Fort Whaley, Parliamentarian
Fort Suffolk, Parliamentarian
no. 2 North Station Road
(formerly Castle Inn)
Fort Bloyes, Parliamentarian
Fort Rainsborough,
Parliamentarian
Fothergall's Fort, Parliamentarian
Pontoon bridge over River Colne
at Sheepen
Parliamentarian siege works
J489
Colonel Ewer's Leaguer,
Parliamentary Fort, Sheepen
Parliamentarian siege works
Ingolesby Fort, Parliamentarian,
east of Sheepen Hill
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
no. 5a Crouch Street
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Fort Essex, Parliamentarian
Barkstead Fort, Parliamentarian
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Crouch Street
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Fort Needham, Parliamentarian
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
356
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
MON895
MON896
circumvallation P-M
sconce
P-M
MON897
MON898
MON899
bastion
P-M
circumvallation P-M
P-M
hornwork
MON9
MON90
MON900
MON901
MON902
MON903
inn
house
circumvallation
windmill
windmill
windmill
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
601364
599341
224674
224988
599937
600246
600125
224551
224583
224543
MON904
MON905
MON906
MON907
windmill
windmill
windmill
windmill
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599253
601147
601278
601569
224703
225555
224073
223736
MON909
windmill
P-M 598754
224996
MON91
MON910
almshouse
windmill
P-M 600794
P-M 598171
223975
224985
MON911
MON92
MON93
cross
watermill
inn
P-M 597080
P-M 600559
P-M 599449
223224
223836
225186
MON932
MON933
MON934
MON936
MON937
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
597090
597077
597237
225163
225154
225199
597241
226056
MON938
house
P-M 597299
223918
MON94
MON941
MON95
MON96
MON967
MON97
MON979
MON983
house
manor
house
house
bay hall
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599487
601831
599494
599501
599435
599552
599822
599311
225178
225049
225185
225185
225210
225185
225283
225720
MON99
GRP65
GRP11
GRP4
GRP6
GRP19
GRP9
ELM834
house
pit
pits
cultivation plot
well
pit
drain
burial
599879
599998
599495
599297
599347
600177
599882
599860
225199
225366
225054
225282
225551
225185
224874
224562
GRP53
GRP83
GRP14
pit
pits
pit
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
PM?
P-M
P-M
P-M
599791
600007
225081
224796
1928
GBS 84–5
MID 78
8/83e
1958
12/97e
MSC 74
Parliamentarian siege works
Sconce, part of 1648
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Parliamentarian siege works
Hornwork, part of 1648
Parliamentarian siege works
The Queen's Head Inn
no. 17 Crouch Street
Parliamentarian siege works
Mersea Road
Military Road
Windmill, south end of Golden
Noble Hill
Butt Road
Harwich Road
north of Distillery Pond
The Distillery Mill, Windmill
north of Hilltop Close
Windmill, 'The Oaks' Lexden
Road
Winsley's Almshouses
Windmill, 'The Second Mill',
Lexden Road
Pedder's Cross, Shrub End Road
Bourne Mill
White Hart Inn nos. 6 & 7 High
Street
205 & 207 Lexden Road
209 & 211 Lexden Road
Jacqueline Court, Lexden Road
Sheepen Farmhouse
West House (Westfields)
Farmhouse
Cooper's Farmhouse (Later
Prettygate Farm)
no. 11 High Street
Greenstead Manor
12 High Street
no. 13 High Street
Dutch Bay Hall
23 & 24 High Street
Ryegate Road
17th? century building, Old
Poultry Site
65 High Street
Castle Park
Culver Street
Gilberd School
Middleborough
Mulberry Nursery
Osborne Street Car Park
St John's Mount
Stockwell
Long Wire Street Co-op
Magdalen Street
357
APPENDICES
UAD no.
type
date
ELM1015
ELM1017
ditch
wall
ELM1092
ELM1173
ELM1196
ELM1197
ELM1198
ELM1240
N
site codes
notes
P-M 600321
P-M 600223
224776
225233
9/97a
wall
oven
drain
drain
drain
wall
P-M 599336
P-M
P-M 599536
P-M
P-M
P-M
225698
ELM134
ELM135
ditch
latrine trench
P-M 598472
P-M 598487
225378
225339
1930–9
ELM22
ELM23
ELM34
ELM679
ELM736
well
hearth
drain
well
wall
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599690
599689
599679
600268
599447
225184
225183
225286
224787
224996
5/82a
ELM894
ELM895
ELM930
FND149
FND274
FND276
wall
plith
well
pottery
cannon balls
Civil War
pottery, pipes
and musket
balls at High
Woods
pottery
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
599537
599536
601374
599638
225168
225147
224711
225026
Magdalen Street
Wall footing, west of no. 3 East
Hill
Wall, Old Poultry Site
Vineyard Press Site
High Street
Osborne Street
Osborne Street
Brick chute/wall circa late 17th
century, 22 High Street
Parliamentarian siege works
Civil War Latrine Trench,
Sheepen
Red Lion Hotel
Red Lion Hotel
Vineyard Press site
Magdalen Street
Wall, Watching Brief at Cameo
Cinema
Wall, 19 High Street
High Street
Hythe Hill
Eld Lane
Mercer Way
High Woods
P-M
GRP103
GRP110
GRP48
GRP69
MON10
MON100
MON101
MON102
MON103
Civil War finds
nr The Lindens
pits
revetment
cess pits
midden
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
600597
599486
599601
599375
601415
599977
599988
599999
600015
224893
225610
225027
225274
224676
225226
225234
225236
225238
MON1035
MON1036
MON1038
MON104
MON105
inn
cage
water house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M 599999
P-M 599983
225261
225257
MON106
MON107
MON108
MON109
MON11
MON111
MON113
MON114
MON115
MON116
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
house
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
P-M
225227
225226
225241
225235
224673
225233
225238
225238
225214
225213
FND306
FND324
E
225148
P-M
16th and 17th century pottery
from Fitzwalter Road
nr The Lindens Lexden Road
599813
599808
599782
599772
601431
599755
599719
599707
599538
599530
7/93a
10/98f
9/83b
1945
Brook Street
St Peter's House Evaluation
Trinity Street
North Hill
nos. 89 & 90 Hythe Hill
69–70 High Street
71 & 72 High Street
73A & 73B High Street
no. 74 High Street (The
Minories)
Swan Inn, High Street
Town cage
The Gate House & East Lodge
Frere House (nos. 85 & 86 High
Street)
no. 105 High Street
106 High Street
108 High Street
Swan Hotel
nos. 91–93 Hythe Hill
no. 113 High Street
117–118 High Street
119 & 120 High Street
145 High Street
146 High Street
CATB /
other
358
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
Gazetteer of excavations in Colchester 1845–2008
1845
1852
1865
1876
1877
1906
1907
1910
1913
1914
1917
1920
Excavations north of the Castle
Duncan’s excavations, 1852/3
Excavation of a Roman house on North Hill
Excavations at the Colchester Union
Excavation of five kilns at Warren Field
Excavation of pavement at 18 North Hill
Excavation of Roman houses, Castle Park
Excavation of Lexden Mount
Excavations at the Balkerne Gate
Excavation behind brewery on North Hill
Excavations at the Balkerne Gate
Castle Park Excavations
EVT3088
EVT3046
EVT3049
EVT3051
EVT3050
EVT3052
EVT3053
EVT3054
EVT3047
EVT3153
EVT3048
EVT3045
1920
1921
undated
1922
1922
1922
1923
1924
1925
1925
1925
1927
Excavations at 9 North Hill
Museum Street Excavation
Excavations in the Castle well house
Excavation of temple podium and castle
Excavations at 18 North Hill
Excavations at 9 North Hill
Excavations within Bastion 1
Excavation of Lexden Tumulus
Excavations at 18 North Hill
Excavation of the temple podium
Excavation of the town rampart
Excavation of Hollytrees Meadow, 1927/8
EVT3145
EVT3091
EVT3599
EVT3092
EVT3096
EVT3146
EVT3094
EVT3095
EVT3097
EVT3098
EVT3099
EVT3100
1928
1928
1929
1929
1930
Excavation of the ‘Mithraeum’, 1928/9
Excavations in Hollytrees Meadow, 1928/9
Excavation of a Roman Pottery Shop
Excavation of Precinct Wall in Castle Park
Excavations at Royal Grammar School
EVT3101
EVT3102
EVT3056
EVT3147
EVT3705
1930
1930
1931
Excavations at Sheepen, 1930–39
Excavations in King’s Meadow
Excavations south of Castle Keep, 1931–34
EVT3001
EVT3104
EVT3521
undated
undated
1931
1931
Excavation of Bastion 2, Town Wall
Excavations between Bastions 1 & 2, Town Wall
Excavation of Town Wall Bastion 5 and bus-park
Excavations in P G Laver’s garden
EVT3141
EVT3142
EVT3106
EVT3151
1932
Excavations at Lexden Dyke Middle
EVT3713
1932
1933
1934
1934
1934
1934
1935
1936
1936
1937
1937
1938
1939
1930s
1945
Excavations at Northfolk’s House
Castle excavations, 1931–3
Excavations at the Mumford Works
Excavation of Bastion 4
Excavations at the Royal Grammar School
Excavation of new G.P.O site
Excavations at 22 Crouch Street
Excavations in field 1302 by A F Hall
Excavations at ‘Peartree Junction’
Excavations at 10 North Hill, 1937/8
Excavation of the town ditch
Section I, Tower 1, Town Walls
Excavations at Altnacealgach House
Trial Pits at 17 Beverley Road
Excavations at 60 North Hill
EVT3105
EVT3108
EVT3109
EVT3112
EVT3110
EVT3152
EVT3127
EVT3111
EVT3113
EVT3143
EVT3114
EVT3116
EVT3115
EVT3144
EVT3117
1946
1947
1948
1950
1950
Excavations at Gilberd House
Excavation of Temple at CRGS
Excavation of Section VI, Town Wall
Excavations at St. Martin’s House
Castle Park Excavations
EVT3712
EVT3119
EVT3118
EVT3120
EVT3121
J T Round, Roman building
P M Duncan, EAS, Duncan’s Gate
J Parish, EAS, Roman town house
H Laver, Roman building
G Joslin, Roman pottery kilns
H Lazell, Roman building
H Laver, Roman building
H Laver & F Reader, Morant Club
H Laver & E N Mason, Morant Club
E N Mason, Roman building
R E M Wheeler
R E M Wheeler, Morant Club, Roman town
houses
A W Frost, Roman street & building
Morant Club, negative
Unknown, pre-1922, Temple podium
P G Laver, Temple podium
H Lazell, Roman building
A W Frost, Roman building
P G Laver
H Laver & P G Laver
P G Laver, Roman house
P G Laver?
G Farmer & E J Rudsdale
P G Laver, EAS, ‘Mithraeum’, drain, Duncan’s
Gate, Roman buildings
M R Hull, EAS, ‘Mithraeum’
M R Hull, Roman buildings
M R Hull, CRGS Staff
H Laver?, of Temple Precinct outer wall
CRGS Headmaster excavated his lawn, Roman
ditches and pottery
CEC, LPRIA and Roman settlement
CEC, negative results
P G Laver & E J Rudsdale, Roman buildings,
Barbican, Bailey Chapel and Hall, Roman
Precinct
P G Laver
P G Laver
M R Hull, bastion and Roman buildings
P G Laver excavated his own garden, Roman
building
H Poulter & T Cruso supervised by C F C
Hawkes
M R Hull, Roman building
P G Laver, Castle keep
M R Hull, Roman building
M R Hull
A F Hall with CRGS boys, Roman Road
M R Hull, Roman building
M R Hull, Roman church?
A F Hall, Roman ditches
M R Hull, LPRIA dykes
C A Winkles, Roman building and street
M R Hull
M R Hull, town wall and rampart
M R Hull, LPRIA dykes, Roman ditches
A F Hall, burials and crematorium?
G A Martin & I M Sparrow directed by M R
Hull, Roman building
A F Hall, Roman road and burials
CRGS staff & boys, Roman temple
R J Appleby
M R Hull, Roman buildings and street
M Cotton, K M Richardson, R J Appleby,
Roman temple precinct and streets
359
APPENDICES
1951
1951
1952
1952
1953
1953
1953
Excavation on lawn of Gurney Benham House
Excavation of Section Ia, Town Walls
Enclosure on the north bank of the Colne
Excavation of Kiln 25 at Endsleigh School
Excavations at Hospital Operating Theatre
Excavations at 12 Lexden Road and CRGS
Excavation of Temple of Claudius wall
EVT3710
EVT3122
EVT1496
EVT3150
EVT3524
EVT3706
EVT3057
1954
1955
1955
1955
undated
undated
undated
1955
1955
1955
1956
1956
1957
1957
1957
1957
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1959
1959
1960s
1960s
1960
1960
1960
1962
Excavation of ‘Mithraeum’
Excavation of kilns 26, 27, 28, Endsleigh School
Excavations at St. Nicholas’s Church
Excavations in Lewis’s Gardens
Excavation of the CRGS Playing Field
Excavation south east of Gurney Benham House
Excavations in Field 1266 and 1266a
Excavations at the ‘Old Castle’
Excavation of a well at Everett’s Brickyard
Excavations at St. Helen’s Lane building site
Excavations at Prettygate Junction, 1956–58
Excavations near Altnacealgach
Excavation on allotment at Park Road
Possible kiln at New Technical College Site
Excavation of Roman drain in Vineyard Street
Excavations north of Bypass 1957–62
Excavations in Lewis’s Gardens
Excavation in Mrs Reid’s Field, Lexden Road
Excavations at 8 Crowhurst Road
Excavations in Stockwell Street
Excavation for widening of St. Helen’s Lane
Excavation of kilns 29, 30 & 31, Warren Field
Excavation of a Romano-Celtic temple, Sheepen
Excavation of oval hollow, CRGS
Excavation of town ditch at Land Lane
Excavations at the Joslin/Tesco site
Excavations at 147 Lexden Road, ‘Somerford’
Excavations at the Firs, Maldon Road
Excavations along Balkerne Lane/Crouch Street
EVT3511
EVT3451
EVT3058
EVT3069
EVT3135
EVT3136
EVT3137
EVT3079
EVT3123
EVT3124
EVT3158
EVT3159
EVT3076
EVT3077
EVT3078
outside
EVT3070
EVT3074
EVT3075
EVT3080
EVT3149
EVT3030
EVT3081
EVT3517
EVT3922
EVT3082
EVT3125
EVT3126
EVT3071
1963
1963
1963
1963
Excavations at St. Mary’s Cottage
Excavations at the CRGS Canteen
Excavation of the Clinic Site, Colchester
Excavations at Telephone Exchange
EVT3323
EVT3711
EVT3128
EVT3139
1963
1964
Excavation, ‘Lorgarth’ garden, 1963/4
Excavations on East Stockwell Street
EVT3140
EVT94
1964
Excavations at 5 Maidenburgh Street
EVT3522
1964
Excavations on south side of Temple Precinct
EVT3068
1964
1964
Excavation of the town ditch and Bastion 3
Excavations at the Royal Grammar School
EVT3083
EVT3084
1964
1964
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
Excavations at Duncan’s Gate 1964/5
Excavations at Church Street
Excavations at 5 Balkerne Gardens
Trial trench at Tudor Cottage, St. Peter’s Close
Excavations at the Firs Car Park
Excavations at the Victoria Inn Site
Excavations at Lorgarth, West Stockwell St 1963/4
Excavations in St. Mary’s Rectory Gardens
?
EVT3130
EVT3061
EVT3062
EVT3064
EVT3066
EVT3129
EVT3131
1965
1966
1966
1966
1966
Excavations on North Hill
Excavation at 14 Lexden Road
Excavation of the Telephone Exchange Site
Excavations behind 5 Queen Street
Excavations behind 12 Queen Street
EVT3138
EVT3704
EVT3059
EVT3065
EVT3072
A F Hall, hypogeum?
K M Richardson
R J M Appleby, undated enclosure
J Williams (headmaster) & J B Baird, Roman kiln
R J Appleby, Roman pottery
CRGS boys, Roman Road
M R Hull, Temple precinct, bailey ditch, street,
drain
Museum, ‘Mithraeum’ and drain
Miss Bushell & J B Baird, Roman kiln
M R Hull, church, Roman buildings and street
K M Richardson, Roman buildings
A F Hall, Roman ditch
A F Hall, Roman Road
A F Hall , Roman ditch
A F Hall, undated enclosure, Roman ditches
Lt Cdr Farrands, Mr Young, S West, Roman well
L H Gant & W E Tucker, Roman building
C F C Hawkes, LPRIA and Roman? Dykes
J Wacher, Roman Wall
CAG, negative results
CAG, Roman pottery
CAG, Roman drain
B P Blake Triple Dyke?
K M Richardson, Roman buildings
H C Calver, CAG, Roman kiln?
H J & B J N Edwards, Roman road and building
CAG, Roman street and medieval Pottery
H C Calver, Roman Street
H C Calver & others, Roman pottery kilns
B P Blake with CAG, Romano-Celtic temple
A F Hall, negative results
Unknown, town ditch
CAG, post-medieval house
M D Brasier, Roman pit
M R Hull, negative results
B P Blake, churchyard, Roman buildings, town
wall
B P Blake, Roman building
Unknown? Roman Road
CEC, Roman street
J Blythe (Archaeological Research Group),
Roman drain, buildings, street
B P Blake, Roman buildings, Saxon finds
CEC, Roman building, street and post-medieval
drain
B R K Dunnett, undated burials, temple precinct,
castle bailey ditch and rampart
CEC, Temple Precinct, drains, Street, Bailey
ditch
P R Holbert with CAG
P W Crittenden & CRGS boys Roman ditch and
finds
B P Blake
J Blyth, Roman street and building
CEC, Roman buildings
CEC, Roman floor
CEC, Roman church?
CEC, Roman buildings
B P Blake, Roman street and buildings
P R Holbert with CAG, Roman Street and
buildings
CEC, Roman streets and building
P W Crittenden, Roman road
CEC, Roman buildings and streets
CEC, Roman buildings
Unknown?
360
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
1966
1967
1967
1967
1969
Excavations in the garden of 26, Lexden Road
Excavations at 44 North Hill
Excavations at St. Mary’s Rectory site
Excavations, East Stockwell St Youth House
Excavation of the Methodist Church site
EVT3085
EVT3060
EVT3063
EVT3133
EVT3523
1969
1969
1970
1970
1970
1971
Excavation of tile kilns at Moat Farm, 1969/70
Excavation of the Warren Fields Glass Kiln
Excavations at 30 St. Julian’s Grove
Excavations at Halifax House, Head Street
Excavations at Sheepen
Lion Walk excavations, 1971–4
EVT3086
EVT3132
EVT3518
EVT3787
EVT3029
EVT3002
1971
1971
1971
1971
1971
1972
1972
Excavations along Maldon Road
Crouch Street excavations
Kiln Road Excavation
Excavations at St. John’s Abbey
Curry’s Site, 45/46 High Street
Excavations at St. Mary’s Steps
Excavations at St. John’s Abbey
EVT3018
EVT3021
EVT3025
EVT3031
EVT61
EVT3007
EVT3019
1972
1973
Excavation of Colchester Castle Well
Excavations at Gilberd School, 1973/4
EVT3073
EVT3222
1973
1973
Balkerne Lane Excavations 1973–76
Cups Hotel Excavation 1973/4
EVT3003
EVT3008
1973
1973
1973
1973
1973
1974
Oaks Drive Excavation
Inner Relief Road Excavation
Excavation of Inner Relief Road (Crouch St)
Lexden Tumulus Excavation
Excavation of Holy Trinity Church
11 Magdalen Street
EVT3009
EVT3010
EVT3023
EVT3026
EVT3154
EVT3011
1974
1975
1975
Excavation at King Coel’s Kitchen
Excavation in St. Giles’s Church
Excavation at Oaklands Avenue
EVT3039
EVT3020
EVT3024
1975
1975
1976
1976
1977
1977
1977
1977
1977
1978
1978
1978
1978
1979
1979
1981
1981
Excavations in the Dutch Quarter
Excavation of the Balkerne Gate
St. Helena’s School Excavations
Butt Road Excavations, 1976–79
Excavation of Castle keep
Excavation of Colchester Castle bailey chapel
Excavations at 1 Trinity Street
Excavations at St. John’s Abbey
Excavations at Gosbecks
Trial trenches at former Butt Road site
Trial trench at 1 & 1A Eld Lane, 1978/9
Middleborough Excavations
Excavation at Castle Gardens
7–15 Long Wyre Street
GPO Sorting Office, Clarendon Way
Excavation of Roman theatre, Maidenburgh Street
Culver Street Excavations 1981/2 and 1984/5
EVT3036
EVT3037
EVT3012
EVT3027
EVT3519
EVT3520
EVT3013
EVT3032
outside
EVT3248
EVT3250
EVT3004
EVT3038
EVT3014
EVT3040
EVT3322
EVT3005
1983
1983
1983
1983
1983
1984
1984
1984
1986
Excavations along Castle Park Sewer
East Hill House Garden excavations
Excavation at 61/2 High Street (Spendrite)
Anglia Water Authority site, Balkerne Hill
Excavations at Crouched Friars, 1983/4
Excavations at the Gilberd School 1984/5
Excavation, Lion Walk United Reformed Church
Excavations at St. Helen’s Chapel
Excavations at Angel Yard, 1986 and 1989
EVT3015
EVT3033
EVT3041
EVT3042
EVT3087
EVT3006
EVT3016
EVT3043
EVT90
1986
Excavation of St. Botolph’s Priory
EVT3165
CAG, Roman Road
CEC, Roman building and ditches
CEC, Roman buildings and streets
CEC, negative
CEC, Bailey ditch and rampart, Tudor building,
Roman street
CAG, Roman tile kilns
CEC (B R K Dunnett), Roman occupation
Unknown? Roman terracing
Unknown
B R K Dunnett, LPRIA and Roman settlement
CAT, Roman, Saxon, medieval and postmedieval town site
CAT, Roman cemetery
CAT, post-medieval pits
CAT, LBA and early Roman occupation site
CAT, late medieval cemeteries
M R H Davies, Roman pottery shop
CAT, Roman drain-arch/medieval postern
CAT, Roman and medieval cemeteries, ?late
Anglo-Saxon church
CAT, Castle Well
Gilberd School staff & boys, Roman building
and street
CAT, Roman houses and town defences
CAT, Roman, Saxon, medieval and postmedieval town site
CAT, Roman pottery kilns
CAT, Roman building and ditches
CAT, Roman building and ditches
CAT
M R H Davies
CAT, medieval and post-medieval houses and
street
CAT, negative results
CAT
CAT, LPRIA and Roman ditches (date
confused?)
CAT, post-medieval features
CAT
CAT, Roman temple and house
CAT, Roman cemetery and mausoleum
P J Drury & W J Rodwell
CAT
CAT, Roman house and post-Roman ?kilns
CAT, St. John’s Church (Anglo-Saxon)
CAT, portico and theatre
CAT, negative results
CAT, negative results
CAT, Roman and medieval houses, kilns, street
CAT, Roman town defences
CAT, Roman and medieval houses
CAT, negative results
CAT
CAT, Roman, Saxon, medieval and postmedieval town site
CAT, Roman houses and streets
CAT, Roman Streets and houses, burials
CAT, ?Roman burials, drain and building
CAT, negative results
CAG, Roman road
CAT, Roman buildings
CAT, Roman buildings
CAT, chapel and Roman theatre
CAT, Roman, medieval and post-medieval
buildings
CAT, Priory church, medieval? burials
361
APPENDICES
1986
1987
1987
1987
1987
1987
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
Excavation on Museum Street+D195
Excavations at Britannia Works
Excavation at Bluebottle Grove
Evaluation at 1 Middleborough
Excavation of enclosure 1, Stanway
Excavations at 36 East Stockwell St
Evaluation at 6/7 Church Walk
Excavations at 11 Short Wyre Street
Excavations at No 42 Crouch Street
Excavation of enclosure 1 & 2, Stanway
Osborne Street Excavations
EVT3166
EVT3167
EVT3168
EVT3927
outside
EVT3169
EVT3569
EVT3789
EVT3017
outside
EVT3028
1988
1988
1988
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989
1990
1990
1990
1990
1991
1991
Excavation of the Castle Chapel
Evaluation at 18 North Hill
Excavations at 53 Crowhurst Road
Excavation of St. Mary Magdalen’s churchyard
Excavations at 14/15 West Stockwell Street
Evaluation, Warehouse west of 2 Northgate St
Gosbecks-Colchester Road
Evaluation at 89 East Hill garden
Evaluation at Royal London, Sheepen Place
Vineyard Press Excavations, 1989/90
Evaluation next to 3 East Hill
Excavation of Enclosure 1, Stanway
St. John’s Street Excavations
Excavation of lift shaft at Colchester Castle
Excavations at St. Botolph’s Priory
EVT3155
EVT3571
EVT3170
EVT3157
EVT3171
EVT3573
outside
EVT3574
EVT3575
EVT91
EVT3576
outside
EVT3172
EVT3173
EVT3174
1991
1991
1992
1993
1994
1994
1994
1994
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1998
1998
Excavation of enclosures 3 & 4 Stanway
Excavations at St. Martin’s Church
Excavation of enclosures 3 & 4, Stanway
Excavation at 24 Lexden Road
Excavations at 79 Hythe Hill
Gosbecks Road and land west of Olivers Lane
Gosbecks both sides of Olivers Lane
Gosbecks Cropmark
Excavations at St. Mary Magdalen Church
Gosbecks site A
Gosbecks site B
Gosbecks temple
Gosbecks temple
Excavation of Colchester Castle well house
Excavations at Turner Rise, Asda Store, 1996/7
Gosbecks site C
Gosbecks temple
Beverley Road
Evaluation at Turner Rise
Evaluation at Westway/Sheepen Place
Excavations at 147/9 High Street (Jacklins)
Excavations at the Mercury Theatre
Evaluation at 47 Butt Road
Evaluation at Co-Op, Long Wyre Street
Evaluation at former Maternity Home
Evaluation plot east of 28 Eld Lane
Evaluation of Northern Approach Road Stage 1
Enclosures 5 & 2, Stanway
Evaluation at St. Mary’s Hospital
Gosbecks temple
Evaluation at 117–19 and 124–5 Hythe Hill
Excavation at the Co op stores, Long Wyre Street
outside
EVT3175
outside
EVT3516
EVT37
outside
outside
outside
EVT3176
outside
outside
outside
outside
EVT3177
EVT3178
outside
outside
no entry
EVT3596
EVT3609
EVT3179
EVT3607
EVT3701
EVT3702
EVT3608
EVT3605
EVT3595
outside
EVT3606
outside
EVT3703
EVT3733
1998
1998
Evaluation at 157a–167 Nth Station Road (Tweeds)
Evaluation at the Old Poultry Market, North Station Rd
EVT3734
EVT3735
1998
1998
1998
Evaluation at former Moler Works, Hythe
Evaluation at Old Post Office site, Head Street
Evaluation at Brinkley Grove (SAM), Highwoods
EVT3881
EVT4095
outside
CAT, Roman and medieval buildings
CAT, negative results
English Heritage, LPRIA dyke
CAT, town wall
CAT, LPRIA enclosure
CAT, unpublished?
CAT, Town wall
CAT Report 113, Town wall
CAT, Roman burials, medieval friary buildings
CAT, LPRIA/early Roman enclosures
CAT, Roman, medieval and post-medieval
buildings
CAT
CAT, Roman building
CAT, Roman finds
CAT, medieval leper hospital
CAT, Roman Street
CAT, Town wall
CAT, Roman road
CAT, Town wall
CAT, wooden structure?
CAT, Roman and medieval buildings
CAT, negative results
CAT, LPRIA/early Roman enclosure
CAT, Roman building and road
CAT
CAT, Roman building and medieval priory
buildings
CAT, LPRIA/early Roman enclosures
CAT
CAT, LPRIA/early Roman enclosures
Roman building, burials, road
CAT, medieval and post-medieval buildings
CAT
CAT
CAT, machine-based evaluation of cropmark
CAT, medieval leper hospital
CAT
CAT, LPRIA and early Roman settlement
CAT, temple and ditch
CAT, Roman temple
CAT
CAT, Roman cemetery and 1648 siegework
CAT, early and late Roman cremations
CAT, ditch, ambulatory, portico
CAG, Facilis tombstone, Roman road
CAT
CAT Report 10, negative
CAT Report 12, Roman pottery shop
CAT, Roman buildings and streets
CAT Report 11 and 58, Roman burials
CAT, Roman buildings
CAT Report 5, Roman pits
CAT Report 1, Roman drain?
CAT Report 2, LPRIA and Roman ditches
CAT, LPRIA/Early Roman enclosures
CAT Report 3, Roman buildings
CAT, ditch, portico
CAT Report 15, post-medieval building
CAT Reports 13, 14 and 44, Roman buildings
and streets
CAT Report 19, post-medieval features
CAT Report 21, Roman and post-medieval
building
Cotswold Archaeological Trust, negative results
AOC, Roman buildings and street
CAT Report 31, undated earthwork
362
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
1998
Evaluation at St. Peter’s House, St. Peter’s Street
EVT3736
1998
Gosbecks Evaluation for visitor centre
outside
1999
Evaluation at 64–76 Hythe Hill
EVT3875
1999
1999
EVT3884
EVT3886
1999
1999
Evaluation at St. Botolph’s Priory
Evaluation to rear of Middleborough House (21
Middleborough)
Excavation at 64–76 Hythe Hill
Gosbecks Archaeological Park
EVT3875
outside
2000
2000
Trial trench in the garden of Tymperleys House, Trinity Street
Excavations at 22–24 High Street, Colchester
EVT3865
EVT3867
2000
2000
Evaluation at St. Leonard’s Church, Hythe Hill
Excavation at the Garrison sports pitch, Circular Road North
EVT3874
EVT3882
2000
2000
Evaluation at 63 North Hill, Colchester
Excavation at 29–39 Head Street
EVT3887
no entry
2000/1
2001
Excavation at Hollytrees Museum, Castle Park
Evaluation at Topfield, Rawstorn Road
EVT3958
EVT4180
2001
2001
2001
2001
EVT3873
EVT3913
EVT3873
no entry
2001
Evaluation at 26 West Lodge Road, Colchester
Evaluation at North Station Road nr Victoria Inn
Excavations at 26 West Lodge Road
Evaluation of Northern Approach Road Phase 3 (Severalls
Hospital/Cuckoo Farm)
Evaluation at 4 St. Peter’s Street
2001
2002
2002
2002
2002
Evaluation of land west of Colchester General Hospital
Evaluation to rear of 36 North Hill (Byron’s Yard)
Evaluation of west side of St. John’s Abbey precinct wall
Evaluation of Royal Grammar School playground
Evaluation of Royal Grammar School playground
EVT3986
EVT4024
EVT3941
EVT4013
EVT4085
2002
2002
Evaluation adjacent to 2 Alexandra Road
Evaluation at Area C, Colchester Garrison PFI site
EVT4008
EVT3946
2002
Evaluation rear of 25 Head Street
no entry
2002
2002
2002
Evaluation at Areas E and F, Colchester Garrison PFI site
Evaluation at Area KR, Colchester Garrison PFI site
Evaluation at Areas A, B, D, GJ, H, J, N, V & YP, Colchester
Garrison PFI site
Evaluation at Areas DR, G, M, P, Q, R, RO, S and P
Colchester Garrison PFI site
no entry
EVT3939
EVT3946
Evaluation at 11 Oaks Drive
Evaluation at Handford House, 1 Queens Road
Evaluation at 23 St. Julian’s Grove
Evaluation at Elmwood Avenue
Evaluation in the car park of Greyfriars Adult Community
College, Castle Road
Evaluation at 2 Sussex Lodge, Sussex Road
Evaluation at 19 Beverley Road
Excavation at 1 St. Clare Road
Evaluation at 1–2 East Hill
Evaluation on the site of the medical centre, Tollgate west,
London Road, Stanway
Evaluation at the First Eastern National bus station, Queen
Street
Evaluation at 7 Ashley Gardens
Evaluation at 1,1a & 2 Beverley Road
Evaluation at St. Benedict’s College, Norman Way
no entry
EVT4032
EVT4034
EVT3982
EVT4039
CAT, Medieval and post-medieval buildings
CAT Report 45, temple enclosure, theatre
enclosure
CAT Report 40 and 74, negative results
CAT Reports 57 and 101, Roman, medieval and
post-medieval buildings
CAT Report 68, churchyard
CAT Reports 54 and 138, Roman cremation,
medieval or post-medieval features
CAT Report 64, Roman building
CAT Report 268, Roman buildings and street,
Boudican destruction horizon
Cat Report 132, negative results
CAT Report 134, Roman pits, ditches and
inhumations
CAT Report 142, Roman cremation
CAT Report 163, Roman building
CAT Report 80, Roman cremation
CAT Report 159, post-medieval/modern
features
CAT Report 164, Roman or medieval floor
surface
CAT Report 165, LPRIA/Roman linear features
CAT Report 177, negative results
CAT Report 178, medieval wall
CAT Reports 180, negative results
CAT Report 179, possible Roman boundary
ditch
CAT Report 187, Roman pits
CAT Report 197, MIA/LPRIA/Roman field
systems and a trackway
CAT Report 198, Roman mortar floor and
medieval cess pit
CAT Report 203, LPRIA/Roman field systems
CAT Report 205, LPRIA/Roman ditches
CAT Report 206, prehistoric pit and Roman
burials, pits, ditches and a robbed-out building
CAT Report 207, LBA/EIA occupation site with
associated pits, elements of an EIA/MIA
landscape and LPRIA oppidum fields and
trackways
CAT Report 209, negative results
CAT Report 210, Roman burials
CAT Report 215, negative results
CAT Report 216, negative results
CAT Report 219, negative results
EVT2974
EVT4035
EVT3961
EVT3967
outside
CAT Report 220, negative results
CAT Report 224, Roman road
CAT Report 225, negative results
CAT Report 226, post-medieval features
CAT Report 228,
EVT3989
CAT Report 234, Roman demolition material,
post-medieval features
CAT Report 240, Roman feature
ECC, Roman road ditch
CAT Report 245, negative results
2002
2002
2002
2002
2002
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
EVT3914
EVT3945
EVT3955
EVT4082
EVT4031
CAT Report 25, Roman gravel bank, postmedieval piles and pipe
CAT Report 30, Roman LPRIA pits and ditches,
LBA pit, Roman water main
CAT Reports 36 and 125, Medieval and postmedieval buildings
CAT Report 39, negative results
CAT Report 42, medieval finds
363
APPENDICES
2003
2003
2003
EVT4051
EVT3978
EVT4029
2003
2003
Evaluation at the Globe Hotel, North Station Road
Evaluation at 30 St. Clare Road
Test-pit survey on the Balkerne Heights development (the
former St. Mary’s Hospital site)
Evaluation at 282 Shrub End Road
Excavation of Areas 2, 6, 10 at the Colchester Garrison PFI site
2003/4
2004
Evaluation at the Sixth Form College, North Hill
Excavation at ‘Southern Slopes’, on land at Rectory Close
EVT4128
EVT4098
2004
2004
Evaluation at the Salisbury Hotel, 112 Butt Road
Evaluation at Vineyard Gate
EVT 4087
EVT4046
2004
2004
2004
Evaluation and excavations at Areas C1, C2, E, J1, O, Q and S1 EVT4068
of the Garrison Urban Village
Evaluation at 38–40 Crouch St
EVT4076
Evaluation at land east of Brook Street
EVT3977
2004
Excavation at 60–66 East Street
EVT3954
2004
Evaluation at Area J1 of the Garrison Urban Village
no entry
2004
Evaluation at the rear of Greyfriars Adult Community College,
Castle Road
Evaluation at 15 Rawstorn Road
Evaluation on the site of the Visual Arts Facility, East Hill
House and Colchester Bus Station
Evaluation at the rear of 17–18 Osborne Street
no entry
2004
2004
2004
2004
EVT3979
EVT3943
no entry
EVT4136
EVT4043
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
Excavation at Handford Place (formerly Handford House), 1
Queens Road
Evaluation at the rear of 12 and 13 St. Botolph’s Street
Excavation at the Musket Club, Homefield Road
Evaluation and excavation at 15 West Lodge Road
Investigation of the Roman town wall at Roman Road
Evaluation at St. Botolph’s car park
Excavation at the Sixth Form College, North Hill
Evaluation at the attenuation pond site (the south-east corner
of the Abbey Field)
Evaluation at the Mercury Flats, Balkerne Gardens
Evaluation at the corner of Mile End Road and Bruff Close
Evaluation at Lexden Grange, 127 Lexden Road
Excavation of a Roman temple-tomb at CRGS, 6 Lexden Road
Evaluation at Colchester High School, 17 Wellesley Road
no entry
EVT3966
EVT3964
EVT4077
EVT3950
2006
Evaluation at St. Helena School drama block, Sheepen Road
EVT4065
2006
Evaluation of a new car park on the Abbey Field, south of
Circular Road North
Evaluation at 11 Maldon Road
Evaluation at the rear of 95–96 High Street
EVT4105
2004
2004/5
2004/5
2004/6
2005
2005
2005
2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
no entry
EVT4046
EVT4067
EVT4025
EVT3994
EVT4084
EVT4119
EVT3938
EVT4171
no entry
2006
2006
2006
Evaluation at 3 Oxford Road
Evaluation at 14 Vineyard Street
Evaluation at 8 St. Botolph’s Street
Evaluation at the staff and student car-parks, Colchester
Institute, Sheepen Road
Evaluation at the Central Clinic, High Street
Evaluation at Colchester High School, 17 Wellesley Road
Evaluation at the EDF Energy site, Osborne Street
EVT4195
EVT4045
EVT4044
no entry
EVT4165
EVT4022
EVT4048
2006
Evaluation (Stage 2) at the rear of 95–96 High Street
no entry
2006
Excavation at St. Helena School drama block
EVT4065
CAT Report 248, Roman buildings
CAT Report 250, negative results
CAT Report 256, Roman town ditch, building
and street
CAT Report 257, negative results
CAT Report 292, MIA enclosure and
roundhouse, LPRIA oppidum trackways and
field systems, and LPRIA burials
CAT Report 260, Roman building
Pre-Construct Archaeology, LPRIA/Early
Roman pits and field boundaries,
CAT Report 266, negative results
CAT Report 269, Roman, medieval and postmedieval features
CAT Report 271–4, Neolithic and LPRIA
features, Roman circus and cemetery
CAT Report 277, House of Crouched Friars
CAT Report 281, medieval/post-medieval pits
and ditch
CAT Report 283, medieval and post-medieval
building remains
CAT Report 288, Roman building evidence,
road, ditches and burials
CAT Report 290, Roman tessellated pavement
CAT Report 291, negative results
CAT Reports 295 and 305, Roman demolition
material
CAT Report 297, Early Roman features and
medieval pits
CAT Report 323, Roman inhumation and
cremation burials
CAT Report 298, post-medieval buildings
CAT Report 311, MIA or later enclosure
CAT, Roman cremation burials
CAT Report 356, Roman town wall foundations
ECC, negative results
CAT, Roman floor surfaces
CAT Report 320, Roman trackway ditches
CAT Report 331, Roman building remains
CAT Report 332, negative results
CAT, Roman pits
CAT Report 345, temple tomb
CAT Report 352, Roman features including an
inhumation and a rubbish pit
CAT Report 351, early Roman pits, ditches and a
gulley associated with animal bone, slag, daub
and tile
CAT Report 358, modern military features and
an undated trackway ditch
CAT Report 359, post-medieval pits
CAT Report 360, south precinct wall of the
Temple of Claudius
CAT Report 362, Roman road
CAT Report 363, Roman extramural ditch
CAT Report 364, undated gravel surface
CAT Report 368, LPRIA and Roman quarry pits
and ditches
CAT Report 372, Roman street and buildings
CAT Report 373, Roman trackway, ditch and pit
CAT Report 378, medieval and post-medieval
building foundations and a wood-lined drain
CAT Report 380, Roman monumental arch
leading to the Temple of Claudius
CAT Report 384, LPRIA/Roman pits, ditches
and a gulley
364
2006
2006
2006
2006
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
EVT4124
EVT4058
no entry
EVT4196
CAT Report 390, House of the Crouched Friars
CAT Report 395, Roman buildings
CAT Report 398, medieval town wall
CAT Report 403, prehistoric/Roman ditch
EVT4134
2007
2007
Evaluation at 38–40 Crouch Street
Excavation in Balkerne Passage and Balkerne Gardens
Evaluation at 19 Eld Lane
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area P1 (off Berechurch Road)
Colchester Garrison
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area S2 (south) Colchester
Garrison
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area B1a (off Berechurch Road)
Colchester Garrison
Evaluation at Short Cut Road
Evaluation in the car-park of Greyfriars Adult Community
College, High Street
Evaluation at Jarmin Road
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area H Colchester Garrison
2007
Evaluation at St. Helena School, Sheepen Road
no entry
2007
2007
Evaluation at Colchester Garrison Church, Military Road
EVT4131
Evaluation in Castle Park putting green and nursery, Colchester EVT4111
2007
2007
Excavation at Topfield, Rawstorn Road
Excavation on the Abbey Field car-park, Circular Road North
EVT4178
EVT4197
2007
EVT4143
2007
2007
2007
2007
Excavation at Alienated Land Area S2 (south) Colchester
Garrison
Evaluation at Rawstorn Road (adjacent to Topfield)
Evaluation in Stanwell Street
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area J2, Colchester Garrison
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area B1b, Colchester Garrison
EVT4178
EVT4121
EVT4140
EVT4192
2007
Evaluation at Alienated Land Area L/N, Colchester Garrison
EVT4193
2007
2007
Evaluation at St. John’s Green (south of Southway)
Evaluation at Turner Village House
EVT4172
EVT4169
2007/8
Evaluation of the proposed extension to the ‘south site’
buildings at the Sixth Form College, North Hill,
99 High Street
37 Oaks Drive
Evaluation at A Barber & Son, 10 William’s Walk
k
EVT4184
CAT Report 404, prehistoric, Roman and postmedieval ditches
CAT Report 405, Roman, medieval and postmedieval features
CAT Report 406, Roman building material
CAT Report 408, medieval building, WWII airraid shelter
CAT Report 409, Roman ditches and pits
CAT Report 413, Roman cremation and
inhumation burials
CAT Report 414, Roman pits and wall
foundation
CAT Report 419, Napoleonic military graves
CAT Report 422, test pitting, Roman demolition
layer
CAT Report 423,
CAT Report 424, Roman droveway and
cremation burials
CAT Report 428, LBA/EIA roundhouse,
medieval and post-medieval field systems
CAT Report 429, Roman pits and trackway
CAT Report 432, test pit
CAT Report 437, Roman field boundaries
CAT Report 438, Roman occupation material
(pottery and tile) and burials, Circus, monastic
building of St. John’s Abbey
CAT Report 456, Roman field system and
building remains, modern military buildings
CAT, undated gravel feature
Wessex Archaeology, LPRIA/Roman pits and
ditches, palaeo-environmental evidence
CAT Report 483, Roman demolition material
2007
2007
2007
2007
Abbreviations
B = Boudican
CAG = Colchester Excavation Group
CAT = Colchester Archaeological Trust
CEC = Colchester Excavation Committee
CRGS = Colchester Royal Grammar School
EAS = Essex Archaeological Society
ECC = Essex County Council Field Archaeology Unit
EIA = Early Iron Age
F = Fortress
LBA = Late Bronze Age
LPRIA = Late Pre-Roman Iron Age
MIA = Middle Iron Age
PH = Public House
R = Roman
EVT4142
EVT4189
no entry
EVT4175
EVT4107
CAT Report 440
CAT
Report
471
CAT
Report
471
365
APPENDICES
Tables
site
Cups Hotel
Culver Street
Lion Walk
Church Lane
Gilberd School
Angel Yard
Head Street
Waggon and Horses
PH, North Hill
UAD monument number
MON1016
MON549; MON529; MON530; MON531; MON532; MON536
MON517; MON518;MON519
MON739
MON268
MON53
GRP91
GRP22
Table 1 Lesser streets in the legionary fortress
site
Gilberd School
Culver Street
Lion Walk
St Mary’s Rectory,
Church Street
Head Street Post Office
Mercury Theatre,
Church Street
St Mary’s Cottage,
Church Lane
6th Form College,
North Hill
Red Lion Hotel
NCP Car Park,
Nunns Road
UAD monument number
MON267; MON269
MON522; MON523; MON524; MON525; MON526; MON527
MON462; MON463; MON464; MON465; MON466; MON467
MON733; MON734
ELM1100
MON804
ELM732
MON727
GRP116
MON816
Table 2 Legionary barracks in the fortress
site name
Sheepen 1930–9
St Nicholas’s Church 1955–6
The Colne Temple Complex 1959
NCP Car Park North Hill 1965
The Telephone Exchange Site 1966
St Mary’s Rectory 1967
Sheepen 1970
Lion Walk 1971–4
Balkerne Lane 1973–6
The Cups Hotel 1973–4
Culver Street 1981–2, 1984–5
Lion Walk United Reformed Church 1984–5
The Gilberd School 1984–5
Head Street 2000
bibliographic reference
Hawkes and Hull 1947
Hull 1960
Blake 1959
Dunnett 1967
Dunnett 1971d, 7–37
Dunnett 1971d, 62–77
Niblett 1985
CAR 3, 31–92
CAR 3, 93–153
CAR 6, 328–38
CAR 6, 21–126
CAR 6, 378–84
CAR 6, 127–39
Brooks 2004a
Table 3 Major excavations in the early colonia
366
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
modern street name (earliest reference)
Abbeygate Street (Lodders or Ladders Lane)
Childwell Alley (Cheldervelle Lane)
Culver Street or Lane
Eld Lane (le Oldelond)
Head Street (Have[d]strata)
High Street (western end called Cornhill)
Lion Walk (Cat Lane)
Maidenburgh Street (Maidenborough)
Magdalen Street (Magdeleyn Lane)
North Street
Pelhams Lane (Whitefoots Lane)
Priory Street (Moore Street)
Queen Street (South Street or Southgate Street)
St. Peter’s Street (Fowles Lane)
Stanwell Street
Stockwell, Stockwell Street
West Stockwell Street
Vineyard Street (Beres Lane)
Long Wyre Street (Wirstrate)
first record
mid-13th century
1340
1334
1341
1173
1337
1320
1312
1272
1196
1306
1275
1333
1330
1341
1329
1327
1312
1277
(source: CAR 1, 79)
Table 4 Earliest documentary reference to medieval streets
houses/buildings
14th century
15th century
16th century
17th century
total
Colchester
4
19
43
68
134
Saffron Walden
4
28
71
29
132
Table 5 Analysis of medieval and early modern houses and ‘buildings’ on the statutory lists for Colchester and Saffron Walden by century
367
APPENDICES
name
Rose and Crown
Hotel, East Street
no. 7 Trinity Street
UAD no.
MON277
nos. 7–9 Queen
Street
No. 93 Hythe Hill
MON187
MON11
no. 8 Trinity Street
no. 39 East Hill
no. 98 Hythe Hill
MON197
MON238
MON13
Bay House, West
Stockwell Street (Fig
1)
MON160
14th-century date?
no. 3 West Stockwell
Street (Fig 2)
MON40
15th-century
Bonners, 37 Long
Wyre Street
nos. 5–7 Stockwell
MON193
early 15th century?
MON164
15th-century
MON129
MON195
part of early 15thcentury structure
mid-6th-century
Red Lion Hotel, High
Street
MON34
late 15th century?
Ye Olde Marquise
PH (formerly
Marquis of Granby),
24 North Hill
no. 23 North Hill
MON132
1520s
MON309
late medieval
long-wall jetty building of narrow plan form
MON134
late medieval
long-wall jetty house
MON113
late medieval
three-storeyed building
nos. 13–15 North
Hill
no. 6 Trinity Street
no. 37 (former Castle
Book Shop), North
Hill
no. 118 High Street
MON196
date
late 13th- or early
14th-century
late 15th or early
16th century?
possibly late 14thcentury
late medieval,
jettied
15th-century date?
late medieval
mid- to late 14thcentury
description
an aisled structure of three unequal bays
a small, but impressive, open hall; of two equal bays,
remains of a public building?
two-bay cross-wing
a two-bay cross-wing with evidence for a shop front
(now under-built)
high-quality cross-wing of
two-bay, jettied, cross-wing
a jettied cross-wing, probably originally of three bays
with an overshot cross-passage
The front room was a shop, possibly the earliest
surviving in the town
two adjoining cross-wings?
The two-bayed structure now seems to be the only
example of this popular building type to survive in
Colchester.
This merchant’s house is one of the most
conspicuous and photographed medieval buildings in
the town.
tall two-bay cross-wing
remarkable three-bay building with one large chamber
on the first floor.
This is described as 'the old wool hall' in a 17thcentury deed in the possession of the owner.
two parallel ranges forming a double pile building
part cross-wing
perhaps the most significant surviving timber-framed
building in Colchester.
Probably first built as a town house by the noble
Howard Family, by 1515 it had become an inn.
Earliest part is jettied two-bay block, within a few
years, it came to form part of an H-plan complex.
standard long-wall jettied house, remarkable for its
elaborate decoration.
Table 6 Significant surviving late medieval buildings in Colchester
368
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLCHESTER
site location
Lion Walk
Middleborough
Middleborough
64–76 Hythe Hill
79 Hythe Hill
Angel Yard
12–13 Middleborough
UAD no.
MON 492
MON 332
MON 333
MON 22/23
MON 55
MON 76
reference
CAR 3, 78–81
CAR 3, 189–98
CAR 3, 199–209
CATB 197–9; Benfield 2001
Brooks 2000, 114–16
Shimmin and Carter 1996, 42–57
Crummy 1984b, 206–8 CAT 3/87b
Table 7 Excavated post-medieval buildings in Colchester
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index
Illustrations are indicated by page numbers in italics or by illus where figures are scattered throughout the text.
aaron the Jew 250
abberton Dyke 55
abbey field, archaeological evidence
Bronze age 29
iron age 52
early roman 95
later roman
burials 103, 149, 151, 155, 156–7, 159,
172
circus 116, 118
abbeygate street see lodders lane
abbotstone, archaeological evidence
Bronze age 28
middle iron age 22, 25, 30
late iron age–early roman 38, 49, 54, 79
abundantia 148
acland avenue 29, 45
acton collection 4
adam of Colchester 242
adams garage 114
Ælfgar 201
Ælflaed 201
aerial surveys 7, 37, 38, 103
Æthelflaed 201
Æthelred ii 191, 200, 201
agriculture
late iron age 47–52, 50
roman 101, 140, 141–2
anglo-saxon 176, 203
early medieval 236–7, 247–8
late medieval 275–6
post-medieval 294
see also animal bone; field systems;
horticulture; plant remains
ala i thracum 72, 74
all saints Church 196, 229, 230, 249, 274,
285
all saints well 264
almshouses 282, 285–6
alresford 168, 201, 202
altars, roman
Balkerne lane 147, 148
middleborough 166
temple of Claudius 102, 119, 143
western cemetery 148
altnacealgach house 65, 168, 169
ambiani 46
amphitheatre 113
angel inn 290
angel yard (angel Court), archaeological
evidence
roman 102, 132, 133, 172
anglo-saxon 177, 181, 185, 195, 200
early medieval 210
biological remains 253
domestic occupation 234, 235, 236
metalworking 244
pottery 211
late medieval 257, 261, 261, 262, 264
post-medieval 261, 282, 283, 289, 291,
293
archaeological deposits 16
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 177, 189, 192
anglo-saxon period, early
archaeological evidence 179
burials 181–3
coins 181
gazetteer of monuments and finds
338–9
occupation 178–81, 180
possessions 183
pottery 183–4
current state of knowledge 184–5
finds evidence 177–8
future research 187–8
historical framework 175–7
importance 186–7
past work 177
preservation 186
anglo-saxon period, late
archaeological evidence
defences, streets and urban plan 193–6,
194
gazetteer of monuments and finds 339
manufacturing and trade 200–1
pottery and metalwork 199–200, 200
religious buildings 196–9, 197, 198
secular buildings 199
current state of knowledge 204
evidence, nature of 192
finds evidence 192–3
future research 205
hinterland 201–4
historical framework 189–91
importance 205
past work 191–2
preservation 204–5
animal bone
Palaeolithic 19, 25
late iron age 39, 41
roman 63, 72, 140
medieval 248, 251, 253, 268
post-medieval 294
annexe, early roman
colonia 78, 85, 87, 97
fortress
defences 62, 68, 75
function 70, 75
future research 76
plan 61, 67
antefixes, roman 136
antler-working
roman 139
anglo-saxon 178, 181
apothecaries 291
appleby, r J m 37
aqueduct 73–4, 120
archaeology, history of
antiquarians and collectors 1–5, 3, 4
Colchester archaeological trust 6–8, 8
excavators 5–6, 8
architectural fragments, medieval 224, 226,
273, 275, 285
ardleigh, archaeological/historical evidence
Bronze age 21, 22, 29, 43
iron age 30, 103
roman 103, 135–6
anglo-saxon 175
medieval 243, 266
post-medieval 291
armour
roman 91–2
386
post-medieval 293
see also chain mail
Arnoldswick 248
arrowheads, Anglo-Saxon 181
Artemis 148
Artillery Folly, coin hoard 133, 172, 187
assarting 249
Athelstan 190, 204
Audley, Thomas 273, 285
Aulus Plautius 59, 75
Austine, John 291
awl, Bronze Age 22
axes
Mesolithic 25
Bronze Age
copper alloy 53
flint 22
viking 183, 191, 192
see also handaxes
baking
roman 139
medieval 268
Bale, major 226, 273
Balfour Beattie 7
Balkerne gardens
archaeological deposits 16, 18
archaeological evidence 90, 96
Balkerne gate
archaeological evidence
early roman: colonia 79, 89–90, 97;
fortress 68
late roman 104, 108, 108, 109, 110, 114;
extramural settlement 163, 164
anglo-saxon 191, 193
excavations 5, 79
Balkerne heights (st mary’s hospital; union
Workhouse)
archaeological deposits 16, 18
archaeological/historical evidence
prehistoric 25, 29
early roman 12, 87
later roman: burials 103, 149, 155, 157,
158, 164, 165; pottery production
136; road 112; temple 146, 147; water
supply 119, 120
anglo-saxon 177, 181
post-medieval 293
excavations 3, 7, 8
Balkerne hill 14, 107, 107, 110, 165
Balkerne lane, archaeological evidence
early roman
Boudican revolt 80, 82, 96
buildings 71, 79, 82, 92
burials/human bone 64, 73
fortress defences 62, 67, 68, 82
refuse material 72, 92
street 66, 69
later roman
buildings 124, 163–5, 164, 172
dark earth 142
defences 110
gravel walkways 106
INDEX
horticulture 140
manufacturing and trade 136, 137, 137,
138–9, 140
plot boundaries 106
street 112
temple 147, 148, 160
water supply 119, 120
medieval–post-medieval 210, 250, 293
Ball, John 256
Barnhall, cemetery 39, 56, 57, 95
Barnhall Dyke 42, 55
barns
roman 132, 133, 141, 183
medieval 259
post-medieval 284
barracks
roman 69, 74–5, 79, 83–5, 365
post-medieval 299
barrows
Bronze age 22, 29
iron age see lexden tumulus
roman 157
Bartram, a 292
Barwick’s chantry 285
basilica, roman 114, 173
bastions, medieval 264–5, 265, 277, 287
bathhouses, roman
early roman
colonia 83, 88, 89, 98
fortress 74, 75
later roman
extramural 166
future research 173
gosbecks 146
hollytrees meadow 102
insula 1 128, 129, 130
insula 20 114
insula 30 114, 115, 171
Battleswick 247, 248, 276
Bay hall 292
Bay house 270, 345
beads
Bronze age 26
roman 80, 95, 96
anglo-saxon 181, 182, 182, 183
bed/couch, roman 80, 85, 94, 96
Berechurch, archaeological/historical
evidence
roman 168
anglo-saxon 202
medieval 247, 249, 276
Berechurch Dyke 42, 45, 57
Berisland see vineyard street
Berryfield (Buryfield), archaeological/
historical evidence
roman 138, 160, 183, 187
medieval 236–7
Berton 202
Beverley road, burials 3, 94, 149, 154, 157–8
Birch 202
bishopric, roman 160
Black, David and aileen 38
Black Brook 42
Black Death 209, 255, 256
Black friars 285
Blake, Brian 6, 37, 282
Blind Knights, waterlogged deposits 257
Blyton, simon de 271
bolster chisel 213
bomb damage 298–300
bone-working
roman 64, 138–9
anglo-saxon 201
Bonners 270, 346
Boudican revolt
archaeological evidence
description 12, 79, 82, 87, 88, 93, 96–7
importance and future research 98
survival 120–4
historical background 78, 89, 100, 143
Bourne mill 246–7, 268, 291, 292
Bourne Pond 263
Bourne road, cremation 52
Bradenham, lionel de 256
Braiswick 247, 248
Braiswick farm 276
brass-working
roman 64, 80, 86, 90, 91, 138
medieval 245
brewing
roman 90, 139
medieval 245, 267–8
post-1700 300
brick
roman 63, 70, 71, 107, 170
reused 238
medieval 259
post-medieval 290, 347
bridges
roman 113
medieval 230, 264
post-medieval 287
see also north Bridge
Brinkley grove, earthwork 294
briquetage 47, 64
Bronze age period 26–9, 26, 30
brooches
iron age 40, 41, 46, 52, 53, 57
roman 80, 81, 91, 96
anglo-saxon 181, 182, 182, 183, 200
Brook street, flints 25
brothels 262
Brown and sons 271
Bryton, estate 201
buckles, anglo-saxon 182, 183
building stone
early roman 63, 80
later roman
buildings 125
circus 119
defences 107
imported 139
temples 143, 144, 145
early medieval 238, 239, 241, 242
see also marble veneers
buildings
387
INDEX
iron age 44, 45, 57
early roman
colonia 78, 82–9
fortress 69–70, 71, 74–5
techniques 63–4
vicus 73
later roman
current state of knowledge 170, 171,
173
domestic and commercial: 1st century
120–7, 121, 122, 125; 2nd century 123,
126, 127–31, 129, 130, 134; 3rd
century 131–2; 4th century 132–3;
extramural 163–5, 164, 166–7
public 113–20, 117, 118
early anglo-saxon 178–80, 180, 184–5,
187
later anglo-saxon
religious 196–9, 197, 198, 202
secular 199, 204, 205
early medieval
cellars 233
domestic and commercial 230–5, 231,
237–8, 250, 251–2
ecclesiastical 222–30, 222, 224, 225
listed 366
past work 209–10
public 230
see also castle
late medieval
cellars 271
domestic and commercial 269–71, 270,
277, 278, 344–8
ecclesiastical 271–5, 272
gazetteer 344–8
listed 366
public 263–6, 265
surviving 367
post-medieval
domestic and commercial 283, 288–9
excavated 289–90, 295, 296, 368
listed 366
public 286–7
post-1700 300–1
Bull hotel 267
burh 177, 185, 187, 189–90, 195, 205
burials
Bronze age 22, 29
anglo-saxon 13, 181–3
iron age 38, 49, 52–4, 55–6, 57
early roman
colonia 81, 93–6, 95
fortress 64, 72–3, 75, 76
later roman
burial rites 157–9
Christian 161–2
description (illus) 148–57, 159–60, 172
early medieval 211, 251
late medieval 257, 272, 273, 274–5
post-medieval 294, 295
see also cemeteries; cremations
Burlington road, coffin 159
Butt road, archaeological evidence
Bronze Age 29
Roman
animal bone 140
burials 102, 149, 153, 155–6, 158, 160,
161–2
church mortuary monument 161, 162,
170, 187
manufacturing 135, 139
Anglo-Saxon 13, 201
medieval 238
post-medieval 293
butter market 286
Buxton, Robert 291
Byrhtnoth 190, 191, 201
Calver, H C 89
Cambridge (Cambs), road to 67, 111–12,
203
Camden, William 1, 36, 209
camps, Roman 64, 65
Camulodunon
archaeological evidence
agriculture and field system 47–52, 50
burials and ritual structures 48, 49,
52–4
dykes 37, 42–3
manufacturing and trade 45–7
oppidum 41–2
preservation 56
settlement 43–5, 51
current state of knowledge 54–6
finds evidence 38–41
future research 57
historical framework 33–6, 35
importance 56–7
past work 36–8
Camulos 34, 146
candlestick manufacture, roman 136
Cannock mill 246, 268, 291
Canonswick 248
Canwick 276
Caractacus 36, 59
Carroll group 7
Cassius Dio 34, 78
castle
antiquarian activity 1, 79, 209
archaeological deposits 18
archaeological evidence 213, 213
1st phase: bailey defences 216; keep
213–16; outer buildings 216
2nd phase: bailey defences 218; keep
217–18; outer buildings 218
later changes 218–20
late medieval 265–6
post-medieval 287
current state of knowledge and importance
250, 252
future research 252
historical background 207, 208, 209
Castle inn 236
Castle methodist Church, street 195
Castle museum 4, 4
Castle Park
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological evidence 4, 6, 14
early roman 67, 68, 82
later roman 5, 101–2, 106, 110
anglo-saxon 182
medieval 219, 246, 269
post-medieval 293
Castle road, watching brief 226
Catchpool road, pottery 45
le Cateau Barracks 299
Caters site, excavations 6
Cattle market 258
Catuvellauni 34, 35, 36, 38–9, 55, 59
cauldron, Bronze age 22, 26, 27, 31
Cavalry Barracks, circus 117
Cedars road, burials 156, 160
cellars
roman
domestic and commercial buildings 127,
128, 131, 133
extramural 163, 166
function 147
medieval 233, 271
post-medieval 282, 290
cemeteries
Bronze age 22, 29
late iron age
archaeological evidence 41, 52–4
discussion 55–6
finds evidence 39
historical framework 33, 34
past work 36
early roman
colonia 93–6
fortress 72–3, 75, 76
later roman
Christian 161–2
excavation evidence 148–50, 172; burial
rites 157–9; northern 157; southern
153, 155–7; western 150–5, 151, 152
location 150
past work 3, 101, 102–3
early anglo-saxon 177, 181–2, 184, 186,
187
late anglo-saxon 198
early medieval 223, 226, 227, 229
late medieval 257, 272, 273, 274, 275
Central excavation unit 22
centuriation 81, 167, 169
cess pits
medieval 235–6, 238, 264
post-medieval 281, 287
Cestrewald 203, 248, 249
chain mail, iron age 35, 39, 53
chambers, funerary 52, 53, 55, 95
chantries 275, 285
chapels
anglo-saxon 191, 197, 204, 214, 216,
218
medieval 197, 228, 251, 274, 275
charters, anglo-saxon 192
cheese trade 242
Chelmsford 100, 104, 252
388
Chi-rho symbols 161
‘Child’s Grave’ 81, 94, 95
Childwell 230, 264
Childwell Brook 244
Childwell Lane, houses 261
chimney pots 243
chimneys 288, 289, 290
Chiswell 230, 264
Chiswell Meadow 171, 286–7
Chitts Hill, archaeological evidence
Bronze Age 22, 29, 30, 31
Iron Age 48
Christianity
Roman 160–2
Anglo-Saxon 176, 205
see also churches
Church Lane, droveway 29, 48–9
Church Street 195
Church Walk
cellar 290
course of 195
see also St Mary’s Cottage
churches
Roman 160, 161–2, 161, 170
early Anglo-Saxon 181, 188
late Anglo-Saxon
archaeological/historical evidence 196–
9, 197, 198, 202
current state of knowledge/future
research 204–5
historical framework 190
past work 191–2
medieval 222–3, 228–30, 249, 274–5
post-medieval 285, 294
Cintusmus 137
Circular Road north, circus 116
circus 100, 103, 116–19, 118, 171
Civil War
archaeological/historical evidence 287,
292, 293–4
current state of knowledge/future research
295, 296
historical framework 281
past work 282
civitates 99, 100
Claudius 35–6, 59, 77, 78, 97
clay pipes 282, 283, 291
manufacture of 282, 283, 291
cloth seals 259, 268, 283, 293
Cnut, king of Denmark 214
Cnut, king of England 191
Co-op redevelopment 7
Cock and Pie Court, archaeological deposits
16
Coel, King, palace 143, 214
coffins, roman 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 161
Cogidubnus 60
coin moulds 34, 40, 45, 46
coins
iron age 22, 34–5, 34, 35, 36, 41, 46
roman
pre-conquest 39, 53
INDEX
post-conquest 63, 92, 96, 133, 134, 172,
187
early anglo-saxon 178, 181, 187
later anglo-saxon 190, 191, 192, 200,
200
medieval 211–13, 245, 250, 258
see also coin moulds; hoards; mints
Colchester archaeological association 3
Colchester archaeological group 6
Colchester archaeological report series 7
Colchester archaeological trust 6–8
Colchester Borough Council 6, 7
Colchester Cemetery, burials 52, 94
Colchester Chronicle 143, 207, 214
Colchester excavation Committee 5, 6
Colchester hundred 201–2
Colchester institute, excavation evidence 8
iron age 36, 40, 43, 44, 52
roman 73, 88, 112, 120
Colchester Philosophical society 1
Colne, river
bridge 113
dyke 42
ford 112
liberty 247
mills 201, 246, 268
supply base 66
colonia
archaeological deposits 12
archaeological evidence
Boudican revolt 96–7
buildings 82–3; annexe 87; london road
ribbon development 86–7; new 85–6;
principia/forum 89; public 88; reused
83–5; sheepen 87–8; temples 85,
88–9; theatre and bathhouse 89;
unidentified 89
cemeteries 93–6
creation and hinterland 81–2
defences 82
diet 92–3
layout 82, 84
manufacturing and trade 90–2
monumental arch 89–90
water supply and drains 90
current state of knowledge 97
finds evidence 79–81
future research 98
historical framework 77–8
importance 98
major excavations 365
past work 78–9
preservation 97–8
columns, roman 70, 89, 115, 145–6
combs, anglo-saxon 178, 182, 183
Copford
animal bone, Palaeolithic 25
church 281
settlement, anglo-saxon 202
Copford hall, barrow 22, 29
copper-alloy working
early roman 64, 80, 90, 91
later roman 127, 137–8
anglo-saxon 201
medieval 211, 244–5
post-medieval 291
see also brass-working
Corn hill 239
corn market 239, 286, 290
corn-drying ovens 131, 134, 141, 180, 184
Cott, Peter 38
Cotter, J 192, 210, 258
Cotton, m alwyn 209
couch see bed/couch
Cowdray Crescent, temple 144
cranes 263
Crawford, o g s 6
Creffield road, burial 158, 159
cremation pyres
iron age 53
roman 95, 138, 154, 157, 159
cremations
Bronze age 22, 29, 30
early–middle iron age 29
late iron age 33, 36, 39, 52, 53
early roman 64, 76, 81, 94, 95–6
later roman
description 148–9, 153–5, 156–7
discussion 157–9, 172
past work 102–3
anglo-saxon 181, 182
crematoria 159
Crispin Court, mosaic 128
Crockleford mill 291
Cromwell road, burial 182
crosses, medieval 263; see also market cross
Crouch street
archaeological deposits 16, 18
archaeological/historical evidence
late iron age 45
roman 106–7, 135, 166–7
medieval 227, 238, 259, 266, 267, 273
post-medieval 291, 294
crucibles
iron age 46
early roman 64, 80, 86, 91
later roman 127, 137, 138
anglo-saxon 192, 201
medieval 213, 245, 258
post-medieval 291
Cruddle mill 268
Crummy, nina 210
Crummy, Philip, work by 6, 7, 36
late iron age 36, 38
early roman 60, 62, 79
anglo-saxon 191
early medieval 210
Cruso, thalaso 36
Crutched friars
archaeological evidence 210
roman 113
early medieval 211, 226–7, 251
late medieval 257, 273
historical framework 208, 285
389
INDEX
cult objects, Roman 148; see also Chi-rho
symbols
Culver Street
archaeological deposits 13, 14–16, 18
archaeological evidence
Neolithic–middle Iron Age 22, 25–6, 25,
28, 31
early Roman
colonia: Boudican revolt 96; buildings
79, 83, 86, 89; diet 92; manufacturing
80, 90; street 82
fortress 62: buildings 69–70, 71, 74;
diet 72; site preparation 67, 68
later Roman: burials 160; cultivation 140,
141, 142; defences 106, 107, 108;
domestic and commercial buildings
(illus) 122–4, 127–8, 130, 132, 133;
manufacturing and trade 136, 137,
138, 139, 140; public buildings 114,
115; street 106
early Anglo-Saxon 177, 178–80, 183,
184
later Anglo-Saxon 195, 199, 200, 204
early medieval 210; buildings 221, 233–4;
manufacturing 246; open space 237;
organic materials 213, 241, 248, 253;
pits 235, 236; street 221
late medieval 257, 264, 266, 267–8
post-medieval 281, 282, 283, 285, 293,
294
excavations 7
Cunningham, C M 210, 257–8
Cunobelin 34–6, 39, 40, 44, 59, 75
Cunobelin Way, pit 26
Cups Hotel site, excavation evidence 7
early Roman 62, 79, 85, 90–1
later Roman 131, 133, 141, 172
early Anglo-Saxon 177, 181, 184
late Anglo-Saxon 191, 199, 201, 204
early medieval 210, 232, 234, 235, 245,
250
late medieval 257, 267
post-medieval 282, 298
currency bars 25, 30
Customs House 287
Cutts, Revd Edward 5
Danish settlement 177, 183, 185, 187, 189–
90
Darcy, Lady 286
dark earth 13, 142, 186
Dedham, pottery manufacture 291
defences
early Roman
colonia 84
fortress 69
later Roman
description 104, 106–10, 107, 108, 109,
111, 170
future research 173–4
Anglo-Saxon 193
early medieval 220–1, 239
late medieval 256, 264–5, 265, 277, 278
post-medieval 220, 284, 287, 292, 293–4,
295
surveys and excavations 5, 6, 12–13, 277
dendrochronology 271
Dennis, Tim 38
Department of the Environment 7
deposit model 10–11
archaeological deposits 14
character of 11
sequence and nature of 11–13
finds preservation 13–14
results of 14–18, 15, 17
diet
early roman 63, 72, 80, 92–3
later roman 140–1
Dilbridge
kiln 266
manor 276
disc, walrus ivory 200
Dissolution 271–2, 279, 285–6
Dna studies 187
docks 241, 263
‘Doctor’s grave’ 95–6
Domesday survey 192, 196, 210
Donyland 201, 202; see also east Donyland;
West Donyland
drains
early roman 72, 89, 90
later roman 115, 117, 119, 128, 166
drain arches 110, 111, 141
medieval 238, 264
post-medieval 282, 287
see also sewers
droveways
iron age 29, 30, 48–9, 55, 57
roman 171, 174
anglo-saxon 202
druid 96
Drury, P J 143, 192
ducking stools 263
Duddelswell 264
Dudley, John, earl of Warwick 271
Dugard avenue, excavation evidence 29, 48
Dugard Dyke 54, 169
Duncan, Dr P m 4, 5, 108, 110
Duncan’s gate (north-east gate)
discovery 4
excavation evidence 106, 109, 110, 133
future research 187
road from 112
Dunnett, rosalind (now rosalind niblett) 6,
36, 60, 62, 209
Durotriges 60
Dutch Bay hall 280, 286
Dutch immigrants
medieval 241, 255, 277
post-medieval 279–80, 284, 286, 293
Dutch Quarter 14, 16, 284
Duyts, David 293
Dyer, roger 235
dykes
archaeological/historical evidence
iron age 42–3
roman modifications 64–5, 75, 169
anglo-saxon 202
current state of knowledge 54–5
future research 57
location 24
past work 5, 36–7, 37, 103
preservation 56
eadgar 190
eadsige 200
east Bridge 230, 237–8, 264
east Donyland
deserted medieval village 249
kiln 266
east gate
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological/historical evidence
roman 109–10, 112–13
anglo-saxon 193
medieval 221, 265
post-medieval 287
east hill, archaeological/historical evidence
3
roman 167
medieval 266, 344
post-medieval 284
east hill house, burials 159–60, 183
east mersea, fish weir 203
east mill, archaeological/historical evidence
anglo-saxon 201, 205
medieval 244, 246, 268
post-medieval 291, 292
east saxon kingdom 176
east stockwell street
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological/historical evidence
roman 60, 67, 74, 76, 114
anglo-saxon 193, 199
medieval 233, 235, 236, 240, 262
post-medieval 284
east street, archaeological/historical
evidence
medieval 244, 264
post-medieval 288, 289, 293, 294
see also rose and Crown hotel
easthorpe
church 249
road to 67, 203
edmund i 190, 201, 204
edmund le Chaloner 244
edward the elder
Balkerne gate blocking 191, 193
burh restored by 177, 185, 189–90
estates 201
streets reorganised under 191, 195
edward ii 240
eld lane 193, 199–200
eldland 230
eleanor’s chantry 285
ellis, John 265
enamelling, late iron age–roman 56, 80, 91
enclosure, parliamentary 276
enclosures
390
late Iron Age
Gosbecks 45, 48, 53, 54
Homefield road 53–4
sheepen 44–5
stanway 48–9, 49, 53, 55–6
middle iron age 22, 27, 28, 29–30
roman 75, 95, 144, 145
early medieval 248
see also field systems
endsleigh school, kilns 92, 97, 135
engineering, post-1700 297, 298–300, 299
epona 148
erith, felix 22
essex archaeological society 3, 4, 5, 101–2,
146
essex County Council 7, 103
essex County hospital, archaeological
evidence 1, 3, 112, 152
essex field Club 5
eudo Dapifer
castle 207, 214, 217, 218
landholdings 247
st helen’s Chapel 197, 228
st John’s abbey 223
st mary’s hospital 227
eustace, count of Boulogne 247
excavations
gazetteer 358–64
history 5–8
face-mask manufacture, roman 136
fairfax, thomas 281
fairfax road, burials 182
fairs 240, 290
falcon inn 267
farms, roman 167, 168
favonius facilis, marcus, tombstone 72–3,
93, 93
field systems
iron age/roman 7, 38, 48, 50
roman 167
anglo-saxon 176–7, 202–3
medieval 247–8, 275, 276
post-medieval 294
see also enclosures
figurines/statuettes
late iron age 53
early roman 81, 94, 95, 95
later roman 139, 146, 147, 148
post-medieval 283
finch, ralph 286
finches almshouses 285–6
fingringhoe, archaeological/historical
evidence
prehistoric 22, 29
anglo-saxon 181, 183, 201, 202
fingringhoe Wick, roman supply base 59,
66, 75, 76
fire station, pottery 45
firedogs 40, 46, 54
fish bone
roman 72, 141
medieval 213, 241, 251, 253
see also shellfish
INDEX
fish market 286, 290
fishing
anglo-saxon 203
medieval 241, 251, 255
post-medieval 290
fishponds 276
fitzWalter family 208
fitzwalter road, archaeological evidence
112, 135
flagstaff house, excavation evidence 224
flemings see Dutch immigrants
flints 11–12
Palaeolithic 19, 20
mesolithic 19–20, 25
neolithic 20, 25, 26
Bronze age 22, 28, 29
floor tiles
medieval 213, 227, 259, 275
post-medieval 282, 290
foederati 184
fora
colonia 89, 98
roman town 114, 115, 173
fortress
archaeological evidence
fortress 61; barracks 69, 70, 71, 365;
burials 72–3; change to colonia 82,
98; Claudian occupation and iron
age continuity 73–4; defences 68;
food, water supply and drainage 72;
industrial activity 70–2; non-barrack
buildings 69–70; siting and
construction 67–8; streets 69, 365
military structures outside fortress:
dykes 64–5; fingringhoe supply base
66; gosbecks fort 65–6, 65; roads
66–7
preservation 75–6
current state of knowledge 74–5
finds evidence 62–4
future research 76
historical framework 59–60
importance 76
past work 60–2
forts
roman
gosbecks 62, 63, 65–6, 65, 75–6
north hill 67
shrub end 7, 65
Civil War 293, 294, 295, 296
see also camps, roman
fortuna 148
foster, Jennifer 38
foundry 300
foundry yard 231–2, 231
freda gunton lodge, archaeological evidence
69, 239
friar street
gatehouse 226
occupation, medieval 262
frog hall farm, Bronze age site 22, 28–9
fulling mills
medieval 243, 246, 255, 268
post-medieval 291, 292
furniture
iron age 53
early roman 80, 81, 85, 91, 94
later roman 128, 139, 158
Gallic Chronicle 175
gallows green 247, 263
gaming board, roman 95, 96
gant, l h 282
gaols
medieval 230, 263, 265
post-medieval 287
garrison 297, 299, 300
garrison site
archaeological evidence
prehistoric 25, 53
early roman 81
later roman 103, 116, 149, 151, 156–7
excavations 3, 7, 8
gartree road 111
gas mains 1
gas works 300
geology 9–10; see also deposit model
george hotel 267, 347
gilberd school, archaeological evidence
early roman
colonia 80, 83, 86, 90, 92, 96
fortress 62, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72
later roman 102
animal bone 140
buildings 131, 132, 133
dark earth 142
defences 110
ironworking 137
anglo-saxon 201
medieval 211, 237, 244, 245, 253
post-medieval 293
see also sixth form College
gildas 175
glass vessels
late iron age 33, 39, 40, 46
early roman 63, 80, 91, 92, 95
later roman 102, 136–7, 137, 139, 173
medieval 268
post-medieval 296
glass-making
iron age 56
roman 136
medieval 245
post-medieval 296
glebe field, pottery 45
glen avenue, Bronze age bead 26
goring, lord 281
gosbecks
archaeological evidence
neolithic–middle iron age 22, 25, 29,
31
late iron age 37–8; agriculture 45, 47–8,
50; discussion 54–5, 56; finds evidence
39, 41, 45; future research 57;
manufacturing 46; preservation 56
early roman: Boudican revolt 97;
continuity 73; finds 63; fort 62, 65–6,
65, 75–6
391
INDEX
later Roman: agriculture 167, 171;
building 168, 171; burials 149–50;
future research 174; manufacturing
136, 137, 138, 171; road 111; settlement
103; temples 103, 104, 144, 145–6,
171; theatre 104, 116, 144, 171; water
main 120, 171
excavations and surveys 4, 6, 7, 37, 103
Gosbecks Archaeological Park 28, 38, 48, 53
Gosbecks Dyke 42, 43
Gosbecks Farm, tile 101
grammar school
medieval 230, 263
post-medieval 285
see also Royal Grammar School
granaries, Roman 87, 130, 141
Gray, Charles 1
Great Horkesley, kiln site 210, 243, 257–8,
266
Great Tey, church 202
Greenstead
administration 247
church 202, 249, 294
estate, Anglo-Saxon 201
manor 276
settlement 202
woodland 248, 249
Greenstead Mill 201, 246
Greenstead Road, villa 168
Grey Friars 210, 226, 273
gridirons, Roman 95, 96, 139
Grimston, Sir Harbottle 285
Grub Street 196, 222
Grubenhäuser see sunken-featured buildings
Gryme’s Dyke
archaeological evidence
late Iron Age 45, 54, 55
Roman 97, 103, 111, 169
as boundary 202
past work 37, 37
guilds 256, 285
Gundulf, bishop of Rochester 214
Gurney Benham House, crematoria 159
Haddel Mill 243, 246
Hall, A F 6, 37, 60, 79, 102, 103
Hampton, John 7
handaxes 22, 25
Handford House, archaeological evidence 81,
149, 152, 154
Harpocrates 148
Harwich Road, villa 168
Hawkes, Christopher, work by 5, 6
late Iron Age 36, 37, 38
Roman 60, 102
Haynes Green, earthwork 54
Haynes’s chantry 285
Hayward family 301
Head Gate
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological evidence
Roman 109, 113
Anglo-Saxon 193
medieval 221
post-medieval 287
Head Street (inc Post Office site)
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological/historical evidence 8, 8
Bronze age 22
early roman 62, 75, 98
later roman 103, 106, 124, 127, 141
anglo-saxon 193, 195, 204
early medieval 233, 234, 236
late medieval 267, 271
post-medieval 281, 282, 286, 291, 295
see also rebow house
heath farm Dyke, archaeological evidence 37,
41, 42, 43, 54, 55; see also forts, gosbecks
heaths 203, 275
heating tray, anglo-saxon 192, 201
hebditch, m 102, 144
henry i 207, 216
henry ii, henry son of 220
henry iii 243, 247
henry viii 263, 275
hercules 148
heybridge, roman settlement 103
high street
archaeological deposits 11, 13, 14, 16, 18
archaeological/historical evidence
late iron age 45
early roman 89, 91, 92, 96
later roman: buildings 114, 115, 172,
174; burials 159, 160; dark earth 142;
temple 143
early anglo-saxon 181, 184, 185, 187,
188
late anglo-saxon 191, 193, 195, 196–7,
199, 204
early medieval: building materials 238;
castle 216, 218; cellars 233; coin
hoards 245, 250; cultivation plot 237;
market place 239; non-masonry
houses 234–5; pits 235, 236;
preservation 251–2; stone houses 230,
231, 231, 232; street 221
late medieval: buildings 257, 259–61,
261, 262, 270, 271, 277; inns 267,
267; latrines 264; market place 259,
262; pottery 266
post-medieval: buildings 284, 286, 290,
295; drain 287; manufacturing 282,
291, 292
post-1700 298
excavations 7
see also Castle inn; Cups hotel; george
hotel; market place; minories; moot hall;
red lion hotel
high Woods, survey 294
hoards
coin
iron age 46
roman 96, 133, 172, 187
medieval 211, 213, 245, 250
metalwork
Bronze age 21, 22
iron age 25
hobnails, roman 155, 156
hole in the Wall, evaluation 142
hollow-ways 196, 222, 257
hollytrees meadow
archaeological deposits 18
archaeological evidence 102, 104, 119,
147
excavations 4, 5
holy trinity Church, archaeological/historic
evidence
anglo-saxon 195, 196, 197–8, 197, 198,
203, 205
medieval 229–30, 249, 274
homefield road, enclosure 53–4
hones
anglo-saxon 178, 192
medieval 241–2
hopkins, matthew 280–1
horkesley heath, dyke 42
horn-working, roman 139
horticulture
roman 141–2
post-medieval 294
howard family 347
hoxnian interglacial 25
hugh Pottere 243
hull, m r (rex), work by 5–6, 8
late iron age 36, 37, 38
roman 60, 102
hull mill 201, 246, 268
hyderabad Barracks, cremation 39, 52
hypocausts
early roman 89
later roman
domestic buildings 127, 128, 131, 132
extramural 104, 166–7, 168
gosbecks 146
public buildings 115, 116
hythe
archaeological/historical evidence
prehistoric 29
roman 113
anglo-saxon 176, 200
early medieval 208, 240, 242, 246, 251,
252–3
late medieval 255, 259, 263–4, 268, 278
post-medieval 280, 287, 295–6
post-1700 297, 299, 300
excavations 7–8, 210
hythe hill
archaeological/historical evidence
early medieval 211, 240
late medieval 264, 266, 270, 278, 344–5
post-medieval 282, 283, 289, 291, 296
church see st leonard’s Church
hythe mill 263, 291
iceni 39, 78
imbibing pipe, roman 158, 159
imperial cult 77–8, 98, 100, 142, 173
ingots 40, 80, 91
inns, late medieval 267
392
insect remains 253
Inworth
church 202
pottery manufacturing 243
Iron Age, early–middle 23, 24, 27, 28, 29–30,
31
Iron Age, late
archaeological evidence
agriculture and field system 47–52, 50
burials and ritual structures 49, 52–4
dykes 42–3
gazetteer of monuments and finds
305–6
manufacturing and trade 46–7
oppidum 41–2
preservation 56
settlement 43–5, 51
current state of knowledge 54–6
finds evidence 38–41
future research 57
historical framework 33–6, 35
importance 56–7
past work 36–8, 37
ironworking
roman
colonia 80, 86, 91, 92
fortress 64, 70–2, 73
later town 127, 137, 138
anglo-saxon 176
medieval 244
post-medieval 291
isis 148
Jacklin’s Cafe see Cups hotel
Jarmin, a m 3, 294
Jarmin collection 4, 94
Jenkins, revd henry 4, 36, 79, 101, 103
Jewish population 208, 230, 231, 245, 250,
252
Jobson, francis 285
John (King) 208, 219
John Dyer 244
Jones, J t 79
Joslin, george 3
Joslin collection 4, 94, 159
Jupiter 146, 148
Kelvedon, burial 54
Kent Blaxill site 218
Kidman’s Dyke 42, 43, 48
Kiln road, archaeological evidence 28, 34,
36, 45, 46
kilns
early roman 74, 92, 97
later roman 102, 134–5, 136, 171, 172
early medieval 210, 237, 238, 243, 245,
251
late medieval 257–8, 259, 266, 277, 278
post-medieval 282, 291
King Coel’s well 205, 264
Kingswood forest 248, 249, 275, 294
Kirkee mcmunn Barracks, archaeological
evidence
INDEX
Bronze age 28
late iron age 45, 48
roman 104, 150, 167, 168, 170
knives, anglo-saxon 181, 183
lamp making, roman 90, 136, 173
lamps
roman 80, 87, 134, 139, 154
anglo-saxon 184
land and house Property Development
Corporation 7
land lane
archaeological evidence 108–9
mill 247
langenhoe
deserted medieval village 249
kiln 266
salt-working 248
settlement 202
last’s garage, river deposits 113
laver, Dr henry 5, 36
laver, henry (ted) 5, 36
laver, Philip 5, 22, 36, 79, 102, 103, 191, 257
laver Ditch 169
layer
mills 291
settlement 202
layer Breton, deserted medieval village 249
layer de la haye, archaeological evidence 26,
46, 181
layer de la haye Dyke 42
lead-working
medieval 228, 269, 274
post-medieval 294
leather hall 290
leather-working
roman 64, 74, 91
anglo-saxon 201
medieval 213, 244, 251, 255, 268
legio ii augusta 59, 60
legio xx 60, 72, 74
lewis’s gardens, structure 130
lexden, archaeological/historical evidence
prehistoric 25, 29
roman 4
anglo-saxon 201, 202
early medieval 243, 247, 248–9, 249
late medieval 256, 263, 266, 276
lexden Cemetery, archaeological evidence
late iron age 33, 34, 36, 39, 54, 56
roman 94, 150, 152
lexden Dyke, archaeological evidence
late iron age 36–7, 42, 43, 52, 54, 55
roman 66, 111
lexden grange, cemetery 52
lexden hill, Civil War finds 294
lexden lodge, kiln 135
lexden mill 246, 268, 291
lexden mount 5, 202
lexden road, archaeological evidence
late iron age 45
early roman 96
later roman 101, 103, 104, 111, 135, 137
anglo-saxon 183, 200
Civil War 293
lexden tumulus
archaeological evidence 34, 35, 39, 46, 53,
56, 57
excavation and review of 5, 36, 38
lexden Wood golf Club, archaeological
evidence 49–52, 103
lime kilns
roman 136
medieval 238, 245–6, 269, 277
post-1700 300
lion Walk, archaeological evidence
early roman
colonia 79, 80, 83, 85, 92
fortress 62; buildings 69, 70, 71; defences
68, 69; manufacturing 64; site preparation
67
later roman 102
dark earth 142
decline 133, 134
defences 107, 108
domestic and commercial buildings 122,
124, 125–6, 127, 128, 131, 132, 133
manufacturing and trade 137, 138, 139,
140
public buildings 114
street 106
water supply 119
early anglo-saxon 177, 178, 180, 181, 183,
184
late anglo-saxon 191, 193, 195, 196, 199,
201, 204
early medieval
defences 239
manufacturing and trade 239, 244, 245,
246
open space 237
pits 235, 236
stone building 210, 233, 234, 235, 250
street 221
late medieval 257, 265, 266, 267, 268,
269
post-medieval
buildings 282, 286, 289, 290
defences 287
manufacturing and trade 282, 291, 293,
294
lion Walk united refor med Church,
archaeological evidence 62, 68, 82, 131
little Birch, church 202
little stanway, church 202
lodders lane (abbeygate street) 238
london
bishop of 195, 198, 228, 247
road to 3, 67, 93, 111, 203
long Wyre street, archaeological evidence
early roman
colonia 82, 87, 89, 90, 93
fortress 62, 68
later roman 102
animal bone 140
buildings 124, 127, 130, 131, 132
393
INDEX
manufacturing and trade 138, 139, 140
water supply 119
Anglo-Saxon 181, 193, 195, 200
early medieval 211, 221, 235, 236, 237,
239
late medieval 257, 264, 266
post-medieval 282, 287
see also Bonners
Longinus Sdapeze, tombstone 72–3, 74, 93,
94
loomweights
Bronze Age–Iron Age 25, 29, 41
Roman 90
Anglo-Saxon 178, 183
louvers 235, 242, 243
Lucas family 281, 287
John 285
Sir John 281
Lucas House 285
Lufkin, Revd Thomas 36, 60
McMaster, Ida 7, 38, 103
Magdalen Street, archaeological/historical
evidence
Anglo-Saxon 196
medieval 238, 257, 259, 266
post-medieval 281, 282, 284
Maidenburgh Street, archaeological/historical
evidence
Roman 89, 102, 115–16, 117, 160
Anglo-Saxon 182–3, 193, 195
early medieval 218, 219, 220, 230, 237
late medieval 261, 269
Maldon, mint 190, 191, 201, 204
Maldon Road, archaeological/historical
evidence
Roman 112, 149, 155, 167
medieval 238, 261, 263
post-medieval 291
malting 139, 300
Manor Road, excavation evidence 87, 112
Manpower Services Commission schemes 7
mansio 128
manufacturing
late Iron Age 45–7, 56
early Roman 64, 90–1
later Roman 100, 134
baking and brewing 139
bone and horn 138–9
glass 136
metal 137–8
mosaics and stucco 138
pottery 134–6
tiles and lime 136
Anglo-Saxon 200–1
medieval 242–6, 255, 266–9
post-medieval 291–3
post-1700 297, 298, 299, 300
marble veneers, Roman 124, 128, 132, 147,
162, 166
Marcian, Joan and Richard 230
Margaret Road, archaeological evidence 45,
135, 294
market cross 282, 286
market place
Anglo-Saxon 195, 196–7
medieval 239–40, 262
post-medieval 286, 290, 298
Market Tavern, Roman building 166
Marks Tey
palaeo-environmental data 25
Stane Street 67, 111
Marquis Of Granby (Ye Olde Marquise) 270,
270, 292, 347–8
Mars 146, 148
Mars Medocius 148
martyrium 161, 162, 198, 199
Mason, Ernest 5, 79
Matres Suleviae 148
Maudlin Chapel 228, 274
mausolea, Roman 157, 198
Maynard, Nicholas 293
Meanee Barracks, cremation 182
medical instruments, Roman 96, 147
medieval period, early (1066–1348)
archaeological evidence 212
biological 253
castle 213–20, 213
defences 220–1, 220
domestic architecture 230–6, 231, 232
ecclesiastical buildings 222–30, 222, 224,
225
gazetteer of monuments and finds 340–
3
manufacturing and trade 239–47
open space 236–7
public buildings and works 230
streets 221–2, 366
suburbs 237–8
current state of knowledge 249–51
evidence, nature of 210–11
finds evidence 211–13
future research 252–3
hinterland 247–9
historical framework 207–9
importance 252
past work 209–10
preservation 251–2
roman materials, reuse of 238–9
medieval period, late (1349–1540)
archaeological evidence
domestic, commercial and ecclesiastical
architecture 267, 269–75, 270, 272, 367
gazetteer of monuments and finds 344–
50
manufacturing and trade 266–9
public buildings and works 263–6, 265
urban plan 259–63, 260, 261
current state of knowledge 276–7
evidence, nature of 258
finds evidence 258–9
future research 278
hinterland 275–6
historical framework 255–7
importance 277–8
past work 257–8
preservation 277
menny, John 235
mercenaries, saxon 175, 184
mercia, kingdom of 177
mercury 146, 147, 148
mercury andescociuoucus 148
mercury theatre, archaeological evidence 6,
62, 102
mersea island 21, 154, 176, 204
mersea road
burials 13, 181–2, 183
mount 286
mesolithic period 25
metalworking
iron age 46, 56
early roman
colonia 87, 88, 90, 91
fortress 64, 70–2, 74
later roman 103, 137–8
anglo-saxon 192, 201
medieval 244–5, 269
post-medieval 291, 294
post-1700 300
see also slag
metcalf, D m and lean, W 192
middle mill 205, 221, 246, 247, 268, 291–2
middle row 262, 286
middleborough, archaeological evidence
roman
altar 148
kiln 134
mosaic 138
occupation 102, 166, 172
road 106, 112
wells 14, 120
wharf 113
early medieval 210
buildings 222, 234, 237
environmental evidence 213, 244
kilns 243
late medieval 257, 258, 261, 268
post-medieval 282, 289–90, 291, 293,
295
middleborough house, waterlogged finds 13
middlewick
axe 25
grange 248
mile end, archaeological/historical evidence
early medieval 210, 243, 247, 248, 249,
251
late medieval 266, 276
military road, cremation 52
mill Place, kiln 135
mills
anglo-saxon 201, 205
medieval 246–7, 249, 253, 268
post-medieval 291–2
see also fulling mills; silk mills
minerva 148
ministry of Works 6
minories 290
mints
late iron age 34, 36, 40, 45, 56
394
Anglo-Saxon 191, 192, 200–1, 204
medieval 207, 245
mirrors
Iron Age 39, 52
Roman 80, 154
Mistley, road to 67, 203
Mithraeum 119, 120, 170, 171
Moat Farm, kilns 136
Moat Farm Dyke 42
Moler Works Site, evaluation 29
moneyers 191, 192, 200–1, 210
Monksdown, mill 247, 268
Monkwick 248, 276
monumental arches
Balkerne Gate
early Roman 79, 89–90, 97
later Roman 107, 108, 114
temple precinct 143
monumental brasses 274
moot hall
archaeological/historical evidence
Anglo-Saxon 185
medieval 208, 209, 230, 263
post-medieval 286
destruction 3
Morant, Revd Philip, observations by 1
castle 218
church 274
defences 110
dykes 36, 202
King’s Wood
moot hall 209
Morant Club 5, 143
More Street 238
mortars, Roman 139
mosaics
discussion 171, 173
domestic buildings
2nd century 127, 128
3rd century 131
4th century 132
extramural 163, 165, 166, 167, 168
local manufacture 138
public buildings 115
see also tessellated pavements; tesserae
Mount Bures 54, 136
municipal records, medieval 211
museum 1–3, 4, 4
Museum Street, archaeological evidence 144,
219–20, 266
Myers, J N L 5
Napier Road, burials 151
Nayland, road to 67, 203
Neolithic period 25–6, 25
Nero 143
New Priory Mill 246
nonconformism 279, 280
Norden, John 209
Norfolk’s House 218
North Bridge 13, 18, 113, 230, 264
North Cemetery 157
North East Essex Aqua club 209
INDEX
North Gate
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological/historical evidence
Roman 110, 112
Anglo-Saxon 193
medieval 221, 265, 277
North Hill
archaeological/historical evidence
Bronze Age 27
Iron Age 45
early Roman 60, 62, 67, 68, 74, 76, 90
later Roman 106, 119, 127, 128, 138
early Anglo-Saxon 177, 180, 193, 199
late Anglo-Saxon 191, 193, 204
early medieval 235, 236, 244, 245
late medieval 257, 270, 271, 346–7, 348
post-medieval 281, 284, 289, 291, 292
excavations 4, 6
see also Gilberd School; Marquis of
Granby
North Mill 201, 205, 246, 247, 268, 291
North Shoebury, cemetery 175
North Station Road
archaeological deposits 18
archaeological evidence 112, 116, 136,
166
North Street 264, 286
north-east gate see Duncan’s Gate
Northern Approach Road, archaeological
evidence 45, 48, 168
Northgate Street, archaeological evidence
110, 290
Norwich (Norfolk), road to 112, 203
Numina Augustorum 148
Nunn’s Road, archaeological evidence
early Roman 60, 68, 85, 89, 91, 96
later Roman 125–7
Anglo-Saxon 177, 180
Oaks Drive, kilns 135
Oath Book 211, 258
Old Heath, archaeological/historical
evidence
Anglo-Saxon 176, 178, 184, 200
medieval 240, 241, 247, 263, 268
Old Heath Road, barrows 29
Old Poultry Site 282, 290
Oliver’s Dyke 42, 43, 55
oppidum see Camulodunum
opus signinum
early Roman 89, 90
later Roman
defences 109
domestic/commercial buildings 115,
128, 130, 131, 132
extramural 166
public buildings 115
riverside 113
temple 144
Osborne Street
archaeological deposits 14, 18
archaeological evidence
Roman 102, 167
early medieval 210, 211, 213, 222, 238,
244
late medieval 257, 268
post-medieval 282, 283, 290, 294
Ostorius Scapula 60, 77
Oxford Road, figurine 148
Pakenham, m J 79
Palaeolithic period 25
palette manufacture, roman 136
Palisaded earthwork 169
palstaves, Bronze age 21, 22, 26
Papillon road, cistern 287
pargeting 289, 348
Parish, Josiah 4
parochial system
anglo-saxon 190, 196, 197, 198, 203
medieval 247, 263
Parson’s heath 247
Paxman, James 297
Peartree road, dyke 169
Peasants’ revolt 256, 264
Pedlars Cross 263
Peldon 201, 202
Pelham’s lane 221, 230, 232–3
pesthouses 286
Pilgrim trust 6, 7
pillory 263
pilum 96
pinbeaters, anglo-saxon 193
pins
iron age 52
anglo-saxon 183
Pitchbury ramparts hillfort 25, 30
pits
neolithic 22, 25–6, 25, 31
iron age 44
medieval 235–6, 239, 253, 264
post-medieval 281, 282, 291
plague 280, 286, 295
plant remains
late iron age 39, 47–8
early roman 63, 72, 80, 90, 91, 92–3
later roman 140
medieval 248, 253, 268
plaques, roman 136, 137, 146, 147, 148
Pliny the elder 78
pollen analysis 39, 47
Pollexfen, revd J h 3
Poor house 286
port see hythe
Portreeve’s house 258, 287
Post office site see head street
post-medieval period (1540–1700)
agriculture 294
archaeological evidence
buildings 283, 289–90, 368
Civil War 292, 293–4
defences and castle 287
Dissolution, impact of 285–6
hythe 287
public buildings and other works 286–
7
395
INDEX
urban plan 283–5, 284
current state of knowledge 295
domestic and commercial architecture
288–9
evidence, nature of 282
finds summary 283
future research 295–6
gazetteer of monuments and finds 351–
7
historical framework 279–81
importance 295
manufacturing and trade 290–3
past work 281–2
preservation 295
post-medieval period (post-1700)
historical framework 297–300, 298–9
importance and potential 300–1
pottery
neolithic 22, 25, 25, 26
Bronze age 22, 27, 28, 29, 30
early–middle iron age 21, 22, 25, 29, 30
late iron age 39, 40, 41, 44, 46, 52, 53
early roman
colonia 80, 81, 90–1
fortress 63
later roman 133, 139, 158, 172, 173
early anglo-saxon 183–4
late anglo-saxon 199–200
early medieval 210, 211, 241, 242–3
late medieval 257–8, 266, 274, 276–7
post-medieval 281, 282, 283
pottery manufacture
iron age 46–7, 56
early roman 63, 74, 80, 91
later roman 102, 103, 134–6, 172, 173
anglo-saxon 201
early medieval 210, 237, 242–3, 251
late medieval 257–8, 259, 262, 266, 277,
278
post-medieval 291
Pottery shops, roman 79, 80, 90–1, 96
prehistoric period 19–22
archaeological evidence 23, 24, 25–30, 25,
26, 27, 28
current state of knowledge 30
finds evidence 22–5
future research 31
gazetteer of monuments and finds 303–
4
importance 30–1
past work 22
preservation 30
Prettygate Dyke 42, 43, 60, 64–5, 75, 112
Prettygate Junction 37, 42
principia
fortress 66, 74, 75
later roman period 82, 89, 98, 173
Priory field, fishponds 226
Priory street, archaeological/historical
evidence
roman 167
anglo-saxon 193, 196
medieval 221, 238, 263, 265
processions, roman 100
property divisions
roman 106, 124
anglo-saxon 185, 187, 188, 195
medieval 239, 250, 262, 269
Ptolemy 78
quays see wharves/quays
Queen street
archaeological evidence
roman 110, 115, 132, 133, 136
anglo-saxon 181, 193
medieval 221, 222, 344
post-medieval 289
excavations 6
museum 1
Queens road, archaeological evidence 135,
148
querns
roman 80, 139
anglo-saxon 200
see also rubbing stone
railway 1, 3, 297
ralph, earl of norfolk 214
the rampers 202
rebow house 289
red lion hotel 258, 267, 267, 271, 291, 347
Red Paper Book 211, 258
red row 286
richard i 240, 247
richard ii 256
richardson, miss 108
ridge and furrow 249, 276, 294
ring-ditches 20, 22, 28–9, 31
rings, anglo-saxon 182, 183
rivenhall villa 104, 168–9
roads
roman
early 66–7, 73, 75
later 103, 111–13
location 24
surveys 5, 60, 103
anglo-saxon 203–4
see also streets
robber trenches, medieval 238–9, 249–50
robert le verrer 245
rodwell, Warwick and Kirsty 192, 210,
281–2
roger, earl of hereford 214
roman essex society 37, 56
roman period
early 59–60; see also colonia; fortress
gazetteer of monuments and finds 307–
37
later see roman town (aD 61–410)
roman town (aD 61–410)
archaeological evidence
agriculture and diet 140–2
boundaries, defences and roads 106–13,
107, 108, 109, 111
buildings: domestic and commercial
(illus) 120–33; extramural 163–5, 164,
166–7; public and monumental
113–19, 117, 118
decline and collapse 133–4
extramural development 162–9, 164
manufacturing and trade 134; baking and
brewing 139; bone and horn 138–9;
glass 136–7, 137; imports 139;
metalworking 137–8; mosaics and
stucco 138; pottery 134–6; shops
139–40; tile and lime kilns 136
religion and burial practice (illus) 142–
62
topographical organisation 103–6, 105
water supply 117, 119–20
current state of knowledge 170–2
future research 173–4
historical framework 99–101
importance 173
past work 101–3
preservation 172–3
romanisation 173
roof tiles, medieval 213
rose and Crown hotel 250, 258, 259, 271,
344
round, Charles 4
round, J h 209
round, revd J t 4, 101
roundhouses
Bronze age 22
iron age 27, 28, 29, 30, 57
roman 103
rowhedge 249, 280
royal charter 208
royal Commission 5, 38, 258, 282
royal grammar school
archaeological evidence
iron age 52
early roman 60, 65, 66, 88–9, 93
later roman: cemetery 149, 149, 152–4,
155, 159; metalworking 138; road 111,
112; temple 147
excavations 6, 102
royal london insurance building 7
royal london mutual insurance society 7
royal vill/manor 176, 190, 195, 197, 214, 236
rubbing stone, neolithic 25, 26, 31
rudsdale, e J 5, 6, 102
ryegate 221, 265, 278
ryegate road
course of 219
sewer 144
saffron Walden, listed buildings 366
sainsbury’s site 6, 85, 114–15
st albans (herts), road to 203
st andrew’s Chapel 228
st anne’s Chapel 228, 251, 275
st anne’s guild 275
st anne’s holy Well 228, 264, 275
st Botolph’s Church, archaeological/historical
evidence
anglo-saxon 199, 204, 205, 224
post-Dissolution 272, 285, 294
st Botolph’s Priory
archaeological/historical evidence
roman 160, 167
396
early medieval 211, 224–6, 224, 225, 238,
250, 252
late medieval 257, 272–3, 285, 286
estates 247, 248, 276
excavations 210
St Botolph’s Quarter 8
St Botolph’s roundabout 18, 272
St Botolph’s Street, archaeological evidence
Roman 113
medieval 222, 226, 238, 265, 273
St Catherine’s Hospital 228, 273, 274
St Clare Drive, burial 94, 159
St Clare Road, burials 29, 36, 52, 56
St Giles’s Church
cemetery 211, 223, 229
churchyard wall 224, 272
description 228–9
floor tiles 266
lime kiln 246
lucas vault 281
st helena school, archaeological evidence 88,
112, 146, 168
st helen’s Chapel 116, 197, 228, 251, 275
st helen’s guild 285
st helen’s Well 264
st James’s Church 196, 229, 230, 274
st John’s abbey
archaeological/historical evidence
Bronze age 28
roman 148, 149, 155, 159
early medieval 207, 208, 211, 223–4,
250–1, 252
late medieval 256, 257, 271–2, 272
post-medieval 283, 285, 294, 295, 296
estates 247, 248, 276
excavations 210
st John’s Church 191–2, 198–9, 204–5, 210,
223, 239
st John’s green 113, 228, 238, 275
st John’s street
archaeological/historical evidence
roman 113, 148, 160, 167
medieval 238, 262, 265
post-medieval 284, 294
stream 11
st Joseph, J K 38
st leonard’s Church 229, 240, 274, 285, 294
st martin’s Church, archaeological/historical
evidence
roman 160
anglo-saxon 198, 205
medieval 229, 249, 271, 274
post-medieval 294
st martin’s lane, pavement 1
st mary at the Walls Church 195, 198, 205,
249, 285, 294
st mary magdalen Church 227–8, 273,
274–5
st mary magdalen hospital, archaeological/
historical evidence
early medieval 207, 210, 211, 213, 227–8,
251
late medieval 257, 273–4
post-medieval 286
INDEX
st mary’s Chapel 228, 251, 275
st mary’s Cottage 62, 180, 246, 269
st mary’s hospital see Balkerne heights
st mary’s rectory, archaeological evidence
early roman 62, 68, 79, 83, 85
later roman 102, 106, 108, 131, 135
st mary’s steps 221, 257
st michael’s Church 249
st nicholas’s Church
archaeological/historical evidence
roman 89, 102, 114
anglo-saxon 191, 196, 199, 204, 205
medieval 210, 229, 249
excavation 6
st Peter’s Church, archaeological/historical
evidence
anglo-saxon 196, 201, 205
medieval 229, 249, 274
post-medieval 285
st Peter’s house, waterlogged finds 13, 14,
282
st Peter’s street, archaeological/historical
evidence
roman 113, 117, 119
post-medieval 287, 300
st runwald’s Church, archaeological/historical
evidence
anglo-saxon 181, 185, 188, 195, 196–7,
204–5
medieval 229
post-medieval 298
st thomas’s Chapel 228, 251, 275
salary Brook 42, 291
salt production/trade
iron age 40–1, 47
roman 64, 101
anglo-saxon 203
medieval 248
saracen’s head 267
scheregate 220, 221, 238, 265, 278, 289
sea levels 19, 101
seal 271; see also cloth seals
sealey, Paul 38
seaxes, anglo-saxon 183
sebares mill 246, 268
seneca 102
serpentine Walk, pottery 135
severalls hospital 8, 168, 301
sewers
roman 144
post-medieval 1
shackles, roman 119–20
shakespeare road, burial 29
shambles 239, 284, 286
shaws 276
sheepen
archaeological evidence
Bronze age 22, 26, 27, 29, 30–1
late iron age 33, 51; finds evidence
39–41; future research 57;
manufacturing and trade 45–6, 47;
past work 36, 38; preservation 56;
settlement 43–5, 55
early roman: Boudican revolt 96, 97;
cremations 94; finds evidence 63, 64,
80, 81; manufacturing and trade 73–4,
79, 91, 92; structures 87–8
later roman: burials 149, 155, 158; ditch
106; manufacturing and trade 136,
137, 138, 171; occupation 168, 201;
past work 102; temples 146–7, 171;
wells 120
Civil War 281, 293, 295, 296
finds preservation 14
sheepen Dyke, archaeological evidence
late iron age 42, 43, 54, 55, 56, 60
roman 73–4, 112
Civil War 293
shellfish
roman 140–1
medieval 241, 253
post-medieval 290
shields
roman 96
anglo-saxon 181, 183
ship, iron age, reconstruction 47
shipbuilding 263
shoemaking, medieval 240, 244, 251, 255,
268
shops
roman 79, 80, 90–1, 96, 139–40, 174
medieval 239–40, 270, 344, 345, 346
post-medieval 290
short Wyre street, drain 110, 111
shrines
late iron age 53
roman 147, 148
shrub end, fort 7, 65
shrub end Dyke 42, 43, 60, 64, 65
sieges
14th century 208, 256
1648 285, 287, 292, 293–4, 295, 296
silk mills 300
silures 60, 77
silvanus 55, 147, 148
silvanus Callirius 147, 148
silver-working
roman 64, 138
anglo-saxon 201
simkins, messrs 291
simons lane 259
sir isaac’s Walk 284, 290
siric 198, 223
sixth form College
archaeological deposits 14, 16
archaeological evidence
early roman 62
later roman 108, 128, 129, 130
excavations 7, 8, 102
see also gilberd school
skinner, revd John 36
slag
iron age 46
roman 90, 127, 131, 137, 138, 171
anglo-saxon 201
medieval 244
slavery 119–20
smith, Charles roach 4
397
INDEX
Smith, Payler 36, 60
South Gate 193, 221, 287
South Street 222
south-east gate 110, 113
Sowen Wood 248
Spanish Armada 280
spearheads, Anglo-Saxon 181, 182, 183
Speed, John, map by 282, 283–4, 284
Sphinx 1, 3, 152
spindlewhorls
Bronze Age 29
Iron Age 41
Anglo-Saxon 178, 180, 183, 192, 193,
200
medieval 244, 259, 268, 277
Spring Lane, Roman building 168
springs 11, 14, 43, 72, 119
Stane Street 66, 67, 111, 203
Stane well see Stanwell
Stanway, archaeological/historical evidence
prehistoric 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30
late Iron Age
aerial survey 37, 38
droveway 48–9
funerary enclosures 41, 49, 49, 53, 54,
55–6, 57
settlement 41
Roman 79, 95–6, 103
Anglo-Saxon 201, 202, 203
Stanway Green, mosaic 168
Stanwell (Stane well) 205, 230, 264, 284
Stanwell Street, archaeological/historical
evidence
Iron Age 45
medieval 224, 238
post-medieval 284, 285, 300
Stephenson, David 210
Stockwell 230, 264, 291
Stockwell Street, archaeological/historical
evidence
Anglo-Saxon 193–5
medieval 257, 266, 346
Stokes Mill 201, 246, 247, 268, 291
stove tiles 291
Strabo 34
strap ends, Anglo-Saxon 183, 192, 200
street furniture 300
streets
early Roman
colonia 82, 84, 97
fortress 61, 69, 74, 365
later Roman 104, 105, 106, 170
early Anglo-Saxon 185, 187, 188
late Anglo-Saxon 191, 193–6, 194, 204,
205
medieval 221–2, 259–61, 260, 366
stucco work, Roman 138, 144
Stukeley, William 36, 79, 225, 226
suburbs, early medieval 237–8
Suetonius 34, 60, 78
sunken-featured buildings
Anglo-Saxon 178–80, 180, 184–5, 187
early medieval 233–4, 237
Swetinc 200
swords, Anglo-Saxon 183
synagogue 208, 230
Tacitus, on
Boudican revolt 36, 77, 88, 97
colonia 60, 77, 81, 82
temple 79, 102, 143
theatre 89, 116
Trinovantes 36
tanning
Roman 64
medieval 244, 255, 268–9
Tasciovanus 34, 35, 36
Taylor, John 3, 4, 149
Taylor collection 94
Telephone Exchange site
archaeological deposits 16
archaeological evidence
early Roman: colonia 85, 90, 96, 97;
fortress 62, 69, 70
later Roman 124, 128
excavations 6
Temple of Claudius
archaeological deposits 18
archaeological evidence 85, 88–9, 99,
142–5, 142
building materials 83
conversion to Christianity 160–1
dating 97
excavations 7, 79, 102
future research 98
historical background 78
location 70, 100
temples
archaeological evidence
early Roman 55, 88–9
later Roman: Christianity 160–1;
Gosbecks 144, 145–6, 171; other
146–7, 149, 152–4, 171
excavations 4, 102
see also cult objects; mithraeum; shrines;
Temple of Claudius
tenter yards 244, 292, 293
territorium, colonia 81–2, 167
tessellated pavements 114, 138
2nd century 127, 128
3rd century 131, 132
extramural 165, 166, 167
temples 145, 147
see also mosaics; tesserae
tesserae 137, 138, 145, 146, 166, 171
textile production
late Iron Age 41
Roman 90
Anglo-Saxon 178, 192–3, 201
early medieval 242, 243–4, 251
late medieval 255, 256, 259, 268, 277,
278
post-medieval 279, 280, 284, 292–3, 295,
296
post-1700 297, 298, 300
theatres, Roman
colonia 89, 97, 98
Gosbecks 6, 104, 116, 144, 145, 171
later Roman town 102, 115–16, 117,
173
thimbles 268, 293
tile production
Roman 64, 80, 92, 136
medieval 245, 259, 262, 266–7
post-medieval 291
tiles
early Roman
fortress 63, 70, 70
colonia 78, 80, 83, 85, 89, 92
later Roman 115, 116, 121, 131, 136
Roman reused 238
post-medieval 290
see also floor tiles; roof tiles; stove tiles
tiptree, pottery production 291
tithes 190
togodumnus 36, 58
tokens
late medieval 277
post-medieval 290
tombstones, roman
description 72–3, 93–4, 93, 94, 154
discovery and location 60, 93, 152
towers, town wall 109, 110, 174
town cage 263
town hall 297–8, 298
town plan 2
trackways, late iron age 44, 45, 48, 55
trade
late iron age 33–4, 39, 40, 45–6
early roman 79–80, 90–1, 92
later roman 100, 134, 136–7, 139
anglo-saxon 200
early medieval 208, 213, 239–40, 241–2,
252
late medieval 255, 256–7, 266, 276–7,
278
post-medieval 280, 290–1
tribal groupings, iron age 33, 34–6, 57
trinity lane, well 264
trinity street, archaeological evidence
anglo-saxon 193, 195, 200
early medieval 235, 236
late medieval 257, 266, 344, 347
trinovantes 34–6, 38, 55, 78, 100
triple Dyke 60, 64, 103
tubswick 248
tufa 125
turner rise, archaeological evidence
roman
building 168
cemetery 103, 149, 157, 158, 172
road 112
post-medieval 282, 294
tyler, Watt 256
union Cemetery 152
union Workhouse see Balkerne heights
398
Venus 148
Verica 59
Vespasian 59, 60
vessels, copper alloy, Roman 52, 95, 139; see
also cauldron
vicus, early Roman 63, 73
Viking raids 177, 191, 207, 214
villa regalis see royal vill/manor
villas, Roman 102, 104, 106, 167–8, 168–9,
170
Vineyard Gate, archaeological deposits 16
Vineyard Press site, archaeological evidence
Roman 89, 102, 114
post-medieval 287
Vineyard Street (Berisland), archaeological
evidence
Roman 103
Anglo-Saxon 192, 193, 196
medieval 221, 238, 244, 262
Vint collection 4
votive deposits
Neolithic 25–6, 25, 31
Iron Age 30, 52
Roman 128, 130, 154
Vulcan 148
walkways, Roman 106, 109, 113
wall paintings
early Roman
colonia 78, 80, 83, 85, 89
fortress 63
later Roman
1st century 124
2nd century 127, 128
3rd century 131, 132
extramural buildings 163, 165, 166,
167
mortuary monument 162
North Station Road 116
medieval 197
c 1600 347
wall veneers see marble veneers
Walter Baker, widow of 246
warehouse, post-medieval 287, 290
warren 247
Warren Field, archaeological evidence 102,
134–5, 168, 172
‘Warrior Grave’ 95
Water Lane, urns 29
water supply
early Roman
INDEX
colonia 83, 86, 90
fortress 72, 75
later Roman 119, 120, 146, 171
early medieval 230, 236
late medieval 264
post-medieval 284, 286–7
post-1700 297
water tower 297
waterlogged deposits
Roman 75–6, 173
early medieval 213, 252–3
late medieval 257, 277
post-medieval 295
Webbe (Webb), Henry 286, 292
wells
Roman 14, 120, 166
Anglo-Saxon 199, 205
medieval 215, 230, 236, 238, 264
Welshwood 248
Wessex, kingdom of 177
Wessex Culture 26
West Bergholt
church 202
deserted medieval village 249
manor 276
West Cemetery 150–2
West Donyland
Canonswick 248
ducking stool 263
estates 201, 247, 276
West House Farm, enclosure 22, 29–30
West Lodge
excavations 3
Roman finds 94, 149, 154
West lodge road, burials 154–5
West mersea
church 202, 249
coins, anglo-saxon 181
estate, anglo-saxon 201
priory 202
West stockwell street, archaeological/
historical evidence
roman 90
anglo-saxon 193–5, 196, 197
medieval 234, 235, 236, 262, 270, 345–6
post-medieval 284, 289
see also Bay house
wharves/quays
roman 113
medieval 237, 240, 251, 252, 263, 278
post-medieval 295
wheel ruts, roman 112
Wheeler, sir r e m 5, 6, 79, 102, 191, 209
Wheeley, John 213, 287
wicks 248
William i 207
William’s Walk, burial 160
Wilson, David 7
windmills 247, 268
window glass
early roman 70, 78, 83
later roman 127, 128, 131, 137
late medieval 274
wine trade
iron age 33, 34, 39, 40, 46
roman 72, 80, 92, 139
early medieval 241
Winnock’s almshouses 286
Winsley’s almshouses, iron age material
45, 52
Wire, William, observations by 1–3, 4
early roman 89
later roman
bridge 113
burials 156, 157, 162
defences 110
extramural deposits 165
kiln 136
anglo-saxon 181
medieval 226
post-medieval 286
witchcraft trials 280–1
Wivenhoe
kiln 266
port 255, 280
settlement 202
wood-working
roman 64
anglo-saxon 201
woodland 203, 248–9, 275, 294
wool market 290
World Wars i & ii 298–300
Wormingford, church 249
Wylde, Peter le 235
Wyre street, archaeological evidence
roman 89
medieval 237
post-medieval 281
see also sainsbury’s site
Wyre street arcade 6, 281
ypres road, enclosure 22, 27, 28, 29