Martell's Quarry, Ardleigh

Project type: Desk Based Assessment, Fieldwalking, Excavation

Archaeology South-East was commissioned by Environomics Ltd, on behalf of Bucbricks Co. Ltd., to undertake archaeological works on land immediately adjacent to Martell's Quarry, Park Farm, just to the south of Ardleigh in Essex. The site originally lay within an area of open farmland, comprising formerly ploughed land which had been left to revert to grass. Martell's Quarry, an open sand-pit, lies immediately to the west; several phases of work have been undertaken since 2000 in advance of sand extraction including a desk based assessment and preliminary walkover survey to establish the archaeological potential of the site.

Prehistoric
A Bronze Age date has been ascribed to six features; a Ditch, an area of burning, three refuse pits and a cremation pit. The burnt feature contained apparently only Early Bronze Age material, and appears to have been a fire set upon the ground surface, perhaps a single- or minimal-use cooking fire. The unfinished arrowhead recovered from the burnt silts may have fallen in during manufacture, or been thrown in. There was no evidence around the burnt area to suggest associated structures, such as stake-holes for windbreaks etc.

The large pit to contain attributed to this period was more ambiguous, as it contained flint-tempered pottery suggestive of a Bronze Age date, but also sand-tempered wares of possibly Iron Age date, and two sherds likely to be of Roman date were also recovered. No stratification was visible in the fill, which contained a degree of mottling throughout. More dating evidence would be needed to finalise the date of this feature as, from the current assemblage, it is uncertain whether the prehistoric material is residual or the Roman material is intrusive.

The two remaining adjacent smaller pits contained clearly prehistoric material mostly Bronze Age ceramic assemblages although their function could not be ascertained.

All in all, the prehistoric activity in the investigated area of the site appeared to be of a marginal nature suggesting temporary exploitation rather than settled occupation.

Roman
The two linear ditches running NW-SE across the site were of probable Roman date, and may have formed part of a Roman field system together with a further four ditches that may relate to this field system. The low quantities of Roman finds within these features suggest the home farm relating to these ditches lies some distance from the investigated area.

Conclusion
Some truncation of the observed features appears to have taken place, presumably as a result of later cultivation, however preservation appeared to be generally good. Although bone did not appear to have survived well from the site, the burnt bone from the cremation survived well and the worked flint and pottery from the site was generally in fair to good condition.

The site consists mainly of evidence for a probable Roman field system with a more concentrated area of prehistoric activity. The site is bereft of any clear evidence of structures, domestic or agricultural, and the relatively small assemblage of pottery and other artefacts recovered from the series of pits, postholes, ditches and gullies, of no coherent pattern, makes interpretation of the site difficult.

The single cremation/pyre deposit found show funerary activity extending into this part of the site albeit as an apparent outlying deposit.

Further Work
Further phases of field work including the excavation of 64 trial trenches measuring 30m by 2m revealed generally Roman features, ditches, pits and postholes that fit within the pattern already described, however the limited nature of these excavations was restrictive to detailed interpretation, but succeeded in establishing the general extent of the Roman land-use across the site. The paucity of pre-roman activity is surprising given the important and substantial Bronze Age activity in the Ardleigh area and intense Iron Age farming in the surrounding landscape that was apparent from the desk based assessment of the area.

Work on this site is ongoing.

Project Officer: Richard James
Client: Bucbricks Ltd
Project type: Desk Based Assessment, Fieldwalking, Excavation