Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 505: summary

An archaeological watching brief on land adjacent to 13 Abbey Gate Street, Colchester, Essex: March 2009
by Donald Shimmin

Date report completed: April 2009
Location: land adjacent to 13 Abbey Gate Street, Colchester, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 99608 24885
File size: 7161 kb
Project type: Watching brief
Significance of the results: neg
Keywords: -

Summary. An archaeological watching brief took place during groundworks for a small residential development on a plot of land between 13 Abbey Gate Street and Southway, Colchester, Essex. The site lies outside the Roman and medieval walled town, approximately 120m south of the town wall. The contractor's groundworks involved piling, stripping and trenching. The piling consisted of four piles along the northern edge of the proposed building and four along the southern edge. The stripping involved lowering the ground-level of the site by approximately 400mm. Several narrow trenches were also dug for services to a depth of approximately 350mm below the stripped level. No significant archaeological remains were uncovered. A thick layer of post-Roman topsoil (‘dark earth’) was revealed during the stripping and trenching, but Roman levels were not reached. A modern east-west brick foundation in the south-western corner of the site probably belonged to the Masonic Hall, which was demolished in the 1970s.