Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 686: summary

An archaeological watching brief at the Colchester Garrison Athletics Facility, Abbey Field, Colchester, Essex - September 2012-March 2013
by Adam Wightman (with contributions from Stephen Benfield)

Date report completed: March 2013
Location: Colchester Garrison Athletics Facility, the Abbey Field, Colchester, Essex
Map reference(s): TL 9946 2433 (c)
File size: 2,205 kb
Project type: Archaeological watching brief
Significance of the results: */**
Keywords: Roman, ditch, ?trackway

Summary. A watching brief by the Colchester Archaeological Trust during the construction of a new pavilion at the Colchester Garrison Athletics Facility on the Abbey Field recorded eight archaeological features. Of these, three ditches and one pit are tentatively dated to the Roman period. Two of the ditches were north-south orientated, and formed part of a ditched trackway. The third ditch was an east-west orientated boundary ditch which appeared to abut the eastern edge of the trackway. An apparent absence of burials may indicate that the site lies to the south of the cemetery boundary (possibly delineated by the east-west orientated ditch F2) or that preparation works for the site of the Athletics Club in 1925 destroyed any Roman burials on the site.