Colchester Archaeological Trust
CAT Report 998: summary
(Click on report title to view full report in PDF format)
Archaeological excavation at the new Innovation Centre, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ: July-August 2016
by Laura Pooley
(with contributions from Stephen Benfield, Lisa Gray, Adam Wightman)
Date report completed: December 2016
Location: the new Innovation Centre, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ
Map reference(s): TM 02593 24219 (c)
File size: 4,526 kb
Project type: Archaeological excavation
Significance of the results: *
Keywords: medieval, farmstead
Summary.
Archaeological excavation (covering an area 1805mē) took place at the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester in advance of the construction of a new Innovation Centre. The development site is located close to a prehistoric barrow cemetery, late Iron Age/Roman burials and other features have been discovered nearby, and a 2016 evaluation on the development site revealed a cluster of medieval features, layers and finds. Archaeological excavation revealed a number of field boundary ditches, pits and post-holes dating to the early/mid 13th-mid 14th century, suggesting the existence of a small medieval farmstead in close proximity to the site. A single Roman pit was also excavated.