Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 1025: summary

Archaeological evaluation at 20-21 Middleborough, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1QX: October 2016
by Laura Pooley (with contributions from Stephen Benfield, Lisa Gray)

Date report completed: November 2016
Location: 20-21 Middleborough, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1QX
Map reference(s): TL 99346 25611 (c)
File size: 6,746 kb
Project type: Archaeological evaluation
Significance of the results: *
Keywords: medieval, post-medieval, dump, river silts, small finds

Summary. An archaeological evaluation was carried out at 20-21 Middleborough, Colchester, Essex in advance of the construction of a ground-floor extension to the restaurant. The development site is located in a suburb of the Roman and medieval town close to the River Colne. The evaluation revealed modern soils (L1, 0-1.05m), post-medieval dump (L2, 1.05-1.31m), medieval/post-medieval river silts and gravels (L3-L5, 1.31m-2.24m, starting at 5.45m AOD), and Roman river silts (L6, starting at 2.24m deep, 4.5m AOD). Roman, medieval and post-medieval finds in the river silts were probably derived from centuries of dumping rubbish on the river's edge.