Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 1714: summary

Archaeological evaluation on land east of Richard Avenue, Wivenhoe, Essex: September 2021
by Dr Elliott Hicks (with contributions from Dr Matthew Loughton, Laura Pooley, Megan Seehra, Adam Wightman and Lisa Gray)

Date report completed: 29.10.2021
Location: Richard Avenue, Wivenhoe, Essex
Map reference(s): TM 04549 23344 (centre)
File size: 17,367 kb
Project type: Evaluation
Significance of the results:
Keywords: Richard Avenue Wivenhoe Essex

Summary. An archaeological evaluation (forty-eight trenches) was carried out on land east of Richard Avenue, Wivenhoe, Essex in advance of the construction of a new residential development. The development site is located within an area which previous archaeological investigations have identified as one of Bronze Age and Iron Age activity, and lies adjacent to the historic Wivenhoe Heath, which had its origins in the medieval period. The investigation revealed evidence of settlement here during the Late Iron Age and early Roman periods, including an urned cremation burial and artefactual evidence indicating that the site of a daub structure lies nearby. A handful of features dating to the medieval or post-medieval periods, which were almost certainly the product of an earlier pattern of land division, were uncovered. Finally, sparse 19thor 20th-century remains, including those of an old field boundary ditch, were also recorded.