Yesterday (8th December) was the very last guided tour of the Butt Road excavation site. Since the 13th October, the Trust has provided a guided tour twice a day, five days a week, with one tour on Saturdays. So, if you missed it – we are sorry, but we have to stop the guided tours now as we wind down the excavation …
It is a very interesting site. Until recently the Butt Road public car-park, it was formerly the parade ground of the Artillery Barracks (Roman Circus House, the Trust’s new pemises, was once the NAAFI of the barracks). It is also a very interesting and informative archaeological site. It is one of the town’s Roman cemeteries, and over 250 Roman burials have been found here, as well as several unexpected features. The burials are mostly shallow and without coffins. There seem to be several rows of children’s burials, where the deceased have been placed end to end rather than side by side. There also seems to be a higher proportion of children’s burials in one part of the site. This cemetery seems to be different to other Roman cemeteries in Colchester, so a different cultural practice may be being demonstrated here. When the excavation is completed, the site will be redeveloped with housing, and the boundary wall of the barracks along Butt Road is being preserved as a historic monument.
The Trust would like to thank Taylor Wimpey (the developer and site owner) and Andersons (the contractors on site) for making the tours possible and for all their help on site; all the volunteers who have helped lead the tours; and all the members of the public who came to visit us. We look forward to seeing you all again soon at our next event!
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