This feature was published in issue no 24 of the Colchester Archaeologist, the Trust’s magazine, in 2011. ‘… Garrison: In the days before banks It’s not every day a complete […]
Category Archives: Features
Take a trip down memory lane as we revisit specific features from our Colchester Archaeological Trust magazines and other literature.
The little strip of land between Museum Street and Cowdray Crescent where the War Memorial stands is an archaeological treasure trove. Here, buried beneath the shops and offices, lies precious remains of important monuments of Colchester’s Roman and Norman past. These include a massive Roman foundation, over four metres wide, which carried a once impressive facade and a large monumental arch leading to the massive Temple of Claudius. These remains are exceptionally well preserved because they lie under the earthen bank of Colchester castle. But there is much more. Don Shimmin, who has been following recent building works in this important part of the historic town, explains how some puzzling fragments of foundation in Museum Street are likely to be part of a medieval barbicon – a defensive structure which helped protect the castle’s main entrance. The area around Museum Street and Castle Bailey is […]
For the Heritage Open Weekend in September 2012, we set up a display of archaeological finds and materials in our large downstairs room at Roman Circus House. We kept the […]
. This image shows part of the excavation site. This image shows a Roman burial. This image shows a burial plot. (Photo. by Dr Tim Dennis; […]
The need for a major upgrading of the services for the new Garrison development meant that the the roads which overlie the site of the circus have had to be […]
A spectacular discovery during building works at the Colchester Royal Grammar School revealed the remains of an extraordinary monument to a wealthy citizen of Roman Colchester. The monument incorporated an […]
The true nature of the Braxted folly in Braxted Park, Essex, has been in question. The building has been variously described as an ice house, a bath-house, a hermitage or […]
From Colchester Archaeological Report 1 . (iii) The accounts of the foundation and early history of St John’s Abbey There are four key texts relating to the early years of […]
In AD 43, Claudius led his army in triumph into Camulodunon, stronghold of the late British king Cunobelin. Could Julius Caesar have done the same a hundred years earlier? It’s […]
Mention the Druids to the media and you’ve got yourself a story or two. And that’s what happened with the Stanway site. Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology, has been […]