Archaeological evaluation (Phase 2) at Willows Green Solar Farm, land east of School Road and Main Road, Felsted, Essex: August-September 2025

The second phase of an archaeological evaluation (fifty-five trial-trenches) was carried out at the
proposed Willows Green Solar Farm, on land east of School Road and Main Road, Felsted, Essex, in
advance of the construction of a new photovoltaic farm. The development site lies in an
archaeologically sensitive area. Fieldwalking surveys carried out in the area in the early 1990s
revealed concentrations of prehistoric, Roman, medieval and post-medieval artefacts, and
concentrations of worked flint, burnt flint and a prehistoric pottery sherd were uncovered during a
subsequent evaluation. Further investigations carried out to the east more recently identified a
possible enclosure ditch dating to the Late Iron Age, as well as a mid-late Roman farmstead and
associated features and a small number of medieval features.
The first phase of the present evaluation uncovered a small number of features, including a Late Iron
Age/early Roman pit, a medieval pit and numerous medieval, post-medieval or modern ditches. A
similarly modest number of features were revealed during this current second phase of investigation.
The datable features were two Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pits, two Early Iron Age ditches and an
Early Iron Age pit. Finds recovered from these features provided evidence of domestic activity, flint
knapping and possibly wood working in the vicinity during these periods. Some of these features lay in
the midst of other undated remains which could originate during the same phase of activity. Previous
investigations carried out by Cotswold Archaeology to the east revealed similarly dated remains, and it
was speculated that a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settlement may have stood nearby; the remains
uncovered during the present investigation may form part of this putative settlement.