An archaeological excavation and watching brief at Birch airfield compost site, Birch, Colchester, Essex: May-August 2005

A watching brief on drainage works and depth-limited soil-stripping within a large compost-production site at Birch airfield resulted in the discovery of linear features and pits dating from the Late Iron Age/early Roman period onward. The observations were too fragmentary to yield an integrated picture of the earlier activity, but the evidence includes ditches and gullies belonging to field systems, possibly with associated structures. The nature and distribution of finds suggest that a focus of Roman occupation lies within or in the immediate vicinity of the north-western region of the airfield.