#ThrowbackThursday Fiveways Fruit Farm 2015

This #ThrowbackThursday we are revisiting our time at Fiveways Fruit Farm in Stanway

Back in 2015, archaeological excavations were carried out at Fiveways Fruit Farm. The site was located on the edge of the Iron Age oppidum of Camulodunum and is close to the Gosbecks complex, so we thought we might find something interesting here!

The excavations revealed an extensive Middle Iron Age settlement (4th to 1st century BC), which included two ancient farmsteads (c.350-50BC) and a field system.

This was a huge job, covering an area over 5.2 hectares (over 7 football pitches!) and revealed over 1000 archaeological features. One particularly interesting find is the evidence of at least one roundhouse! (pictured)

Evidence suggests that this site was occupied by farmers who carried out a range of domestic and light industrial activities including cooking, textile manufacture and possibly iron smithing. The deep ditches which enclosed the farmsteads would have kept animals within the enclosed areas and the recovery of spindlewhorls and loomweights from the site indicates that a flock of sheep was being kept to provide wool for spinning and weaving

Worked flints and pottery sherds on the site also evidence the presence of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Iron Age activity which is incredibly exciting

If you want to learn more about Fiveways, please check out CAT Report 1070 at: http://cat.essex.ac.uk/