#ThrowbackThursday former Martello Caravan Park

This #ThrowbackThursday we will be remembering the excavations at the former Martello Caravan Park in Walton-on the-Naze.

In March 2016 CAT excavated this site in advance of the construction of a medical centre and pharmacy. The Walton area has an established presence of prehistoric archaeological remains, which is incredibly exciting to us, as these finds are quite rare!

Three shallow L-shaped ditches, one other ditch, a post hole, and thirty features/pits were identified on the site, and were dated to the Late Bronze Age (c 1000-700 BC). 65 sherds of prehistoric pottery were also found, which mostly had flint inclusions.

The ditches and post-holes are possibly associated with stock management and the pits/irregular features are probably the result of agricultural clearance. None of the finds (pottery, worked flint or burnt flint) appear to have been deliberately deposited within the features they were found in but appear to be incidental inclusions probably from a nearby settlement established to exploit the resources of the marsh

In addition to the Prehistoric finds, two Roman pits and five medieval pits were found suggesting that this site was used for a further two phases beyond the Bronze Age. These phases were both probably related to agricultural activity

For more information about the Martello Caravan Park excavations check out CAT Report 927 at: cat.essex.ac.uk