#ThrowbackThursday – Northern Gateway

For #ThrowbackThursday today we are discussing our work at Colchester Northern Gateway (south of Axial Way, Colchester) in 2021.

Here we conducted an archaeological strip, map and record excavation as part of an ongoing development. Since 2001, this area of northern Colchester has previously revealed a significant concentration of charcoal-rich pits dating from the Early Iron Age through to the post-medieval period, with many likely associated with charcoal production👀

This excavation added to our understanding of the area by revealing twenty-three features, including two pits containing a charcoal-rich fill, drainage ditches, pits and postholes. Some of these features may be related to charcoal production, however the modern pits are likely not, as this area was farmland by this period. Instead, other evidence (CAT Report 1479) suggests these later pits could be either military campfires or associated with agricultural activities🐄🐑🐖

To learn more about this site, please check out CAT Report 1689 at http://cat.essex.ac.uk/