#ThrowbackThursday

For this #ThrowbackThursday we thought we would tell you a little more about the Colchester Northern Gateway area.

We conducted work at Colchester Northern Gateway Sports Hub, east of Colchester Park and Ride, back in 2017-2018.

In November-December 2017, we undertook an archaeological evaluation (120 trial-trenches) which revealed 24 charcoal-rich pits probably related to charcoal production. Two of these pits included finds that dated to the Roman and post-Roman periods. Radiocarbon dates were obtained from charcoal in two other pits, and dated to the Middle Iron Age and late Anglo-Saxon/early Medieval period.

Between July 2018 and June 2019, further investigations were carried out. These identified 132 charcoal-rich pits, 17 of which were dated through finds analysis or radiocarbon dating. Dates ranged from the Middle Iron Age through to the post-medieval period. Amongst the pits identified were three Late Iron Age hearths/cooking pits.

These pits along with those previously identified in the area, suggest that charcoal production was occurring in Northern Colchester from the Early Iron Age through to the post-medieval period.

To learn more about this site, please check out CAT Reports 1219 and 1479 at http://cat.essex.ac.uk/