Iron Age and Medieval Remains on land at Phase 1, Beaulieu, Chelmsford

An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Beaulieu, Chelmsford. The fieldwork took place between the 7/5/13 and the 29/5/13.
A total of thirty-nine trenches were excavated across six separate fields, within the proposed development area. The evaluation showed a Late Iron Age field system, aligned north-east to south-west, spaced across the western three fields. Within these fields two concentrations of archaeology were recorded, including a possible cremation pit and ring gully to the west of the site and a possible prehistoric pit to the south of the area.
To the east of the evaluation, medieval occupation was recorded, consisting of a north-west to south-east aligned agricultural field system. Later in the Medieval period this was the site of an enclosed farmstead, with the remains of the moat still surviving as earthworks within the field and recorded within one trench.