Late Iron Age and Medieval Remains on Land at Zone B and Zone E, Beaulieu, Chelmsford

An archaeological evaluation was carried out on two areas designated as Zone B and Zone E, at Beaulieu, Chelmsford. The fieldwork took place between the 27/5/14 and the 13/6/14. A total of seventy-five trenches were excavated across a single field within the proposed development area.
The earliest occupation evidence revealed appears to date to the Early Iron Age and comprises six discrete charcoal-rich pits, to the north and north-west of the development.
A Late Iron Age settlement is evident, concentrated to the south-east of the development area. The remains of an enclosure, two parallel ditches, perhaps representing a hedged boundary, several small gullies and a putative roundhouse were recorded. A large assemblage of pottery was recovered from within the enclosure ditch fills indicating occupation in the immediate vicinity. Residual Early Iron Age finds in the fills of Late Iron Age ditches attest to earlier settlement within the area.
Late Medieval activity was mainly concentrated in the south-east of the site, consisting of a brick platform / surface and two pits containing a concentration of compacted brick rubble.