Iron Age Remains at Phase 2a Ponds and Swales, Beaulieu, Chelmsford

An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Phase 2a Ponds and Swales, Beaulieu, Chelmsford. The fieldwork took place between the 9/4/15 and the 14/4/15. A total of eight trenches were excavated across two separate fields, within the proposed development area.
The evaluation revealed two features dating to the Iron Age that were probably associated with nearby Iron Age settlements identified during a previous evaluation located 100m to the east. A small fire pit filled with burnt stones, pottery sherds and fragments of a loomweight was identified, along with a north-west to south-east aligned ditch that also contained pottery sherds and may have been part of a field system.
Several more recent features were also encountered during the evaluation. A medieval furrow was excavated near to the Iron Age ditch and contained couple of residual Iron Age pottery sherds. A large, possible quarry pit was discovered in the eastern field and contained fragments of modern glass and coal. A fragment of modern wire was recovered from the lower fill of a wide ditch in the western field.