Neolithic, Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon remains at Hazelend Road, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire: PXA and UPD

Archaeological works on land off Hazelend Road, Bishop's Stortford revealed a Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape. The earliest remains consist of a series of pit groups containing assemblages of Early Neolithic pottery and struck flint. The majority of the remains uncovered date from the Bronze Age period. Evidence for the Early Bronze Age is confined to funerary remains, namely a probable 'mini' barrow, cremations and an unusual enclosure. This enclosure, located in the north-westernmost corner of the main excavation area, consisted of a sub-rectangular ditched enclosure; with an ancillary chamber attached on its northern side and internal postholes. A radiocarbon date obtained from charcoal from its fill produced a date of 1885-1695 BC. The exact function of this feature is still to be determined, but it was probably a shrine or funerary monument.
The urned cremation consisted of a large biconical urn with horseshoe decoration, placed upturned in a pit and then backfilled with large unworked flint nodules, which would have formed a cairn over the feature. A further four cremations (unurned) were also located across the site. A copper alloy needle was recovered from one of these cremations, from which a radiocarbon date of 2122-1900 BC was obtained.
A field system and sinuous enclosure ditch are believed to date to the Middle Bronze Age, however, firmly datable remains from these features were low. The Late Bronze Age remains were dominated by pits and posthole structures, along with a three-sided ditched enclosure. Large quantities of pottery were collected from the Late Bronze Age features, with the three-sided enclosure alone producing nearly 8kg.
Low-level Anglo-Saxon remains were also identified, and consisted of a highly truncated sunken-feature building (SFB), containing Early-Middle Saxon pottery, fired clay and ironwork.