Monk’s Farm, Kelvedon, Essex

Between 7th September and 30th October 2020, Oxford Archaeology carried out an archaeological excavation at Monk’s Farm, Kelvedon in Essex ahead of residential development. The excavation was preceded by geophysical survey and trial trenching which revealed several areas of archaeological activity within the 10ha development area. These remains were targeted by three separate excavation areas (A, B and C), covering a total area of c. 1.4ha.
A Palaeolithic handaxe was recovered as a residual/redeposited find and a small number of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age features were recorded across the site, but the earliest evidence for sustained activity dated to the Iron Age. In Area B, a small C-shaped ditch, a larger sub-circular enclosure and a relatively large number of pits were exposed, variously associated with Early Iron Age and Middle Iron Age pottery. Elsewhere, in Area B, an isolated cremation burial of Late Iron Age or Early Romano-British date was found.
Evidence for intensive Romano-British activity dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD was revealed in Area A. The Romano-British remains consisted of a system of boundary ditches which enclosed a complex of small rectilinear enclosures, probably representing part of a major farmstead/landed estate in the area directly to the north of the London to Colchester Roman Road and the Roman small town at Kelvedon. Few discrete features were found within the enclosures, but a large watering hole was revealed, which had been backfilled with deposits which produced very substantial finds assemblages, including over 14kg of Roman pottery, alongside ceramic building material and metalwork. Substantial quantities of Roman finds were also recovered from the various enclosure/boundary ditches, with one area producing large quantities of iron slag, probably deriving from a smithy located within one of the enclosures. In Areas B and C, poorly dated linear features on the same alignment as the Roman features in Area A probably represented elements of a wider field system, and the earthwork remains of the Iron Age C-shaped ditch in Area B appeared to have been reused at this time, with finds of iron smelting slag and furnace lining associated with small quantities of Roman pottery and ceramic building material coming from its upper fills and from features cut through its circuit.
There was no evidence for Anglo-Saxon or medieval activity on the site and post-Roman remains were limited to a modern field boundary and extraction pits.
The site lies less than 500m to the north-west of the known Roman town at Kelvedon, and the results of the excavation are of significance in terms of providing information on Roman activity in the hinterland of the town and on the extent and character of Iron Age activity in the area.