Land off Thaxted Road, Saffron Walden, Essex Desk-Based Assessment

Oxford Archaeology East was commissioned by Savills, on behalf of their client Kier Homes Ltd, to carry out an archaeological desk-based assessment of land off Thaxted Road, Saffron Walden. The aim of the assessment was to define the archaeological potential of the Site in advance of potential redevelopment. The desk-based assessment will be used by the Essex County Council Archaeological Officer to determine the archaeological potential of the site and subsequently the scope of any further archaeological investigation.
Saffron Walden occupies a chalk upland landscape within the Cam valley. The Site is situated on the south-eastern edge of the town and is centred on NGR TL 5487 3740. It comprises six arable fields making up three parcels of land straddling Thaxted Road. The Site has never been subject to development or archaeological investigation and, unsurprisingly, there are no actual HER records for the Site itself apart from a pair of lime kilns. However, a study of other sources of evidence, particularly the cartographic sources, has shown that there is a likelihood for pre-medieval field boundaries to be present in Parcel 1 and that there is a possibility of clay pits, chalk pits and lime kilns to be present along the Thaxted Road frontage.
Development of the southern part of the town has brought to light evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age activity. These remains, combined with cropmarks of former field boundaries to the south-west of the Site, hint at the type of remains that might be expected on the Site, particularly within Parcel 3.