Seaway Car Park, Southend-On-Sea, Essex

Between 23rd and 26th February 2015, Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) carried out an evaluation at Seaway Car Park, Southend-on-Sea, Essex (TQ 88672 85184), as part of pre-planning works to identify any archaeological remains present. A total of nine test pits of various sizes were excavated in the car park, trying to locate a palaeochannel that was identified as possibly being within the area in a Desk-Based Assessment.
The eastern area of the car park was found to be a dry valley, with no palaeochannel located within it. A small palaeochannel was discovered along the western limits of the car park. It was aligned roughly north-west to south-east, running towards the estuary to the south. No archaeological artefacts or ecofacts were recovered from the channel. No other remains of archaeological interest were found in the test pits.