Braintree PZ Supply Demand Balance: Bocking to Braintree, Essex

Oxford Archaeology East undertook monitoring, strip and map recording, and excavation along the route of the Braintree PZ Supply\Demand Balance pipeline for Anglian Water. This report deals with those sites and findings uncovered on the route from Bocking (TL7590 2538), in the north, to Panfield Lane, Braintree (TL7501 2368), in the south, between the 25th August 2014 to 3rd March 2015.
Archaeological monitoring was required along virtually the entire length of the pipeline which ran for 2.2km. Three fields in the northern segment (Bocking to Braintree) were selected for strip and map excavation due to the presence of cropmarks, indicative of archaeological sites, recorded in the Historic Environment Record.
Two archaeological sites were uncovered along the route to the north of Braintree. Site 1 consisted of a cobbled surface or track which may have dated to the medieval period, while enclosures and other medieval features with evidence for metalworking (iron smithing) was uncovered at Site 2.
Monitoring of topsoil removal along the remainder of the route uncovered no significant archaeological features. A metal detector survey, conducted along the entire route, recovered Roman and medieval coins that probably represent casual loss, although their presence does indicate some activity in the vicinity during these periods.