Essex cropmark enclosures project

A group of circular cropmarks is located in north-east Essex and south-east Suffolk. Although none of these sites have been excavated, they appear typical of the relatively small henges which occur in East Anglia. Recent study of the Ardleigh Group of Deverel-Rimbury pottery has emphasised the localised distribution of this material in East Anglia and its association with highly distinctive, densely-packed ring-ditch cemeteries which are often sited in close proximity to 'hengiform' monuments. The Essex cropmark enclosures project undertaken by the Archaeology Section of Essex County Council Planning Department, is designed to explore the way in which familiar elements including henge monuments, ring ditch cemeteries, Deverel-Rimbury pottery etc, combine to create a distinctive cultural landscape in this part of East Anglia.

The 4 sites selected for study are located at Belchamp St Paul, Great Bentley, Little Bentley and Little Braxted. The Belchamp St Paul site lies in the Stour Valley, an area replete with cropmarks, but which has seen little archaeological fieldwork. The cropmark has been tentatively identified as a henge, providing a focus for a surrounding group of ring-ditches. The sites at Little Bentley and Great Bentley both lie on the Tendring plateau, located close to streams, and are thought to be henge monuments. The 4th site, at Little Braxted has already been the subject of fieldwalking and geophysical survey (commissioned by the landowner, a keen independent archaeologist). The site forms part of a cropmark complex focused on a long mortuary enclosure, and includes a large cropmark hengiform feature.

The area surrounding each enclosure has been fieldwalked, and although experience shows that artefact-rich subsoil features are not necessarily reflected directly by corresponding concentrations of artefacts in the ploughsoil, this nevertheless provides valuable insights into the extent and nature of occupation in and around the enclosures and associated cropmarks. Specialist analysis of the fieldwalking finds is now in progress, although detailed analysis of the flintwork is currently available only for Great Bentley. The second stage of the project will involve trial trenching of the cropmarks, and some of the ploughsoil concentrations identified by fieldwalking. The main purpose of the trenching will be to recover sufficient finds to allow reliable dating of the main cropmark enclosure and subsidiary features. Sections through the enclosure ditches, and identification of any associated pits and postholes should also help in explaining the nature of this type of monument.

Excavation work will begin in August 1996, at Great Bentley where two 10m x 10m trenches will be excavated, 1 at the entrance to the putative henge monument, and 1 coinciding with a smaller ring ditch and flint scatter. A series of 2m x 2m test pits will also be excavated to coincide with a broad scatter of worked flint identified to the south-east of the main cropmark enclosure. Trial trenching is also scheduled at Great Braxted during 1996. Excavations at Little Bentley and Belchamp St Paul will follow the 1997 harvest, subject to agreement with the landowners.