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Great Holts Farm Project Summary webpage.
The Following Links target plans in their chronological order.
Early Roman, a.
Early Roman, b.
Late Roman
Latest Roman
This project began in 1991 with a fieldwalking survey to assess a complex of archaeological cropmarks in a small arable field due to be destroyed by gravel quarrying. The work, carried out by the Field Archaeology Group of the Essex County Council Planning department identified two large concentrations of Roman tile near the centre of the complex. Geophysical survey revealed significant features close to the tile concentrations and supported the interpretation of the cropmarks as a low status Roman farmstead. Large-scale rescue excavation was carried out in two stages. 4.3ha were excavated in 1992 and 1993; while in 1994, 3.5ha were excavated. Both stages were fundes. No features of middle or late Iron Age date were recovered during the excavation although a small quantity of late Iron Age pottery was recorded in later contexts.
The Roman farmstead, laid out systematically on undeveloped ground in the first half of the second century A, comprised a central compound, with two wings. Two strip fields were defined by fifteen or more ditches on a north-east-south-west and north-west-south-east alignment. The compound, which was c106 sq m, was possibly sub-divided into a half and two quarters by a T shaped arrangement of ditches. It was flanked by the two wings and was possibly occupied by a complex of farm buildings, although no trace of any early Roman structures was recorded. The south-east wing had an entrance in its south-east side and both wings were the same approximate size (c106m by 53m) as the south-west side of the compound. The two strip fields, to the immediate south-west, were both c42m wide; their full length was not determined but cropmarks suggest that the south-east field was at least 175m long. A small enclosure or paddock at the north-east end of the north-west strip field was defined by a short section of ditch running at right-angles to the field boundary. In the mid-second century the ditch along the south-east side of the compound was filled in and a small rectangular enclosure, defined by unction, and form, which contained sherds of Darmsden-Li. By the late second to eaIt was constructed from timber and it was possibly modified or repaired on several occasions during its lifetime. It appears to have been sub-divided into thirteen or more rooms and it contained three box-like storage pits. It also contained a small well which was found inside the corridor along its south-east side. This well was significant because it contained an important assemblage of food residues, both animal and vegetable, which were indicative of an affluent lifestyle. These residues included a number of items from the Mediterranean, such as olive stones and stone-pine kernels, as well as fish bones from scad and Spanish mackerel. It also contained a collection of very large cattle metapodials which appeared to have originated from a breed of cattle which had been possibly brought in from the Continent. Other bones from the well included a tarsometatarsus from a sparrowhawk and a large number of bones from its natural prey, the thrush; this suggests that some form of hawking may have taken place during the late Roman period.
The aisled farmhouse or barn (c12m by 24m), which was constructed from timber, was situated to the immediate north-east of the corridor villa. It was too poorly preserved to determine any room divisions but it did contain the remains of a praefurnium or furnace room for the bath suite in its north-west corner. This was flankethree new ditches, laid out in the new south-east corner. nd the folloto flooding. This apparently forced the occupants to demolish the north-east end of the structure to make way for a small spill-over pond, which was subsequently linked to the main pond by several channels. The gap between the two buildings was occupied by a small suite of baths which was accessed from the corridor villa through a break in its north-east wall. The bath suite was split into a frigidarium and a caldarium and was heated by the praefurnium mentioned above. It had gone out of use by the end of this phase and was flanked by a large pit, c4 sq m, which had possibly been used as a cistern. The granary in the south-east enclosure was destroyed by fire during this or the succeeding phase. It contained a well-preserved assemblage of charred plant remains, such as spelt, barley, and pulses, which revealed new information aboutm the well included a tarsometatarsus from a sparrowhawk and a large number of bones from its natural prey, the thrush; this suggests that some form of hawking may have taken place during the late Roman period.
The aisled farmhouse or barn (c12m by 24m), which was constructed from timber, was situated to the immediate north-east of the corridor villa. It was too poorly preserved to determine any room divisions but it did contain the remains of a praefurnium or furnace room for the bath suite in its north-west corner. This was flankeprobably used as the main domestne of which appear to have been prone to flooding. This apparently forced the occupants to demolish the north-east end of the structure to make way for a small spill-over pond, which was subsequently linked to the main pond by several channels. The gap between the two buildings was occupied by a small suite of baths which was accessed from the corridor villa through a break in its north-east wall. The bath suite was split into a frigidarium and a caldarium and was heated by the praefurnium mentioned above. It had gone out of use by the end of this phase and was flanked by a large pit, c4 sq m, which had possibly been used as a cistern. The granary in the south-east enclosure was destroyed by fire during this or the succeeding phase. It contained a well-preserved assemblage of charred plant remains, such as spelt, barley, and pulses, which revealed new information aboutm the well included a tarsometatarsus from a sparrowhawk and a large number of bones from its natural prey, the thrush; this suggests that some form of hawking may have taken place during the late Roman period.
The aisled farmhouse or barn (c12m by 24m), which was constructed from timber, was situated to the immediate north-east of the corridor villa. It was too poorly preserved to determine any room divisions but it did contain the remains of a praefurnium or furnace room for the bath suite in its north-west corner. This was flanked and traversed by two drains, one of which appear to have been prone to flooding. This apparently forced the occupants to demolish the north-east end of the structure to make way for a small spill-over pond, which was subsequently linked to the main pond by several channels. The gap between the two buildings was occupied by a small suite of baths which was accessed from the corridor villa through a break in its north-east wall. The bath suite was split into a frigidarium and a caldarium and was heated by the praefurnium mentioned above. It had gone out of use by the end of this phase and was flanked by a large pit, c4 sq m, which had possibly been used as a cistern. The granary in the south-east enclosure was destroyed by fire during this or the succeeding phase. It contained a well-preserved assemblage of charred plant remains, such as spelt, barley, and pulses, which revealed new information about storage, crop purity, and cultivation methods.
The farmstead began to decline from the mid-fourth century onwards. The droveway was redefined and the square enclosure at its north-east end was replaced by two small holding-pens and a small rectangular paddock. Most of the ditches from the previous phase had gone out of use by the start of this phase and relatively few of the existing ditches were recut or maintained during this final period. To the south-east a small irregular shaped ditched enclosure or paddock was, however, laid out in the south-west corner of one of the former fields. The large pond in the centre of the compound had largely silted up by the start of this phase, but the north-west end was still being dredged for some time thereafter. The cruck building to the east of the pond was no longer standing by the mid-fourth century and the two main buildings, the corridor villa and the aisled farmhouse or barn, had both been dismantled by the end of this phase.
The post-Roman period was represented by a small assemblage of early Saxon pottery and a Romano-Saxon bone pottery stamp which was retrieved from the back-fill of the robbed-out bath suite. It was also represented by a small medieval long-house (c4.25m by 10.25m), which was found in the top north-west corner of the site. Other developments from this period included a number of post-medieval ditches, some of which appeared to redefine the north-east wing from the early and late Roman period.