Causewayed enclosure and Anglo-Saxon cemetery 500m ENE of Heath Place

Reasons for Designation

Between 50 and 70 causewayed enclosures are recorded nationally, mainly in southern and eastern England. They were constructed over a period of some 500 years during the middle part of the Neolithic period (c.3000-2400 BC) but also continued in use into later periods. They vary considerably in size (from 2 to 70 acres) and were apparently used for a variety of functions, including settlement, defence, and ceremonial and funerary purposes. However, all comprise a roughly circular to ovoid area bounded by one or more concentric rings of banks and ditches. The ditches, from which the monument class derives its name, were formed of a series of elongated pits punctuated by unexcavated causeways. Causewayed enclosures are amongst the earliest field monuments to survive as recognisable features in the modern landscape and are one of the few known Neolithic monument types. Due to their rarity, their wide diversity of plan, and their considerable age, all causewayed enclosures are considered to be nationally important.

The causewayed enclosure 500m ENE of Heath Place survives well beneath the plough soil. This has been confirmed from cropmark plots of aerial photographs and recent partial excavation which has left undisturbed 90% of the monument. These excavations produced much information concerning the original form and construction of the monument as well as discovering quantities of Neolithic flint tools and pottery sherds. There are only two causewayed enclosures known in Essex and so the information contained within this monument can give rare insights into the economy of the locality as well as the social and religious life of the people who occupied it. The establishment of an Iron Age settlement site here is also of great interest and indicates that the site had been adapted for a variety of uses throughout its long life. The construction of an Anglo-Saxon barrow cemetery within the inner circuit of the causewayed enclosure indicates that it was still a significant site for the local population 3,000 years after it was first constructed. This group of burials is one of only a small number of known Saxon barrow groups in East Anglia. This cemetery is particularly representative of the middle Anglo-Saxon period (7th - 8th century) and will provide rare evidence for social and burial practices at this date.

Details

The monument includes a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and an Anglo-Saxon round barrow cemetery situated on a natural platform on the Thames terraces. The land slopes gently away from the monument towards the south into the valley of a small tributary of the Thames. To the east and west it slopes into smaller dry valleys.

Although there are no visible earthworks at ground level the monument survives as buried features which have been recognised as cropmarks from aerial photographs. These include three roughly circular concentric interrupted ditches (i.e.they are not continuous but are, rather, crossed by causeways at irregular intervals), enclosing an area at least 160m in diameter. The outer two ditches are 10m apart. A palisade trench lies between the inner and middle ditches. This palisade trench has three breaks in it, coinciding with those in the outer ditches. The inner ditch is between 30m and 40m from the middle ditch and encloses an area measuring between 80m and 95m across. Other internal features such as postholes and pits can be seen within the enclosed area on aerial photographs. Also visible on aerial photographs, within the southern half of the inner circuit, are at least 5 round barrows represented by ring ditch cropmarks. These are between 8m and 13m in diameter with a circular ditch from 1m-2m wide and up to 0.35m deep.

In 1975 trial trenching and small scale excavation took place in order to verify the interpretation of the monument. Parts of the ditches and palisade slot were excavated which confirmed their Neolithic date. A continuous bank was found to have been originally constructed on the berm between the two outer ditches, the material for which was quarried from the interrupted ditches. The palisade was an additional, contemporary, defensive feature inside the middle ditch. Within the enclosed area various pits and post holes were investigated. A number of the features identified during excavation were shown to be Iron Age in date. A period of Early Iron Age settlement was followed in the Middle Iron Age by an enclosed settlement within a rectilinear ditched enclosure, which lies within the southern part of the monument. In addition, two of the five ring ditches were fully excavated and were found to represent round barrows containing Saxon inhumation burials in wooden coffins.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 10 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

24868

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hedges, J, Buckley, D, Excavations at a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure, Orsett, Essex, (1978)
Hedges, J, Buckley, D, PPS 44, 1978, 219-308 in Excavations at a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure, Orsett, Essex., (1978)
Hedges, J, Buckley, D, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society in Excavations at a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure, Orsett, Essex., Vol. 44, (1975), 219-308

Other
CUCAP BWX99,
CUCAP 161/652805, (1970)
Essex SMR PRN 5162,
NMR TQ6880/31/411, (1976)
CUCAP K17 U 117, (1970)
NMR TQ6880/31/411,
NMR TQ6481/6/425, (1976)
NMR TQ6481/6/426, (1976)
Cambridge University Collection, CUCAP 161/652 805, (1970)
Essex SMR PRN 5158,
NMR, NMR TQ6881/6/425-6, (1976)
NMR 6481/6/425, (1976)

End of official list entry

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