More information : (TL 68862334) Roman remains and pavement found 1938. (1)
At TL 689233 in a large irregularly-shaped field between Boxted Wood and Tilehowe Farm, Roman remains were reported in 1938 by Mr W.H Harvey. The area is bounded by two straight lines of dark earth running NW-SE and 180 yards apart. The southern of these is a ditch, but the northern has no indication of a ditch. The intervening area is covered with broken pottery, tile, and remains suggesting industrial activity. This is thickest at the N end, where digging by Mr Harvey revealed a tesselated floor damaged by ploughing about 10ins below ground surface. The tesserae were almost all red with only a patch of white and a single black example and were set on an uneven bed of rammed earth carrying a thin layer of white mortar. Trial trenches dug by the Felstead School Archaeologial Society in 1948 uncovered part of a pavement of red brick tesserae almost entirely destroyed by ploughing. Rubbish pits were located 50 yards E of the pavement. Finds were not profuse; some were retained by the owner-farmer W.H Harvey, the remainder were donated to Colchester Museum in 1949. The remains indicate an R-B farmstead or villa of wooden construction similar to the 2nd century example excavated (by Brinson) at Great Chesterford. (2-3)
Site visited when under stubble. Surface material includes fragments of tegulae, tesserae, box flue tile and oyster shells. Mr W.H. Harvey indicated a new spot where he discovered a pavement some 50.0m NW of the point marked by Hull (1). Harvey possesses many sherds of coarse grey Romano-British ware and some Samian ware as well as box flue tile with combed impressions. (4)
Much evidence of Ro brick and tile at the published site, otherwise no further information. Mr Harvey is now deceased. (5)
TL 689233. Listed as a villa. (6)
ES 65 Listed as the site of a Roman villa. (7) |