Archaeological fieldwork by
Oxford Archaeology at some 29 sites along the route of a widening scheme
between junctions 27 and 30 of the M25 motorway in Essex uncovered evidence of
past occupation and activities dating from the Mesolithic to post-medieval periods.
Late Iron Age cremation
burials, Roman-period enclosures and field boundaries, and a tentatively
identified Anglo-Saxon sunken-featured building were discovered at Hobbs Hole
at Junction 29 of the M25. At Passingford Bridge, Stapleford Tawney, a middle Bronze
Age ring-ditch, possibly a barrow, was recorded in the floodplain of the River
Roding. Evidence was found of a middle Iron Age to Roman farming settlement of
roundhouses, enclosures and raised granaries, established on the higher ground
of the gravel terrace. An alignment of irregular pits dated by pottery to the
early-middle Iron Age was uncovered near Upminster, and early Saxon
charcoal-filled pits — evidence, possibly, of charcoal-burning — were recorded
at Codham Hall near Great Warley.
The limited opportunity for
archaeological excavation during the original construction of the motorway
meant that little had been known of the archaeology beneath. The results
presented in this volume have significantly altered that view, revealing a
picture of an evolving cultural landscape between Aveley and Epping from
prehistoric to modern times.
