Archaeologists discovered evidence of RomanBronze Age and Iron Age settlements in Essex, southern England, in discoveries described as “incredibly fascinating”.
The settlements, discovered during excavations ahead of the construction of a planned water pipeline, provide a “real picture of what life was like for ordinary people,” said Benjamin Sleep, senior archeology and heritage consultant at Stantec – the company hired to oversee the project. archaeological element of the scheme – he told CNN Tuesday.
Evidence suggests there was Late Bronze Age activity in the area, dating back about 3,000 years, Sleep said.
It was already widely known that the Romans had settled in Essex, but the excavation of an area as part of a gas pipeline project offered the opportunity to investigate a huge rural area, rather than the more common archaeological sites in or around towns and cities. cities, he added.
The largest settlement found was a farm with surrounding buildings that archaeologists believe housed livestock and provided space for metalworking or pottery making, Sleep said.
And the artifacts they discovered show “that the Romans didn’t come and destroy everything and then establish their own settlements,” he said. “They are integrating a lot into the communities.”
There was a continuation of certain types of pottery, he added, explaining that objects made from locally sourced materials continued to be used alongside Samian pottery imported from northern France.
“It’s like you have your fine china and then your everyday pottery,” he said. “These things tend to merge in the archaeological record, which shows that there is continuity there.”
This ceramics from northern France, or Gaul, as it was known in Roman times, also highlights the level of international trade present at the time, even in the countryside and not just in port cities, he added.
Archaeologists excavated 14 areas along the 19.5-kilometer (12.1-mile) pipeline.
“Not all of these 14 areas showed absolutely incredible archeology… the reason they were chosen was because they showed something was going on,” Sleep said. “And then in some of these locations we found some really interesting things.”
The excavation took place over seven months, with four months of trial excavation from April to September 2023 – where archaeologists investigate the site’s potential – before three months of further excavation, Daniel Wilson, project manager at Essex and Suffolk Water Company, said. he told CNN.
“We were all very excited that the team found these discoveries,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to interact with local communities on another level and embellish their local history… We already knew about Roman activity in the area… but this adds to it and confirms it.”
Now, the pottery, objects and coins that archaeologists unearthed will go to the local museum, while all the features discovered have been recorded, photographed and mapped so that they are available for use by future researchers, Sleep said.
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