Essex Excavations

A brief note of two new booklets which give information on two excavations in the county.

‘The Colchester Archaeologist Vol. 27 (2013/14)’, 50pp, £3.95, produced by the Friends of Colchester Archaeological Trust, includes a dig diary on the site of Williams and Griffin in the town’s High Street, and the discovery on Day 94 of a collection of gold and silver jewellery, hidden away in a house destroyed by the Boudicca uprising of 61AD. Known locally as ‘The Fenwick Treasure’ conservation work unravelled earrings, bracelets and five gold finger-rings worn by a woman, and silver jewellery worn by a man.

‘From Demolition to Discovery: The Lost Mansions of Marks Hall’, 28pp, £7.00, reports on the archaeological dig carried out in the Country Park near Coggeshall between 2011 and 2014. Although the mansion of 1609 with Georgian additions was demolished in the 1950s its exact position was unknown. The excavation identified the layout of the mansion and discovered an earlier Tudor structure. Aside of this booklet, oral history research currently being undertaken is rediscovering the estate’s past.