Digital Archive from an Archaeological Evaluation at Birch Quarry, Maldon Road, Layer Marney, Essex, August 2023

The collection comprises site images (including images of cremated human remains), site records, spreadsheet data, a vector drawing and a report from an archaeological evaluation at Birch Quarry, Maldon Road, Layer Marney, Essex. The works were undertaken by Colchester Archaeological Trust in August 2023 in advance of the southward extension of Birch Quarry. Excavations uncovered a Lower Palaeolithic handaxe as well as evidence of fleeting activity at the site during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. The primary phase of activity occurred during the Bronze Age, particularly the Middle Bronze Age. The most significant feature dating to this period was a pit containing two urned cremation burials bounded by a ring ditch. Further phases extended through the Roman and medieval periods, although deposits dating to these phases are sparse and scattered. Three post-medieval or modern field boundary ditches and two modern quarry pits were also excavated.