Excavations at Great Dunmow, Essex: A Romano-British Small Town in the Trinovantian Civitas

With contributions from J. Bayley, O. Bedwin, D. Brown, S. A. Butcher, C. M. Cunningham, B. Ford, C. J. Going, S. J. Greep, M. W. C. Hassall, E. Healey, R. M. Luff, J. G. McDonnell, R. Reece, W. J. Rodwell, L. Sellwood and P. Wilthew. Excavation of part of this small town revealed the rear plot of a property probably fronting onto Stane Street.This contained a family cemetery of cremations, within an enclosure, dating from the late 1st to the late 2nd century. Domestic occupation continued into the late 4th century, when the site was occupied by a shrine, with an associated building and votive pits. A large deposit of coins and fragments of jewellery were found. The finds are used to build a picture of domestic life and industry in this small town of artisans and farmers. A description of the contemporary countryside around, and a discussion of settlement patterns puts this town into its proper context. Pottery finds indicate settlement of early 5th-century date, and a possible building of Middle Saxon date was discovered. Further evidence of Middle Saxon occupation is known from other areas of the town. The report contains an archaeological gazetteer of all Roman and Saxon finds in Great Dunmow.