Archaeological Monitoring: The Philip Morant School, Rembrandt Way, Colchester

Archaeological monitoring was carried out during construction of a new two-storey teaching block, associated car parking areas and access routes. Previous geophysical survey and trial-trenching of this c.1.5ha site recorded a low incidence of potential archaeological remains, but did not identify features clearly relating to either the Lexden Dyke that forms the southern boundary of the school site or to the course of the Heath Farm Dyke projected to cross the development area. The monitoring, primarily focusing on the excavation of service trenches, attenuation tanks and ground reduction along a new access road route, did not identify any archaeological remains relating to either the Lexden Dyke or Heath Farm Dyke, or encountered any Late Iron features possibly associated with them. All encountered remains were either boundary ditches of certain or probable post-medieval/modern date, or else were undated features of uncertain type. One ditch, a field boundary shown on OS maps up until the 1950s, was a further part of that recorded during the evaluation. The site had been disturbed to some extent by the insertion of a substantial service trench in the modern period, perhaps at the time of the school's construction. A second phase of monitoring, of a new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) to the north of the new teaching block, revealed a straightforward sequence of topsoil and former ploughsoil over natural sand and gravel. Two undated features, one of which was a small ditch, were recorded at the west end of the MUGA.