Following the Augustan period reorganisation of Elms Farm, changes to the settlement continued apace in the following phase (c. AD 20-55), with the formalisation of the settlement layout into three ordered zones as defined by a new road system, and the construction of a larger temple complex in the central area, replacing the pair of shrine structures. Continuity was also apparent in terms of pottery consumption, with similar proportions of drinking and dining vessels, although the quantity of imports, especially in the form of wine amphorae, had massively declined in comparison to the site's Augustan heyday. Such a decline appears to coincide with an upsurge in imports at the seemingly indigenous Sheepen site at Camulodunum (as opposed to the newly founded Roman colony) (Niblett 1985; Pitts and Perring 2006), indicating a shift in trade towards Colchester in the aftermath of the Claudian conquest in AD 43. However, the apparent deposition of fragmentary drinking and dining sets in Gallo-Belgic wares in this period at both Heybridge and Sheepen indicates the emergence of a distinct regional practice of consumption and deposition. This is in stark contrast with parallel practices taking place within Colchester's Roman veteran colony, which emphasised completely different pottery with a much greater emphasis on dining (Pitts and Perring 2006).
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Last updated: Tue May 08 2007