In amongst the Romano-British objects on display in the museum is an enigmatic clay figurine. It was excavated at Goose Lane near Little Hallingbury in the early 1970s as part of a substantially amateur series of assessments and excavations carried out in advance of the construction of the M11 motorway.
The excavations were published in a summary booklet written by Ian Robertson published in 1976. The section on Goose Lane is very brief but does give a little information.
“Little Hallingbury, Goose Lane: TL 512 173: A scatter of Roman pottery found during field walking in 1972 enabled Mr T. A. Betts to undertake an excavation with the West Essex Archaeology Group in 1973 in advance of Motorway construction. This was found to be a complicated site with an Iron Age hut circle underlying Romano-British features which included a complex of ditches and the foundations of a small rectangular wattle and daub building some 4.00m x 2.50m. Some eleven coins were recovered from the site, which, with the exception of one minted in AD 148-9, were all minted in the period AD 258-285.”
The figurine is made of local naturally occurring “found” clay and was clearly bonfire fired, presumably as part of a cremation. The figurine was discovered inside one of the two jars that it is displayed next to and which originally would have contained the cremated remains. The jars, in conjunction with the coins recovered from the site, have been used to date the figurine to the late 3rd century.
Although impossible to say with certainty it is not unreasonable to presume that the figurine was made from clay excavated during the preparation for a cremation and probably fired as part of the subsequent cremation process. It was then placed into one of the two jars along with cremated remains before being buried.
We would love to hear any thoughts or comments that you may have on the figurine!
