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More details:

 Mammal and bird bone assemblage

 The fish bones
 Oysters and other marine shells
 Human remains
 Insect remains
 Plant macrofossils
 Pollen
 Soil Microstratigraphy

4. Environmental Analysis
4.1 Introduction
Section 4 comprises the environmental reports for the Elms Farm excavations. In total 1173
soil samples were taken for a range of environmental studies; of these 665 were processed by
wet-sieving to recover charred plant remains and small bones. Appropriate samples were
assessed by specialists, then samples with potential to produce information about the site
selected for further analysis. The assessment reports are held in archive and the following
reports present the individual specialist analyses for the human bone, animal bone, fish
remains, charred plant remains, marine mollusc shell, insects, waterlogged plant macrofossils,
pollen and soil micromorphology. It must be emphasised that most of these specialist reports
were produced by the year 2000 and their contents have not been updated in the light of more
recent discoveries or developments in our understanding of the site. Only the results for the
Roman to Early Saxon periods are presented in the environmental reports, the prehistoric
periods have been covered elsewhere (Atkinson and Preston 2001). The discussion on the
environment and landscape of Elms Farm is presented in Volume 1, particularly Chapter 8
(Atkinson and Preston 2015). The analysis also provided evidence about food and farming,
some introduced plants and evidence of trade. All the evidence was examined in order to
characterise the status and economy of the settlement.

Landscape and farming

The settlement lay on the flood plain of the Chelmer and Blackwater rivers, with salt-marsh
and the Blackwater estuary to the east and higher ground to the south and north. It was largely
a grassland landscape, with pasture and hay meadows along the valley of the River Chelmer,
together with areas of arable agriculture, waste ground and some woodland and wetland. The
main crop cultivated in the fields was spelt, with hulled barley as a second cereal. Charred
arable weed seeds found with the cereal remains suggest the extensive cultivation of fields to
produce the crops for the settlement (van der Veen 1992). The corn dryers found in Phase 4,
peripheral to the site, indicate improved agricultural technology, while the presence of the
arable weed, stinking mayweed, is associated with more efficient ploughing in later times,
which is possible here in the Roman period. Other crops possibly grown on smaller plots
included peas and flax, while fruit trees may have been grown near the settlement; grapevines
may also have been cultivated. The animal bone was primarily derived from the processing
and consumption of food animals, with cattle bones predominating. The meadows would no
doubt have been used as seasonal pasturage and there would have been extensive grazing
(also seasonal) on the salt-marsh, while the cropmark and excavation evidence from the
gravel terraces to the north and west show a largely agricultural landscape of fields (both
arable and for stock) linked by tracks and droveways and with numerous farmsteads. The
animal bone also had a secondary function as a manufacturing raw material, as well as
forming one element of structured deposits. The fish bone evidence was dominated by
estuarine species (reflecting the location) and there was no evidence that the inhabitants
ventured further out into the North Sea for deep-sea fishing. The Blackwater estuary is still
noted for the quality of its oysters and they were consumed at Elms Farm in Roman times;
there was, however, no evidence for deliberate farming of this resource. Indeed, the
Heybridge oysters were of a type fished from natural beds, either by hand collection in the
intertidal zone or by dredging inshore shallow waters. Hence the plant and animal remains
recovered show the mixed farming economy of the settlement that exploited both land and
estuarine resources for food supply and possibly trade, discussed in the following reports.

The evidence for the local environment is largely derived from the waterlogged deposits
including plant macrofossils, pollen and insect remains from the wells and deepest pits. The
plant macrofossils and pollen show the vegetation of the locality, which included hay
meadows and weedy vegetation between the buildings, while the pollen also includes that
from the surrounding open environment with few trees or bushes except elder. The insect
remains are mostly derived from nearby and also show an open environment with a
background of pasture from the presence of dung beetles. Some insects associated with
buildings and human occupation were present, but not the developed urban fauna as found in
major towns such as York. The remains in the wells were thought to be accumulated or
backfilled in disuse and reflect the refuse of occupation near the features at the time; parasite
eggs suggest some may have been used as cesspits or for disposal of latrine waste. Weeds of
the settlement are also represented in the charred plant remains, some of which are suggested
as being similar to those of a traditional farmyard - an environment recognised in parts of
many Roman towns (Hall 1988). The soil micromorphology demonstrated that the soils on the
site contained high levels of organic waste, probably derived in the large part from dung, and
fodder further emphasising the rural or market town character of the Elms Farm settlement.
Findings from the less intensive study of later Roman-Early Saxon soils, infer that the rural
character of the settlement persisted.

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Foods available

The waterlogged remains also include evidence of the food plants cultivated and consumed on
the site. These include fruits and herbs from the evidence of fruit stones and seeds, and pollen
of grapevine and peas, which suggest nearby cultivation. Honey bee was found among the
insects, suggesting the use of honey, while evidence for stored grain was found from beetles
typical of a granary. Other food remains included the evidence from charred cereals, hazel
nutshell, hedgerow fruits, some possibly cultivated fruits; some edible plants indicated by the
presence of seeds may have been utilised. These foods are tabulated, together with other food
evidence from bones, shell and fish remains, to show the food available to the people over the
phases of the site. Other food ingredients may have included imported wine, olive oil, fish
sauce and fruit in the identified amphoras but vary by phase (see Roman pottery report).
The charred plant macrofossil assemblage was dominated by cereal remains, which show the
crops cultivated by the settlement and processed for food. Spelt is the main crop with a trace
of emmer, and a few bread wheat type grains probably as contaminants of the crop. Barley is
also present throughout, perhaps more common in the Late Roman-Saxon period. Processing
of spelt was seen in Periods 3 to 5 from remains of abundant chaff cleaned from the crop
during dehusking, while charred malted spelt was found in Periods 3 and 4, the latter in a
dump of refuse in a palaeochannel, possibly derived from nearby corn dryers which could also
have been used for roasting or parching the malted grain. Malt is prepared by first seeping the
grain in water, draining the water away and then piling the grain on a floor to allow the grain
to germinate. This is best done within a building to provide steady conditions for germination
during which the starch in the grain is converted to sugars. The grain is then lightly roasted or
parched to halt the growth of the cereal and the malt can then be ground for brewing.
Although features associated with malting were not identified, water was available and the
corn dryers of Period 4 may have been used to roast the malt. Any cereal can be used but the
evidence suggests that spelt was often used for malt in Roman Britain (van der Veen 1992).
Brewing of beer may have been carried out on the site. The basic process of brewing is the
same now as in the past and can be carried out in a domestic situation (Vilsteren 1994), so
would leave little evidence. Brewing involves the extraction of the sugars from the malted
grain in warm water, then the liquid is poured into a container, cooled, and fermented with
yeast and the beer or ale decanted and settled for consumption. Larger scale brewing requires
hearths, larger vessels and wooden troughs and barrels, none of which may survive, and
prepared malt can be traded elsewhere, but it is likely that the settlement produced and
consumed beer in Roman times.

Fish remains as bones and scales were widely distributed in the wet-sieved samples from the
settlement although only a small assemblage was identifiable as most were fragmentary. Fish
were recovered from Period 2 onwards and were from inshore or estuarine waters. Eel and
herring were common, together with flatfish, plaice and flounder. Larger sea fish were not
found because deep sea fishing only developed later in the medieval period. Some fresh water
fish were also consumed from local rivers. Roman influence is suggested by the presence of
mackerel and red mullet, although evidence of high status was thought to be lacking.
However, it may be significant that fish remains together with fruit are generally only found
from urban and high-status sites; little of either of these is found in the Iron Age or small rural
sites, so may suggest Romanisation of the diet.

Shell fish were dominated by oysters, which were very abundant on the site, emphasised by
the fact that deposits were only sampled and still almost 7000 shells were recorded. Even so
the shell could be under-represented because shell can be used for many purposes, including
as a soil conditioner, or exported with the oysters if traded elsewhere. Very few shells were
recovered from the earlier phase, Period 2, and it was noted that nationally very few Iron Age
sites have oyster shell present. Here there is a massive increase in the occurrence of shell
through the Roman periods of occupation, with most from Period 3. The oyster shells were
measured and compared statistically by size, shape and infestations with those from other
sites and it was concluded that they were all of local Essex type but distinct from North
Shoebury and Colchester. Shells in Leicester had been found to be of North Shoebury type
(Monckton and Winder 1992) but different from Heybridge oysters. Early Roman shells from
Heybridge were found to be similar (of no significant difference) to shells from 2nd-century
deposits at Pudding Lane, London. Live oysters can survive for about ten days if packed close
together in sacks or baskets and kept cool and moist, so it is likely that Heybridge oysters
were transported by boat to London. This report discussed oyster culture and transport and
compares shell from a large number of sites, it provides a resource of data to compare with
future finds of oysters at sites inland (Winder 1984, 1985a). Other shell fish included mussels
and whelks less numerous but found throughout the Roman periods of occupation.

The animal bones were very numerous from the site, with cattle most numerous through the
Roman phases followed by sheep and pig. Cattle had mostly been used as draught animals in
the earlier phases and were mature at slaughter; sheep were also older animals used first for
wool then as meat, as is common in the Roman period. Pigs were probably kept as back-yard
animals near the houses and fed on food waste to provide meat. Goats were present
throughout the Roman periods, probably kept to produce milk. The age and stature of
domestic animals was recorded and is discussed; some improvement in size of cattle by better
husbandry practices was noted during the Roman period. Other meat was from hunted red and
roe deer; a wild hare may also have been hunted for food. Domestic fowl, chickens, were also
probably introduced after the conquest. Other fowl exploited include ducks and geese, some
wild, probably from the riverside, as well as woodcock, small waders, plover and curlew. A
swan was also found from Period 3 used as meat. Comparison of the animal bone assemblage
showed differences from the major towns of Colchester and Chelmsford, but similarities with
the Roman small town of Braintree.

The foods available are summarised in Table 206 and show the range of foods available to
some of the inhabitants throughout the phases of the site. The presence of fruit and fish is
thought to be typical of a Roman town (Score et al. 2010), together with oysters showing the
Roman influence on the diet. There are some imported or introduced plants such as grape,
cherry, small plums, walnut, coriander, dill and opium poppy characteristic of Roman times
(van der Veen et al. 2008); these are also known to be used in Roman recipes. Hedgerow
fruits and probably some wild herbs were also used. Abundant domestic animals used as meat
were found and include cattle bones of 'soup-kitchen type' deposits, which are also typically
Roman. Pottery thought to be used for cheese production suggests that milk from cows, sheep
or goats could have been made into cheese. Quite a range of meat, game, fowl, and wild birds
were exploited; chickens were probably also kept for eggs. Drinks included wine, imported at
times from the evidence of amphoras, but grapes may have been cultivated from the evidence
of pollen; pottery wine or ale strainers also suggest the drinks consumed. There is also
evidence of larger scale cereal processing, including dehusking of spelt to supply the people
with cleaned grain, together with malting of spelt, probably to make beer, found in Period 3
and Period 4. Spelt was the usual grain for beer making in Roman Britain. These remains all
suggest a diet similar to that of inhabitants of Roman urban settlement for at least some of the
people.

Ritual and burials

Although cattle formed approximately 90% of the total bone assemblage, the bones deposited
within the intercutting pit group associated with the temple, which had the appearance of
domestic rubbish assemblages, solely comprised the remains of mature sheep, perhaps the
result of ritual slaughter, consumption and disposal during the course of feasting rituals. The
occurrence of structurally deposited animal bone groups was also low, but they do occur;
these include the skeletons of four dogs, a cow, a pig and a young piglet in the later Roman
backfills of well 14984 (Group 710) and, perhaps most spectacularly, in latest Roman pit
6641 (Group 579) there was not only a group of pewter vessels but also a headless horse. The
bones of seven chickens were also recovered from the temple area.
Other than in funerary features, the incidence of human bone was low across the settlement
area with only eight examples being identified. The majority comprise the remains of
neonates and infants and tend to occur within, or in association with, structural features
interpreted as building foundations.

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