List of archaeological sites in Thurrock facts for kids

Thurrock is a special place in England where many amazing discoveries have been made. These discoveries help us learn about people who lived here long, long ago. Archaeologists have found things from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman times, and even later periods.

This article shares some of the most interesting archaeological sites in Thurrock. These are places where scientists have dug up old tools, pottery, buildings, and other clues. Each find tells a part of Thurrock's long and exciting story.

Amazing Discoveries in Thurrock

Aveley's Ancient Secrets

Aveley has been a busy place for a very long time.

• Archaeologists found items from the Iron Age all the way to the Saxon period in 1956. This shows people lived here for many centuries.
• An old "Ice House" from after the Middle Ages was found at Belhus in 1979. People used these to keep food cold before refrigerators!
• Near Ship Lane, clues from the Iron Age and Roman times were uncovered in 1994 and 1995.
• Scientists used special tools (geophysics) to find the remains of old gardens at Belhus. These gardens were from the Tudor and Jacobean periods.

Chadwell St Mary's Hidden Past

Chadwell St Mary holds many ancient secrets.

• A medieval mound, like a small hill, was found in 1913.
• In 1922, a Roman oven was discovered. It still held three complete pots, broken pieces of others, and a small clay lamp.
• A piece of Saxon pottery, called a sherd, was found in 1923.
• In 1956, over 90 silver Roman coins (called denarii) were found in a quarry. They were inside a broken pot.
• An Iron Age and Roman settlement was found in 1959. Roman coins from this site are now in the Thurrock Museum.
• At Chadwell St Mary Primary School, Roman coins, pottery pieces, and tiles were found in 1996. Saxon items were also uncovered.
• An early Stone Age pit was found east of Sabina Road in 1997.

Corringham's Bronze Age Clues

• In 2008, a survey at Southend Road found Bronze Age pottery. They also found old field boundaries and signs of "ridge and furrow" farming. This is a way farmers used to shape their fields.

East Tilbury's Long History

East Tilbury has discoveries from many different times.

• Small Roman mosaic pieces, called tesserae, were found in the 1700s while digging for gravel.
• An old church, St Katherine's, was dug up in 1890. This showed it had an earlier tower and a south aisle.
• On the foreshore in the 1920s, archaeologists found huts from the Roman-British period.
• A Bronze Age ring ditch, a circular ditch, was found between 1959 and 1960.
• At Coalhouse Fort, military features from after the Middle Ages were explored between 1984 and 2000.
• Many Saxon coins were found by people using metal detectors in the 1980s and 90s.
• Bronze Age cremation burials were discovered in 1993. These are places where people were buried after being burned.

Fobbing's Ancient Settlements

Fobbing shows signs of people living there for thousands of years.

• A medieval rubbish pit was found in 2004. It contained pieces of pottery from the Middle Ages.
• Before new buildings were put up in 2006, surveys found evidence of people living there in the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman times. They also found signs of farming from the early Anglo-Saxon period.

Grays' Everyday Items

• A collection of old clay pipes was found when the east side of the High Street was torn down.
• At The Bull Inn, everyday items from the Middle Ages were found in 1970.

Horndon-on-the-Hill's Medieval Market

• At Woolmarket, medieval pottery and other items were found in 1969.
• At the corner of Mill Lane and High Road, medieval pottery was found in three different digs between 1990 and 1996.
• Also at the corner of Mill Lane and High Street, a gravelled market surface from the 13th or 14th century was discovered.

Langdon Hills' Stone Age Tools

• Iron Age pottery was found at The Park in 1966.
• Between 1995 and 2014, many Stone Age flint tools were found at different sites. These tools were used by people thousands of years ago.

Little Thurrock's Oldest Tools

• At Globe Pit, very old flint tools from the Paleolithic (Early Stone Age) period were found between 1949 and 1954. These tools are called "Clactonian."
• Neolithic (New Stone Age) flints and medieval pottery pieces were found at Rookery Hill between 1969 and 1970.
• A Roman-British kiln, used for baking pottery, was found at Palmer's Girls School in 1970.
• A Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement was discovered on Rectory Road in 1980.

Mucking's Big Dig

Mucking is famous for one of the biggest archaeological digs in Britain.

• Before the main Mucking excavation, a site at Linford in 1955 showed many finds from the Iron Age to the Anglo-Saxon period.
• The Mucking Excavation itself was a huge, continuous dig led by Margaret Jones from 1965 to 1978. It uncovered finds from the Stone Age all the way to the Middle Ages.
• At Mucking Flats, a timber structure was found in Mucking Creek.
• Also at Mucking Flats in 2009, evidence of Iron Age and Roman salt making was found, along with a roundhouse and a boathouse.

Orsett's Ancient Settlements

Orsett has many signs of ancient life.

• Roman-British finds were made at Cherry Orchard Farm before 1965.
• A Neolithic (New Stone Age) "causewayed enclosure" was found in 1975. This was a special type of circular area used by early communities. Saxon burials were also found here.
• At Orsett Cock, finds from the Iron Age, Roman-British, and Saxon periods were uncovered in 1976.
• Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery pieces were found at Baker Street in 1980.
• Early Saxon finds were made at Barrington's Farm in 1983.
• In 2019, a survey of the Orsett "crop mark complex" found flints, pottery, and building stones. This showed how a nearby settlement grew after the Middle Ages.

South Ockendon's Roman and Medieval Sites

• Investigations of Roman-British mounds took place at South Ockendon Hall in 1954 and 1961.
• Roman-British pottery was found in 1966.
• A Roman-British cremation burial was found at Hill Farm in 1967.
• At Belhus Park in 1980, Iron Age and Roman features were found, along with medieval settlements.
• Before redevelopment in 1995, investigations at South Ockendon Hospital suggested a Bronze Age settlement.

Stanford-le-Hope's Many Periods

• Prehistoric, Roman, and Saxon finds were made in a gravel pit in the 1930s.
• During the building of the Stanford-le-Hope bypass in 1970, many small items from the Paleolithic (Early Stone Age) to the Medieval period were found.
• A Saxon jar was discovered in 1977.
• Late medieval finds were made at Great Garlands Farm in 1999.

Stifford's Deep Holes and Old Buildings

• Investigations of deneholes took place in 1956. These are ancient, deep chalk mines.
• Roman-British finds were made at Primrose Island in 1960.
• At Ardale School, finds from the Stone Age, Iron Age, Roman, early Saxon, and medieval periods were made in 1979 and 1980.
• An early Saxon building was found in 1980, along with other items from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.
• More Iron Age, Roman, and early Saxon finds were made at Primrose Island in 1979 and 1980.
• At Stifford Primary School in 1995, a medieval oven and Roman and medieval field boundaries were discovered.
• The remains of a Saxon building were found during work on the church tower in 2005.

Tilbury Docks' Ancient Discoveries

• A skeleton from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) period was found in 1883 when the docks were being built.
• In 1885, Roman materials were seen during the dock construction, suggesting there might have been a Roman town nearby.

Tilbury Fort's Military Past

• Many military features from after the Middle Ages have been found at Tilbury Fort during digs between 1973 and 2010.

West Thurrock's Church History

• Building work at St Clement's Church in 1906 revealed a circular wall.
• Digs at St Clement's in 1912 showed earlier buildings beneath it.
• In 1979, an even older church with a circular nave (main part) was found on the site of St Clement's.
• At Armour Road, investigations found old flint tools and fossils.
• At High House, Purfleet, in 1999, features from the late prehistoric period to after the Middle Ages were identified.
• More digs at High House, Purfleet, in 2002 revealed features from late prehistoric to early Roman times.
• An excavation at Stone House in 2002 found a stone building from the 13th or 14th century.

West Tilbury's Diverse Finds

• A Roman coin and an urn were found in the 1850s while digging a ditch.
• At Gun Hill in 1973, Paleolithic (Early Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age) flint tools were found. Also, Bronze Age features, Roman-British finds, and an early Saxon grubenhaus (a type of sunken building) were discovered.
• Iron Age finds were made at Rainbow Wood (Rainbow Shaw) in 1974.
• Between 2010 and 2014, at Mill House Farm, Bronze and Iron Age pottery was found. There was also evidence of Late Bronze Age and Saxon settlements, like ring ditches and pits.