Archaeology Collections
The collections of antiquities and finds, made from the 19th century onwards, are wide-ranging: sites and finds represented include Palaeolithic flint tools and other lithics from south-eastern Britain, a small group of finds from the Victoria Cave, Settle, and a sword and tripod-footed bowl from the burial of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon at Coombe, Kent. From north-west Essex there are significant early collections of finds from the Roman town at Great Chesterford, and other Romano-British burials across the district, including a few surviving finds from the spectacular Roman barrows at Bartlow Hills.
Since the mid-20th century, the Museum has gathered a fast-growing district archive of finds and information from excavations and other fieldwork.
Significant among these are Iron Age and Roman sites at Wendens Ambo and Great Dunmow, the Anglo-Saxon manor site at Wicken Bonhunt, a medieval farm at Stebbingford and the extensive multi-period archive from Stansted Airport, including a series of spectacular Roman burials from Duck End Farm.
The development of medieval towns is illustrated by smaller excavations around Saffron Walden and Thaxted, where waste-materials from both cutlery and cobbling industries are represented.
Airport, road and housing developments, and community projects, are continually revising and enlarging understanding of human activity in Uttlesford District from all periods.