Saturday 20th September 2025
Loughton Day – Loughton Cricket Club, The Uplands, Loughton, Essex, IG10 1NQ
Thank you, to our members who came & supported WEAG at this event.
Though at times it was a bit blustery, it remained dry with sunny spells. There were a variety of stalls, hand made crafts and societies as well as live entertainment including a music, singing and Punch & Judy show. WEAG’s stall was well supported with new and existing members. The general public engaged well with many of the finds on show and were interested in learning more about WEAG, Copped Hall and the archaeology that takes place there.
Sunday 31st August 2025
WEAG 2025 Members Dig – Copped Hall Trust, Crown Hill, Epping, Essex CM16 5HR
Trenches YA, Y & YC: These 3D models were generated from videos taken of the trenches by members of the Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project using Kiri Engine photogrammetry software.
Trench YC: Excavating through upper contexts YC2 & YC9 bringing us down onto the demolition layer (YC12).
Trench YB: Excavation of the French drain. There is an unusual amount of masonry & CBM to the North East (bottom left) of the drain (see right photograph), which was not present in Trench YA. This will require further investigation to ascertain it’s purpose.
Trench Y: Excavation of the French Drain & footing of the retaining wall.
Friday 29th to Saturday 30th August 2025
WEAG 2025 Members Dig – Copped Hall Trust, Crown Hill, Epping, Essex CM16 5HR
Trench YC: Excavation of Trench YC is continuing at pace. Currently we are at contexts YC2 (middle left) & YC3 (bottom left). The extent of the Tudor wall & buttress is now much easier to see. Finds include large cobbles, a brick fragment stamped with either the letter A or V, a worked brick with a rounded edge (right hand tray), glass, animal bone, clay pipe stem, window glass, bottle glass & pottery.
Trenches YA, YB, Y & YC: Despite the occasional spell of rain, work continues to progress well in all of the trenches.
Thursday 28th August 2025
WEAG 2025 Members Dig – Copped Hall Trust, Crown Hill, Epping, Essex CM16 5HR
Trench YA: The sequence of bricks forming the top of the French drain have now been removed. The drain is intact and in good condition, though it appears the inside of the drain has been stained white. Is this an early form or waterproofing or has some form of liquid entered the drain and stained it? Further excavation of the area beneath the drain continues.
Sunday 24th 2025 to Wednesday 27th August 2025
WEAG 2025 Members Dig – Copped Hall Trust, Crown Hill, Epping, Essex CM16 5HR
We are now half way through the 2025 WEAG Members Dig.
Trench Y: Lots of fragments of 14th-16th century pottery coming out of the rubble.
Trench YC: The extension of YC progresses well. The top part of the buttress is now visible indicating it was two courses wide and one course deep. Finds include bone, window glass, bottle glass and pottery.
Trench MAG: Finds include post Medieval ceramics, glass and metal.
Saturday 23rd August 2025
WEAG 2025 Members Dig – Copped Hall Trust, Crown Hill, Epping, Essex CM16 5HR
WEAG’s 2025 Members Dig is underway with work continuing on the Y-Trenches and our newest Trench MAG. The MAG Trench continues to produce new finds including pottery, ceramics & glass. Trench YA is being dug deeper below the the previously discovered French Drain revealing a pebble layer beneath the drain. Trench YC continues to surprise with a new context layer consisting of dense concentration mortar & bricks. All of these trenches will continue to be dug over the coming week.
Saturday 16th August 2025
Harlow Community Fete – Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens, Muskham Road, Harlow, CM20 2LF
A big thank you, to all our members who came & supported WEAG at this event.
It was a beautiful day set within the intimate & beautiful walled gardens of Harlow Museum. The event was well attended, with a variety of stalls, crafts and societies located throughout the site. There was live entertainment including a choir, steel drum band and marching music from the Air Force Cadets. WEAG’s stall received great interest from members of the public particularly the finds on show. Many visitors to the stall expressed interest in learning more about WEAG, Copped Hall and the archaeology that takes place there.
Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th July 2025
Archaeology Experience Weekend – 3
The last of our 2025 Archaeology Experience Weekends has taken place. Work continued in all of the Y-trenches as well as the new trench, designated MAG which was de-turfed the previous weekend by the magnetometry team. After only going down couple of inches in this trench was full of an array of finds including pottery, ceramic, porcelain, metal, brick and tiles.
Once again students took part in taking & recording levels, doing a section drawing, completing trench records and context sheets and participating in the magnetometry.
For much of the three weekends Trench YC has raised more question than answers. That was until students revealed a grouping of upended bricks in mortar to the North of the trench. Thought initially to be a later addition, perhaps a planting hole, the positioning of the bricks going under under the pebble path suggests the path here is not Victorian, but much earlier perhaps even Tudor. More excavation work will be needed on this trench to ascertain the purpose of these upended bricks with a possible extension to the East of the trench.
Thursday 24th July 2025
Festival of Essex Archaeology & Heritage – Cressing Temple Barns, Witham Road, Braintree, Cressing, Essex, England, CM77 8PD
A big thank you, to all our members who came & supported WEAG at this event.
It was a wonderful day with various archaeology related activities including talks, finds handling and much more. The venue at Cressing Temple Barns is well worth a visit with it impressive barn structures, walled garden and open spaces. There were a variety of stalls and societies dotted throughout the site and inside many of the buildings. WEAG had a constant flow of visitors to the stall and there was great interest in Copped Hall and the archaeology that takes place there.
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th July 2025
Archaeology Experience Weekend – 2
The second of our 2025 Archaeology Experience Weekends has concluded. Despite heavy rain on the first day, students were given an induction to archaeology and a tour of Copped Hall and it’s surrounding grounds. Digging in the Y-trenches continues. The results of the recent magnetometry survey indicate an anomaly to the south of Trench-YC which could be another wall. A second anomaly in the form of an arc on the lower terrace has been also highlighted and de-turfing has begun in preparation to open a new trench and to investigate this at the next Experience Weekend on the 26th & 27th July 2025.
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th July 2025
Archaeology Experience Weekend – 1
The first of our 2025 Archaeology Experience Weekends took place last weekend. Though it was an incredibly hot start to our summer digs, progress has been made in all the Y trenches located in the bank of the change of levels in the Copped Hall garden. In addition to excavating these trenches students also took part in taking & recording levels, starting a section drawing, completing trench records and context sheets and participating in the magnetometry of the lower terrace. Finds included Tudor roof and floor files, glass, greenstone fragments and even a button.
Sunday 6th July 2025
A big thank you, to all our members who came & supported WEAG at the EPPING TOWN SHOW which was held at Stonards Hill Recreation Grounds.
Despite a short period of heavy showers, it was a great day & there was a steady flow of visitors to the stall. There was keen interest in both WEAG & The Copped Hall Trust with many visitors interested in WEAG’s upcoming Archaeology Experience Weekends.
