Just up the East Mersea road as you come onto Mersea Island, is a
conspicuous mound on the left. It is a Romano-British burial
barrow which has been dated to AD 100-120.
The mound was excavated in 1912 and an entrance passage built.
In the centre was a small burial chamber built of Roman bricks
capped by septaria (clay nodules) and inside was a lead box with
a wooden lid. The box contained an urn of green glass
containing cremated remains.
The barrow is also known as Mersea Mound or Mersea Mount.
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Left: The lead box and urn are now on display in the
Castle Museum in Colchester.
Photograph by courtesy of
Colchester Museums.
Below Left: A postcard of Barrow Hall and the Barrow before the 1912 excavation.
Below: The barrow in 1929. At this time the entrance passage was a cut into
the side of the mound.
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