Review – Thurrock’s Deeper Past: a confluence of time

1 min read
Front cover of the book 'Thurrock's Deeper Past: A Confluence of Time' by Christopher John Tripp.
Christopher John Tripp
Archaeopress, £25
ISBN 978-178969115

Reviewed by Edward Biddulph


These days, Thurrock on the edge of the Thames in Essex, is perhaps best known for its vast shopping centre, but the region also has a rich archaeological heritage. Christopher Tripp takes readers on a tour of Thurrock’s past, from the Palaeolithic (tools having been found at Purfleet, for example) to the Saxon period (Mucking being the stand-out site in this period). In between, there is the Iron Age enclosed settlement at Orsett, Roman pottery kilns at Grays, and much more besides.

The author, born and bred in Thurrock and with many years’ experience digging in Essex, provides a personal view of the region and its archaeology. The book is not fully up to date, though, and it is unfortunate that recent discoveries, among them a major Iron Age and Roman salt-production site near Stanford-le-Hope, are ignored. Some statements in the book – the Icknield Way having Neolithic origins, for example – are contentious, and inexplicably there is no location map with place-names.

Nevertheless, this is an entertaining and engaging introduction to an ancient and fascinating landscape.

This review appeared in CA 350.

1 Comment

  1. I personalty found this publication very disappointing in every way. Poorly structured. No time line continuity. Jumping from subject to subject on most pages. etc. On page ten the description of the formation of flint is wrong in every detail. Reference to any British Geological Survey publication including this will describe the correct sequence of events leading to the formation of this material. The lack of modern knowledge of local Thames Terraces is very evident. I, like the previous reviewer also found the map to be inexplicably lacking in every way as an informative graphic. I would have expected the publishers proof readers to have picked up on these shortcomings. In my opinion a poor exploration of an absolutely fascinating area of south Essex. It total lost me after reading page ten.

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