Mucking (archaeological site)
 Shown within the United Kingdom
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| Location | Mucking, Essex, England, United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°29′38″N 00°25′48″E / 51.49389°N 0.43000°ECoordinates: 51°29′38″N 00°25′48″E / 51.49389°N 0.43000°E |
| Type | Settlement and associated cemeteries |
| History | |
| Abandoned | During or after the 8th century |
| Periods | Roman and Anglo-Saxon |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1965–1978 |
| Archaeologists | Margaret Jones and Tom Jones |
Mucking is an archaeological site near the village of Mucking in southern Essex. The site contains remains dating from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages—a period of some 3,000 years—and the Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon features are particularly notable.
Major excavations took place at the site between 1965 and 1978, directed by Margaret Ursula Jones. Covering an area of 18 hectares (44 acres), at the time it was the largest archaeological excavation in Europe, and is the largest excavation ever undertaken in the British Isles. Excavation continued year-round to stay ahead of gravel extraction that was rapidly destroying the site, accumulating an "astonishing" volume of material. Only a fraction of this was analysed or published in Jones' lifetime, and ultimately the bulk of the post-excavation work was left to others. The first volume of a "full publication" was not published until 2015, by which point the post-excavation phase had cost significantly more than the initial excavation. This led some to criticise Mucking as an irresponsible, "excavation without publication".
The site was on the 100 feet (30 m) gravel terrace, close to the north bank of the Thames, and was owned by Surridge Disposals Ltd. There were a number of other Saxon settlements in the vicinity - see list of archaeological sites in Thurrock. The site was discovered as a result of aerial photographs showing cropmarks and soil marks. The earliest photographs to reveal the site were taken by the Luftwaffe in 1943. However, these were not readily available to archaeologists. The importance of the site was recognised following photographs taken by Dr JK St. Joseph of Cambridge University on 16 June 1959, although these photos were not published until 1964. The tenant farmer (T Lindsey) remarked that crop marks for archaeologists were his best crop. Following publication of the crop mark photos, DG Macleod of Prittlewell Museum and DA Whickham, Chief Librarian for Thurrock realized the site was threatened by gravel extraction and instigated the scheduling of the site under the Ancient Monuments Act.
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