NHER 11685 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Ring ditches north of Barrow Lane, Hanworth

THE RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE WITH PLAYING CARD CORNERS (A CURSUS) DESCRIBED BELOW IS NOW RECORDED UNDER NHER 18190.

North of kink in Parrow Lane and lying across old field boundary (now gone).
Cropmarks of 2 large irregular ring ditches (one fainter, with inner circle) and rectangular enclosure with playing card
corners.
Checked by E. Rose (NAU) 19 October 1976.

September 1991.
M. Warren (Cromer Museum) reports that circles are visible on ground both as cropmarks and as low mounds.
E. Rose (NLA) 4 October 1991.

Part of large scatter, NHER 33506.

6 July 1994. NLA air photography, see (S1).
Southern ring ditches within 'cursus complex' NHER 33506.
Very clear images; western circle has a second internal circle, as previously recorded. Eastern circle has potential internal features, possibly also forming an interrupted circle.
M. Brennand (NLA), 23 February 2001.

25 July 2000. Visit.
Whole field under crop of sugar beet.
Field ploughed to depth of 15cm (6"), possibly 30cm (12") every 6 years.
H. Paterson (A&E), 9 January 2004.

February 2004, Norfolk NMP
NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the centre grid reference for the site from TG 205 358 to TG 2054 3584. The rectangular enclosure with playing card corners (a cursus) described above is now recorded under NHER 18190.
The ring ditches described above are visible as cropmarks on oblique aerial photographs from several years (S2) and (S3) being the best examples). The low mounds identified on a field visit (described above), which are not visible on the consulted aerial photographs, allow them to be interpreted as round barrows with relative certainty. Their size and relationship with the cursus to their northeast (NHER 18190) suggests that they date to the earlier part of the Bronze Age or even the Neolithic.
Both ring ditches are slightly sub-circular in shape and of a similar size (up to approximately 40m in diameter). This striking similarity is reinforced by the similar width (3 to 4m) of both external ditches. Only the southwestern ring ditch is aligned with the cursus, being located centrally to and approximately 80m from its southwest end. It is comparable in this to the smaller ring ditch at the northeast end of the cursus (NHER 38477). The other ring ditch is offset from this alignment by about 14m to the southeast. The southwestern ring ditch has a concentric, sub-circular internal ditch, surrounding three large pits, post holes or graves. The northeastern ring ditch has six pit like features spaced rather irregularly around the inside of the southeastern half of the ditch. This internal ring of features may have continued into the northwestern half but is obscured by geological cropmarks. Pits and ditches surrounding the ring ditches do not appear to be directly associated with them.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 24 February 2004