NHER 13027 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmark of Iron Age square barrow

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SQUARE ENCLOSURE WITH CENTRAL PIT, THE CROPMARKS DESCRIBED BELOW ARE NOW RECORDED AS NHER 38472 (THE LINEAR WITH ADJOINING ENCLOSURES) AND NHER 38473 (LINEAR AND RECTILINEAR FEATURES IN THE ADJACENT FIELD). THE QUADRANT OF A RING DITCH IS MORE LIKELY TO BE OF GEOLOGICAL THAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ORIGIN.

Cropmark of small roughly square enclosure.
Located by E. Rose (NAU) 10 January 1978.

13 July 1993. NLA air photography.
There appears to be a large pit like feature within the centre of the square enclosure.
To the northwest of the enclosure is a gently curving linear with a series of 3 rectangular enclosures adjoining it. It is not clear whether this feature is of an archaeological origin.
To the south of these features is what appears to be one quadrant of a ring ditch.
In the adjacent field several linear features and rectilinear enclosures.
S. Massey (NLA), 9 February 2001.

March 2004, Norfolk NMP
NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference for the site from TG 2118 3516 to TG 2115 3517. With the exception of the square enclosure with central pit, the cropmarks described above are now recorded as NHER 38472 (the linear with adjoining enclosures) and NHER 38473 (linear and rectilinear features in the adjacent field). The quadrant of a ring ditch is more likely to be of geological than archaeological origin.

The square enclosure described above, which is probably the remains of a square barrow of Iron Age date, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1) and (S2), centred around TG 2115 3517. Similar features have been identified 1.5km to the north (NHER 38476) and 1.1km to the northwest (NHER 38475). Unmapped features 200m and 400m to the east (at TG 2139 3520 and TG 2155 3519 respectively), visible on vertical aerial photographs from 1963 (S3), could also be square barrows but are of dubious archaeological origin. The enclosure described here lies 45m to the east of a trackway (NHER 38472) which may be a contemporary feature. Iron Age and later finds have been recovered from an area 250m to its southwest (NHER 33645).

The enclosure is roughly square with rounded corners and measures approximately 16.5m wide. The ditch measures 1.5m wide and forms an unbroken circuit. The internal pit, described above, which measures approximately 4.5m long, is located almost centrally to the enclosure. It may represent a grave. Short linear ditches to the north, west and south of the square enclosure appear to flank it, particularly those to the north and south. These may be a contemporary embellishment of the barrow, or later ditches aligned upon it. A possible continuation of the southern ditch to the southeast has also been identified (NHER 38473).
S. Tremlett (NMP), 9 March 2004