NHER 1455 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Medieval to post medieval salt works

Northwest of Manor Farm 7 long mounds (longest 30m (33 yds), average width 5.4m (6 yds)) running east to west; formerly an eighth mound, carted away before 1905 when B. Lowerison found them (S4).
Opposite each mound on east side of marshy area is a shorter mound of similar width.
A bank or dome abuts the Heacham river to north of mounds.

January 1913.
Trial excavation by B. Lowerison proved they were artificial, and produced sherds of ?Iron Age black pottery, one with heavy roll rim, called 'pre Claudian native' by A.G. Wright, also 'Belgic ware'.
Professor McKenny Hughes regarded them as saltpans.
Animal bones listed in (S1).
Finds formerly in Ruskin School Museum, now lost.

Site destroyed in 1975.
Marked on new OS 1:2500 as 'fishponds'.
[1] regarded these as spoil from drainage works post 1824.
(S2) in file.

5 August 1977. NAU air photography.
Soilmarks of linear and curvilinear ditches.
F. M. Mountford (NAU) 13 October 1981.

See (S3) in file.

Member of Cringleford Society, resident in Heacham during 1940s told E. Rose (NAU) that at that time the mounds were fenced off from the field owing to local belief that they were burial mounds and to disturb them would bring evil on the village.
E. Rose (NAU) 13 July 1984.

(S4) put these as 'U' or undated.
'These earthworks comprise a series of parallel banks which have subsided in the middle'. 'The present owner stated that the earthworks were demolished in 1976 and their site levelled. At the time a careful watch was kept but no finds of interest were made; the composition of the mounds was sand only, no evidence of burning was noted. Now under corn stubble, no surface remains exist'. 'The topographical situation, at sea level adjacent to water, suggests an industrial site probably salt working'.
See (S2).
R.J. Rickett (NAU) 6 February 1990

March 2002. Norfolk NMP.
The site consists of a series of parallel banks and low amorphous mounds, which have now been levelled and ploughed flat, which were visible on vertical aerial photographs from BKS in 1959 (S5), the OS in 1967 (S6) and NLA in 1989 (S7). The main component of the site, centred at TF 6773 3883, was two groups of eight parallel linear banks. It is possible that these mounds were once continuous and have since slumped or been slighted in the central section. The survival of the mounds was better to the west of the site, where the largest of these earthworks could be recorded as 38.5m long and 10m. The eastern group appear to have been cut through by two drainage ditches.

To the immediate east of the main drain cutting the site is a long, low bank which appears to correspond to the eight banks, in a much more denuded form. This may indicate that the banks were up to 90m long in their original state. To the immediate north is a parallel linear bank, running from TF 6769 3890 to TF 6795 3888. This bank was 255m long and 8m wide. A second bank, 80m long and 7m wide, defines the eastern edge of the site, running from TF 6792 3888 to TF 6791 3880. This bank runs alongside a drain and is probably related to the upcast from its creation. Within the area defined by these linears banks are two to three amorphous mounds, the largest of which are centred at TF 6781 3885 and TF 6788 3885, measuring up to 75m across.

These earthworks are located to the immediate east of a cut that flows into the Heacham river and are at between 5 to 10m OD. It has been suggested that this channel was cut into its present course post 1824 as it does not appear on the 1824 OS map (Lewton Brain, 1967:10) (S8). It has also been suggested that these mounds are the remains of the salt working site. It is possible that they are salterns. When the mounds were levelled they were reported as being made of sand. However it seems unlikely that the waste from sand working would be placed into such regular parallel mounds. The central, more amorphous mounds are more consistent with waste mounds. It is possible that more regular mounds would have been created from the salt impregnated sand, prior to its washing. The parallel, closely set linears recorded do not immediately make sense as part of the salt making process, however no other function for the features is obvious. However the location of these features is not typical for salt works, which are usually much more coastal and nearer the saltmarsh. These earthworks may well be part of a different site, possibly the medieval earthworks to the south of Manor Farm (NHER 27731). Although Iron Age pottery was recorded as having been recovered from one of the mounds, however this cannot be confirmed.
S. Massey (NMP), 13 March 2002.

August 2008. Watching Brief.
Maintained during creation of bunkers for new golf course.
No archaeologically-significant features or deposits were observed in the single bunker excavated at this location (Bunker 33).
These excavations were however all very shallow, with none exceeding a depth of 0.3m. As a result only topsoil deposits were disturbed.
No unstratified finds were recovered.
See report (S9) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.317).
Previously recorded under NHER 49949.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 April 2022.