NHER 17673 (Monument record) - Site of field system of possible post-Roman date at Dowe Hill Farm

THE RING DITCH DESCRIBED BELOW IS NOW RECORDED AS NHER 43381.

1 August 1977.
NAU air photography, see (S1).
Cropmarks.
1 ring ditch and linear cropmarks.
D. Edwards (NAU) 18 March 1981.

March 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Some of the cropmarks described below were previously recorded as NHER 12166 and 11654. The ring ditch described above is now recorded as NHER 43381. NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference of the site from TG 4984 1600 to TG 4990 1627.

The linear cropmarks described above are part of a much larger cropmark complex representing a former field system, visible on aerial photographs (S1)-(S10). This is almost certainly a continuation of the possibly post-Roman field system recorded immediately to the west (NHER 27340). Both sites are characterised by long, near-parallel ditches, aligned approximately east-to-west. Further ditches oriented at roughly 90 degrees to the principal ditches at the site described here give it a broadly co-axial layout. The fact that both sites overlie the remains of probable Bronze Age round barrows (e.g. NHER 42461), their contrasting morphology and orientation to probable Bronze Age and Iron Age to Roman field systems identified to their west (NHER 27338 and 27339 respectively), and their proximity to evidence of Early Saxon settlement (NHER 34025), suggests a post-Roman, probably Saxon to medieval, date for the field system. The fact that the site described here contrasts (in morphology and orientation) with the probably medieval field system to its south (NHER 27266) may indicate an origin at the earlier end of this date range. At the same time, the fact that some elements of the field system, such as the ditch visible between TG 4973 1610 and TG 4971 1602, appear to correspond with field boundaries shown on Ormesby Tithe Map (S11), indicates that parts of site continued in use until at least the 19th century.

The field system is visible across an area measuring approximately 960m by 685m. Some of the double-ditched elements were probably trackways, such as that visible between TG 4969 1643 and TG 5022 1622. The layout of the cropmarks at the northern end of the site is less regular than the remainder of the site; this perhaps reflects their more fragmentary nature and the fact that in this area it was often difficult to distinguish between archaeological marks and those caused by geology or recent agricultural activity. The field boundaries appear to respect the ring ditches visible in across the site, as at TG 4982 1639 where a trackway passes between two of the three ring ditches recorded as NHER 42461. Assuming that the ring ditches represent the remains of Bronze Age round barrows, as seems likely, this suggests that the barrows still survived as earthworks when the field system was laid out. This may also be the case with the ring ditch at TG 4986 1601 (noted above and now recorded as NHER 42281), which appears to have been joined to the surrounding field boundaries. Alternatively, it could have been an enclosure of some kind contemporary with the field system. As well as the mapped ring ditches, curvilinear cropmarks at TG 4983 1592 (surrounding an undated pit), TG 4992 1631 and TG 4974 1633 may mark the site of further examples. Other apparent ring ditches which have not been mapped are probably the product of the underlying geology or recent agricultural activity. Unmapped linear cropmarks, such as those visible on (S12), generally correspond with or fit the same pattern as field boundaries depicted on historic maps, e.g. (S11).
S. Tremlett (NMP), 14 March 2006.

April 2021. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site adjacent to Yarmouth Road.
Although the area examined coincided with the three cropmarks in the north-westernmost part of this group there was no evidence for surviving sub-surface remains.
Information from draft report. See NHER 67125 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 21 June 2023.

June-July 2021. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site adjacent to Yarmouth Road.
The trenches excavated coincided with the north-west to south-east aligned cropmark at TG 4954 1669 and the north-east to south-west aligned cropmark at TG 4953 1675. The former was found to coincide with an undated ditch but there was no evidence for surviving sub-surface remains associated with the latter.
See report (S13) and NHER 67125 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 21 June 2023.