NHER 29870 (Monument record) - Undated and post-medieval features and multi-period finds

February-November 1993. Watching Brief.
Brundall to Whitlingham Rising Main (Field 1528).
No features were observed in this field during the monitoring of topsoil stripping along the pipeline easement. The excavation of the pipe trench itself was not monitored.
See report (S1) for further information and NHER 57229 for details of finds recovered during an initial fieldwalking and metal-detecting survey. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2013.325).
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2018. Amended 17 May 2019.

November 2012. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of site of proposed extension to Postwick Park and Ride.
Fifteen of the 21 trenches excavated revealed archaeologically significant features, the majority of which were ditches. Unfortunately very few finds were recovered so none of the excavated features could be convincingly dated.
A number of the ditches clearly corresponded with previously identified cropmarks features, including three roughly west-north-west to east-south-east aligned cropmarks that cross the northern half of the field (NHER 52042). The southernmost of these produced a single sherd of Late Iron Age or Early Roman pottery whilst the northernmost produced two fragments of post-medieval roof tile. The later at least may have been associated with a similarly-aligned former road that is shown crossing the site on Faden’s map of 1797. This section of road or track continued the line of what is now Brundall Low Road and isn’t marked on any subsequent maps.
Not all of the linear cropmarks appeared to be associated with sub-surface remains and a number of additional ditches were also identified that did not correspond with any of the mapped cropmarks. The later including several north-to-south aligned ditches as well as several on other alignments, one of which produced a sherd of possible Early Iron Age pottery and a fragment of iron slag.
A fairly substantial hollow identified towards the centre of the site corresponds with a large discrete cropmark and was interpreted as a probable quarry pit. Another large hollow was identified to the east. Other remains included a cluster of narrower ditches or gullies and several substantial, vertical-sided pits in the south-eastern corner of the field, none of which produced any dating evidence. What appeared to be the robbed-out or plough-damaged remains of an east-to-west aligned flint rubble wall was also observed close to Oak’s Lane. This was most likely associated with some form of agricultural building, although no such structure appears to be marked on any of the more readily available historic maps of the site. A number of probable natural features were also investigated.
Unstratified finds included a small but notable cluster of earlier prehistoric worked flints recovered from the topsoil close to the western edge of the field. These included a Mesolithic microlith and a blade core fragment of Mesolithic type. Other finds included a single post-medieval pottery sherd.
See report (S3) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.165).
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2018.

April 2013. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of extension to Postwick Park and Ride.
This phase of work took place in an area immediately to the east of the existing carpark (Area D).
No archaeologically significant features were identified, the only deposits visible being layers of made ground that were presumably associated with construction of the park and ride and its associated roads.
See report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2018.

June 2014. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of cycle path (Area F).
A single pit of probable late post-medieval date was identified.
See report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2018.

June-July and October 2014 and June 2015. Strip Map and Sample Excavation.
Excavation of three separate areas prior to construction of extension to Postwick Park and Ride. The largest (Area B) covered a substantial part of the western half of the field, with a narrow strip excavated to the north (Area A) and a smaller discrete area excavated in the south-easternmost part of the field (Area C).
All three excavation areas revealed archaeologically significant remains, including a large number of possible pits, a penannular ring-ditch, several other ditches and a small number of post-holes. Unfortunately, as during the preceding work, dating evidence was fairly limited, with only 30 pottery sherds recovered across the three excavation areas. The majority of the finds were prehistoric worked flints, the bulk of which are of probable earlier prehistoric date. Several pieces of Mesolithic date are present and much of the debitage is consistent with a blade-based industry of that date. It should though be noted at least two potentially Upper Palaeolithic pieces are also present and it remains possible that some of the flints were associated with a later, Early Neolithic phase of activity. Only a small number of pieces were however thought to be of probable later prehistoric date. In all but two cases individual features produced only small numbers of worked flints suggesting that the bulk of the assemblage had probably been residual within later contexts. Apart from very small amounts of Iron Age, Roman, Late Saxon and medieval pottery the bulk of the other objects recovered were of probable post-medieval date.
The vast majority of the possible pits were undated, although it is suggested that many were probably associated with one or more phases of prehistoric activity. A fairly diffuse scatter of these features was exposed in the main excavation area, and although it is noted that some had reasonably regular, steep-sided forms, it appears that most were fairly unremarkable, with little to indicate their date or function. A reasonably dense scatter of these discrete features was also observed in the smaller eastern excavation area, although again the majority produced little or no dating evidence and at least some may have been natural features.
The eastern excavation area revealed two of the site's more interesting features – a penannular ring-ditch and a fairly small three-sided rectangular enclosure, both of which were probably associated with one or more of the earlier phases of activity on the site. The ring-ditch was 18m in diameter, up to 0.7m deep and had what appeared to be a deliberately open entrance to the south-west. Its fill appeared fairly sterile with only a small number of prehistoric worked flints recovered and an environmental sample producing little in the way of plant macrofossils or other debris. A large somewhat amorphous pit situated within the ring-ditch may have been associated, but this was by no means certain. This pit produced one of the larger assemblages of worked flints, which were predominantly of Mesolithic/Early Neolithic character. The small enclosure to the south was 18m wide, at least 19m long and aligned north-west to south-east. Although stratigraphically it appears to have been one of the site’s earlier features no dating evidence was recovered.
The other ditches exposed included a number of presumably broadly contemporary north-to-south and east-to-west aligned features, several of which appear to correspond with previously identified fragmentary linear cropmarks (NHER 52042). Unfortunately no convincing dating evidence was recovered, although two were shown to be truncated by post-medieval features. The virtual absence of post-medieval finds does also suggest that they were associated with an earlier phase of activity, although it appears that they post-dated both the ring-ditch and the small enclosure to the south.
The excavation was at least able to demonstrate that the two extensive west-north-west to east-south-east aligned cropmarks that cross the northern half of the field were both associated with post-medieval features. Post-medieval finds were also recovered from the ditch associated with the curving cropmark immediately to the north. It is therefore highly likely that, as previously suggested (see above), these three features were associated with a road or track that had crossed this part of the site until the earlier 19th century. A perpendicular boundary ditch to the south of these features also produced post-medieval finds. Other potentially post-medieval features included at least one of the excavated pits.
See assessment report (S4) for further details. Published article and archive report awaited.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.249).
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2018. Amended 19 May 2019.