NHER 3697 (Monument record) - Roman Road from North Pickenham to Toftrees

Roman road apparently forking from Peddars Way (NHER 1289), or it may have crossed it.
Course postulated by R.R. Clarke (NCM).
See file for details.
E. Rose (NAU).

May 2002. Fieldwalking.
On young sugar beet, well weathered. From TF 8736 1744 to TF 8734 1728 (Litcham).
High concentration of iron slag - maximum 20m east to west with rapid tailing off to east and west.
To the south, downhill, a fine sprinkling of slag to south boundary of field.
No pottery seen.
A. Rogerson (NLA) 9 May 2002.

April 2006.
The route of the road is indicated in the alignment of a series of roads, field boundaries and parish boundaries between North Pickenham and Dunton. The road surface and the agger (a raised bank or causeway) that the surface lay on have been recorded at number of locations.
See details in file.
D. Robertson (NLA) 27 April 2006.

2004-2007. Excavation and metal-detecting.
Litcham at [1]:
Scattered hoard of 11 groats ending at Henry VII found in very small area during excavation of Roman road and metal detected immediately adjacent to trench.
See list and report for coroner in file.
Acquired by Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2009.241).
A. Rogerson (NLA), 15 November 2007. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 13 May 2020.

April 2013. Watching Brief.
Maintained during removal of historical dredgings from the banks of the River Nar at the point where its course coincides with the line of this road. No related structures or deposits were observed, although it should be noted that particularly care had been taken to minimise soil disturbance at this location.
For further details see NHER 69559 and report (S1) (which incorrectly refers to this Roman road as the Peddars Way).
P. Watkins (HES), 20 October 2025.

September 2015. Watching Brief
Monitoring of works undertaken as part of River Wensum Restoration Scheme.
Works in the vicinity of where this road is believed to have crossed the River Wensum (c. TF 8850 2407) were limited to the cleaning out of an adjacent drainage ditch, which revealed nothing of archaeological interest. It is though noted that the likely position of the road is indicated by low broad rise within Norman Burrow’s Wood.
See report (S2) and NHER 68323 for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2018.359).
P. Watkins (HES), 14 May 2024.