NHER 36485 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Possible Bronze Age round barrow

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE RING DITCH, THE CROPMARKS DESCRIBED BELOW ARE NOW RECORDED AS NHER 6764 (PARALLEL AND CONJOINED LINEAR FEATURES) AND NHER 38515 (THE TRACKWAY).

28 June 1996. NLA aerial photography.
Cropmark of ring ditch partially visible at approx. NGR TG 2437 3550. There are several gaps within its diameter, although there is much geological 'noise' in the crop background. To the immediate south of this are two parallel linears with smaller co-joined stretches of linear. These may be related to the gardens or hall, or NHER 6764 (the site of Thorpe Hall). A trackway runs from the corner of Nursery Farm to the edge of the Thorpe Hall site. This again may date to the hall phase of the site.
S. Massey (NLA), 8 October 2001.

March 2004, Norfolk NMP
With the exception of the ring ditch, the cropmarks described above are now recorded as NHER 6764 (parallel and conjoined linear features) and NHER 38515 (the trackway). In addition, NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference of the site from TG 2425 3553 to TG 2435 3550.

A ring ditch of unknown date and function is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1), centred at TG 2435 3550. It is possible that it is a Bronze Age feature and that it once surrounded a round barrow; the off-centre pit within the ring ditch perhaps supports this view. A Neolithic or Bronze Age axe hammer has been found approximately 90m to its south-west and prehistoric flint has been found 165m to its south. Alternatively it may be of medieval to post-medieval date, and is perhaps a garden feature or other type of feature or structure associated with the site of Thorpe Hall (NHER 6764) to its south. It is also notable that the underlying geology produces cropmarks of similar tone, and that the ring ditch may therefore be of geological rather than archaeological origin. The fact that it is only partially visible, the visible portion being within an area of geological cropmarks, may support this alternative interpretation.

The ring ditch is sub-circular in plan and has a diameter of 17.5m. Its southeast side is not visible; two apparent causeways on its west and south-west sides may be genuine. A possible pit lies within the ring ditch, towards its northern side.
(S1)
S.Tremlett (NMP), 22 March 2004