NHER 421 (Monument record) - Late Saxon occupation site, Whitefriars Street

The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please contact us to consult the full record.

Summary

In 1979 trial excavations recovered archaeological deposits from the 10th to 11th centuries. This includes a shelving beach of gravel with stakes and one post, covered by layers of shell and dung and successive levels of brushwood matting. The area appears to have been abandoned and allowed to silt up with some sporadic rubbish dumping from the late 11th century onward. Finds from the site included an 11th century bone comb, leather shoes, part of a jerkin, leather offcuts, and pottery sherds. The site was levelled in the post medieval period.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG20NW
Civil Parish	NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Full Description

1979. Excavation.
Trial trench at right angles to Palace Plain and River Wensum.
10th-11th centuries - shelving beach of gravel with stakes and one post. Covered by layers of shell and dung as basis for successive levels of brushwood matting. Silting above these cut for posts set into pits, possibly for use as mooring posts. Area abandoned and allowed to silt with some sporadic rubbish dumping from the late 11th century onward.
Post medieval levelling. Finds - bone comb (almost intact - 11th century), leather shoes, part of a jerkin, offcuts, Thetford-type ware, red painted ware, Badorf ware, Andenne ware. Gradual silting and sporadic rubbish dumping above Late Saxon waterfront levels. Post medieval levelling.
See published report (S1) for full details. The results of this work are summarised in (S2) and the site is also noted in (S3) and (S4). The results of the soil micromorphology are also discussed in (S5).
Compiled by B. S. Ayers (NAU). Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 January 2017.

Associated Sources (9)

--- SNF61012 Article in Serial: Emery, P. and Ashwin, T. 2001. Prehistoric Occupation Evidence at Bussey's Garage, Palace Street, Norwich. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt IV pp 670-675.
--- SNF8901 Photograph: BKA-BKJ.
--- SNF87213 Record Card: NCM Staff. 1973-1989. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card - Norwich.
--- SNF8807 Slide: Various. Slide.
<S1> SNF86327 Article in Monograph: Ayers, B. and Murphy, P. 1983. A Waterfront Excavation at Whitefriars Street Car Park, Norwich, 1979. Waterfront Excavation and Thetford Ware Production. East Anglian Archaeology. No 17 pp 1-60.
<S2> SNF2646 Article in Serial: Webster, L. E. and Cherry, J. 1980. Medieval Britain in 1979. Medieval Archaeology. Vol XXIV pp 218-264. p 229.
<S3> SNF2680 Article in Monograph: Carter, A. 1981. Norwich. Waterfront Archaeology in Britain and Northern Europe. CBA Res. Rep. No 41. Milne, G. and Hobley, B. pp 139-141. p 141.
<S4> SNF4499 Publication: Ayers, B. S. and Lawson, A. J. 1983. Digging Under the Doorstep: Recent excavations in Norwich. pp 20-21.
<S5> SNF94826 Article in Monograph: Macphail, R. I. 1983. The micromorphology of Dark Earth from Gloucester, London and Norwich: an analysis of urban anthropogenic deposits from the Late Roman to early medieval periods in England. Soil micromorphology: proceedings of the International Working meeting on Soil Micromorphology, London, August 1981. Volume 1: Techniques and Applications. Bullock, P. and Murphy, C. pp 245-252.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (3)

Object Types (6)

COMB (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
MANUFACTURING DEBRIS (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
SHOE (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Related NHER Records (0)

Find out more...(2)

Record last edited

Apr 29 2019 8:06PM