NHER 38504 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmark of possible Bronze Age round barrow

March 2004, Norfolk NMP
A possible ring ditch is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1), centred at TG 2260 3504. Its date and function are unknown, but given its location in an area notable for its evidence of prehistoric ceremonial and funerary activity, its interpretation as the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow seems plausible. It is surrounded by the cropmarks of a field system of possible Iron Age to Roman date (NHER 38499). If the dating of these two sets of cropmarks is correct, the fact that part of the field system overlies the ring ditch suggests that the barrow was at least partially destroyed at or by this date.

The ring ditch is circular in plan and measures 17m in diameter. The apparent causeway on its north-west side is more likely to be the result of the cropmark being masked than a genuine entrance. The fact that the ring ditch is only visible on one set of vertical aerial photographs (S1), despite coverage of the area by oblique aerial photography (S2), raises the possibility that it is not an archaeological feature, but rather a cropmark of recent agricultural origin.
(S1-2)
S. Tremlett (NMP), 17 March 2004