NHER 38632 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks and earthworks of Bronze Age barrow cemetery

June 2004, Norfolk NMP.
A linear cemetery, which comprises four Bronze Age round barrows (NHER 6740-1 and 38648) visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs (S1-2), is centred at TG 2251 3766. Although the individual barrows, with the exception of the pair at the south-east end (NHER 38648), are rather dispersed, a distinct north-west to south-east alignment is apparent for a distance of 325m from TG 2238 3775 to TG 2264 3758. It is notable that this alignment is oriented at 90 degrees to that of the Neolithic cursus (NHER 18190) 2.2km to the south-west, and in fact is parallel to the south-west end of the cursus. A similar north-west to south-east alignment is shared by the two Neolithic long barrows or mortuary enclosures (NHER 38485) located 2.25km to the south of the cemetery.

Although they lie too distant to be classified as part of the cemetery, two round barrows 660m to the north-west (marked as 'Two Hills' on Ordnance Survey maps; NHER 6738-9) lie on the same alignment. These may have been sited in relation to the cemetery or vice versa. 390m to the south-east, a small mound visible as an earthwork on 1946 aerial photographs also lies on the same alignment as the cemetery. This appears to be a relatively fresh earthwork in 1946 and has consequently been recorded as part of the World War Two military training area which surrounds it (NHER 38619) although an earlier origin cannot be entirely ruled out. 285m to the south-east of the cemetery, and also on the same approximate alignment, a small, horseshoe-shaped ditched enclosure with an internal bank is also visible as an earthwork on 1946 aerial photographs (NHER 38649). The date and function of this site is unknown and therefore an association with the cemetery remains a possibility, although again a 20th-century military function is perhaps more likely.

On vertical aerial photographs from 1946 the cropmarks and slight earthworks of possible outliers to the north-east of the cemetery are visible at TG 2276 3771 and TG 2267 3762 (S1). These have not been regarded as convincing enough as archaeological features to be mapped. The faint cropmark of a possible outlier to the south-west (visible at TG 2244 3762) visible on later aerial photographs (S2) and a number of light patches on CUCAP oblique aerial photographs of the southern part of the cemetery (S3) have also not been mapped for the same reason.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 1st June 2004.