NHER 42170 (Monument record) - Possible post medieval oyster beds or shellfish pits

November 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A group of possible shellfish pits or oyster beds of probable post medieval date are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S4). These pits are located in an area of saltmarsh along the northern edge of Breydon Water and are centred on TG 4929 0761. A group of at least 25 pits are located along the landward edge of an area of saltmarsh adjacent to a channel that separates the saltmarsh from the sea bank. They extend for a distance of 205m. The complete individual pits are rectangular in plan and range from 1.5m by 4m to 5m by 10m in size. A number of irregular areas probably represent adjoining pits or pits that have eroded and lost their original shape. It is likely that these are oyster beds or shellfish pits, for the farming of shellfish, but not necessarily oysters. They are probably of post medieval date. A further group of pits are present on a separate area of saltmarsh 200m to the southwest (NHER 42169). These pits were not identified by the Norfolk Rapid Coastal Survey and it is likely that they are no longer visible.
J. Albone (NMP), 22 November 2005.

January-February 2023. Earthwork Survey.
Analytical earthwork survey undertaken ahead of proposed habitat improvement works.
An initial topographic survey identified no obvious trace of these features (which lay outside of the areas that were then subject to more traditional interpretive surveys).
See report (S5) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 August 2024.