NHER 43129 (Monument record) - Late Saxon/early medieval and post-medieval to modern remains

December 2005. Trial Trenching.
Three evaluation trenches were excavated within a proposed development site. Contexts 101-317.
Work in the northern half of the site (Trench 1), south of the St Nicholas St frontage, recorded two Late Saxon to early medieval pits interpreted as possible quarry pits and a late medieval rubbish pit. The rubbish pit contained animal bone, oyster and mussel shell, a fragment of slag, and a mixture of 9th to 15th century pottery as well as several residual Romano-British pottery sherds and a decorative copper alloy object which may have been part of a book binding. An unstratified flint scraper was also recovered from this trench. The centre of this trench had previously been disturbed by a modern trench and two modern brick piers likely associated with a structure depicted on the 1952 Ordnance Survey map.
Work in the centre of the development area (Trench 2) recorded an undated pit containing animal bone and a pit or post hole likely of late post medieval date. The area had been previously disturbed by a modern capped well.
Work to the south of the proposed development area (Trench 3) recorded an undated pit containing animal bone, a late post medieval pit, two post holes which may be the remnants of a former boundary fence depicted on both the 1885 and 1952 Ordnance Survey maps, and a post pad also likely of late post medieval date.
See report (S1) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2013.179).
J. Allen (NLA) 16 February 2006. Updated H. Hamilton (NLA), 6 November 2008 and P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019.

November 2010. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of part of proposed development site (Trench 2).
A single trench was excavated to the south-west of the area investigated in 2005.
The most notable remains uncovered were two large intercutting pits that produced pottery suggestive of a Late Saxon or early medieval date, along with a small amount of animal bone, an iron nail and a residual prehistoric worked flint. Other features included an amorphous possible pit that produced a single Roman pottery sherd and fragments of animal bone, and a modern brick structure.
See report (S2) for further details.
The results of a trench excavated to the south-east of the area investigated in 2005 (Trench 1) are now recorded under NHER 5913.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 July 2026.

June-October 2014. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Further archaeological mitigation prior to the construction of the new Thetford Bus Interchange saw the excavation of a narrow strip in the south-west of the site, at the site of a new culvert.
There was again little evidence for significant activity at this location prior to the Late Saxon period, with earlier finds limited to a small assemblage of worked flints of probable Early Neolithic date – all of which were likely residual within later contexts.
A number of features of probable Late Saxon to early medieval date were recorded, including two ditches, several pits and a possible kiln or oven-type structure. These produced a mix of Late Saxon pottery and more transitional 'Saxo-Norman' wares, production of which is known to have continued into the 12th century. Exactly when activity commenced is uncertain, although the presence of exclusively Late Saxon wares within at least one of the features suggests it was potentially as early as the 10th century. These features also contained fragments of animal bone and oyster shell, suggesting they likely contained domestic waste generated by nearby domestic activity. Both ditches were aligned north-west to south-west, with one being a reasonably substantial feature that was in excess of 2m wide. The possible kiln or oven consisted of a fragmentary deposit of yellow chalky clay that was burnt red at its upper margins. This material was very broken up, perhaps as a result of subsequent ploughing on the site. The pits were broadly comparable with those recorded during the preceding phases of work, with the largest most likely a quarry pit.
This location appears to have been largely abandoned by the end of the 12th century, with medieval pottery limited to a single sherd recovered from the uppermost fill of the larger ditch, which also contained an iron rotary key of medieval or later date. A reasonably deep buried topsoil seen across the excavation area likely related to this change in activity during the medieval period, suggesting the site was potentially turned over to arable agricultural. Additional Late Saxon and Saxo-Norman pottery was recovered from this deposit, along with an unidentified iron object, fragments of animal bone and oyster shell.
Later, post-medieval to modern remains recorded included several walls, a masonry-lined soakaway, a well constructed of squared chalk blocks, various layers of demolition rubble and a pit containing pottery of late 18th-century to 20th-century date.
Archaeological monitoring took place during the construction of the new culvert but no additional remains were observed.
See report (S3) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.260).
P. Watkins (HES), 9 July 2026.