NHER 43381 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Site of undated ring ditch at Dowe Hill Farm

March 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The ring ditch described below was previously recorded as part of NHER 17673.

An undated ring ditch is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 4986 1601. It could mark the site of a levelled round barrow, probably dating to the Bronze Age; this is the most likely interpretation for other ring ditches identified in the vicinity, e.g. NHER 27350 440m to the west and NHER 43380 143m to the east. The ring ditch described here, however, is more substantial than other nearby examples, a characteristic that may simply reflect differences in the overlying crops but could indicate a different use and/or date. It appears to be joined to part of a field system of probably post Roman (perhaps Saxon to medieval) date (NHER 17673) and could instead be a small enclosure of some type, contemporary with the field system.

The ring ditch is circular in plan and measures approximately 30.5m in diameter. A gap on its southeast side could be a genuine entrance.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 14 March 2006.