NHER 45082 (Monument record) - Possible site of peat or clay extraction

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Summary

A possible area of former peat or clay extraction, presumably of post-Roman date, is visible as vegetation marks and slight earthworks on aerial photographs. The relatively limited areas of wetter, lower ground have a uniform tone and some more-or-less straight edges, suggesting that they are man-made features. They are comparable to more extensive areas of former extraction identified elsewhere, such as the area surrounding Heigham Holmes (e.g. NHER 27280). If they represent former peat cuttings, it is likely that they date to the medieval period. There is little peat, however, in this part of the Thurne Valley, and the site is more likely to represent clay extraction.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG41NW
Civil Parish	THURNE, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK

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Full Description

September 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A possible area of former peat or clay extraction is visible as vegetation marks and slight earthworks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 4017 1582. Marks are also visible on aerial photographs taken in 1962 (S3), but these do not match the mapped features. The site could represent former peat cuttings, in which case it is presumably of medieval date. There is little peat, however, in this part of the Thurne Valley (see Williamson 1997 (S4), for example), and the site is perhaps more likely to reflect the extraction of clay. Alternatively, the mapped features could instead be of natural or recent agricultural origin. Whether any earthworks still survive at the site is not known.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 27 September 2006.

July-November 2009. Watching Brief.
The excavation of a new drainage dyke as part of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project revealed no clear evidence for clay or peat extraction at this location.
See report (S5) and NHER 66592 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 31 March 2023.

Associated Sources (5)

<S1> SNF65489 Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1972. OS/72018 070-1 15-MAR-1972.
<S2> SNF65490 Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1981. OS/81082 226-7 17-AUG-1981.
<S3> SNF65491 Vertical Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1962. MAL/62538 102289-90 28-JUL-1962 (NMR).
<S4> SNF52439 Monograph: Williamson, T.. 1997. The Norfolk Broads: A Landscape History..
<S5> SNF102081 Unpublished Contractor Report: Wallis, H. 2016. Thurne Dyke to Oby Dyke, Compartment 8, Broadland Flood Alleviation Project. Monitoring of Works Under Archaeological Supervision and Control. Heather Wallis. 194.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (4)

Object Types (0)

Related NHER Records (0)

Record last edited

Mar 31 2023 3:55PM