NHER 45112 (Monument record) - Undated pits

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A group of possible pits is visible as earthworks and/or vegetation marks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), centred at TG 4330 1860. They occupy a low-lying site, less than 400m to the south of the River Thurne. They are similar to pits identified at other riverine sites in Norfolk (NHER 10423, 32268 and 43697), although their layout and shape is more irregular, and they lack the upstanding ridges between the pits which are evident at these other sites. None of the sites is dated conclusively, although at least some of the pits may be post medieval. Given its low-lying position and the Broads' history of fluctuations in relative water levels, a post-Roman date for the site described here seems almost certain. Of the various interpretations put forward for the features, an origin as extraction pits for clay used in brick making and/or the construction of flood defences seems most plausible for the site described here. A post medieval brickyard, Martham Pits (NHER 16663), lay 1.25km to the northeast, and several possible areas of former extraction have been identified in the vicinity (e.g. NHER 45077 immediately to the east). The pits could be associated with small enclosures or possibly small areas of extraction depicted at this approximate location on Faden’s Map of Norfolk (S4). Alternatively, an association with a riverine fishery (as fish rearing or holding tanks) or with a process such as flax or hemp retting is possible. At the same time, the possibility that the features are simply reflections in the vegetation of the natural underlying geology and soils at the site cannot be ruled out. Patterned ground, consisting of similar features to the pits but clearly of natural origin, is visible as cropmarks 490m to the southwest on (S5).

The pits are visible across an area measuring approximately 645m by 125m. Their extent has been defined, and a cluster towards the western end of the site was clear enough to map individually. Further pits may be visible immediately to the east of the site but were too indistinct to warrant inclusion within it.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 23 October 2006.