NHER 43544 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of long-distance trackway of unknown, but possibly late prehistoric date

THIS TRACKWAY WAS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED UNDER NHER 11551.

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a long-distance trackway of unknown, but possibly late prehistoric date are visible on aerial photographs running from Hollow Tree Cottages to Browston Hall (S1-S6). The site is centred on TG 5047 0128. A possible continuation of this trackway may be visible to the northwest of the Hall (NHER 45178). The date of this trackway is unknown and it has been suggested that it may have late prehistoric origins, however this is not certain. The trackway appears to run alongside a large and dispersed group of Bronze Age round barrows (NHER 17225, 45168-72), giving the impression that it was sited upon these monuments. This could indicate that the trackway is later than the barrows, but potentially still Bronze Age or Iron Age in date. Another sinuous, long-distance trackway is located 1.6km to the northeast (NHER 43529) and this shares many of the characteristics of this western trackway. It is also possibly sited upon a number of round barrows. It is possible that these trackways represent prehistoric routes of movement and may have acted to divide and define the landscape of the former island of Lothingland, which would have provided easy access to coastal and marshland resources, coupled with light and free-draining soils. The siting of these trackways upon earlier monuments would have drawn on existing understandings of territory and ancestry associated with the burial mounds. The track runs along the southeastern edge of a plateau of land defines by the 15m contour and crosses the far ends of the minor branches of the Fritton valley.

The trackway runs from TG 5014 0172 to TG 5118 0088 and varies in width from 4-15m. The character of the trackway changes along the entire length. Continuous double ditches define the eastern end. The remainder of the trackway is defined by causewayed sections of ditch or elongated pits, often linked by a narrow ditch. In the central section continuous double ditches are often interspersed with a broad hollow way. Towards the northwestern end of the trackway some sections appear to be entirely formed by a pit alignment (S2). After this point continuous, but multiple ditches return and a possible northern branch is visible running from TG 5036 0161 to TG 5014 0176.

Another section of trackway is located to the immediate north of the northwestern end of trackway (NHER 45188). This is noticeably straighter and more regular and appears to have ditches and boundaries abutting it to either side. It is likely that this trackway was constructed with reference to the larger southern trackway and it is possible that they were in use at the same time or perhaps the northern track represents a recutting of the route at a later date. The northern trackway possibly forms part of a dispersed field system of late prehistoric or Iron Age to Roman date.

The sinuous trackway appears to head towards Browston Hall and the post medieval gardens (NHER 11434) and this could suggest a post medieval date for the route, although this seems unlikely, as it would also be unusual to have a track leading to gardens associated with a hall. The trackway also crosses the parish boundary and does not appear to have been incorporated into any of the post medieval field boundaries as would be expected if it were still in use in the historic period. The morphology of the trackway would suggest that this is more ancient feature. The pit and ditch segment definition of this trackway is similar to that visible in NHER 43529 and is quite characteristic of late prehistoric trackways. The eastern trackway NHER 43529 may possibly have continued in use until post medieval times, as track following a similar route is marked on a map of 1783, see record for details.
S. Massey (NMP), 19 October 2006.

May 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed route of Lound to Gorleston Water Pipeline.
A trench placed across the parallel pair of cropmarks at TG 5029 0161 revealed two corresponding ditches but unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered.
See NHER 63598 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 2 October 2019.

June to September 2018. Excavation.
Additional fieldwork undertaken immediately prior to and during installation of Lound to Gorleston Water Pipeline.
This phase of work saw further investigation of the ditches associated with this trackway but unfortunately no finds were recovered. It was however demonstrated that they were cut by the ditches of a north-to-south trackway (associated with cropmarks recorded as NHER 45174), although the date of these features was also uncertain as the dating evidence they produced was limited and contradictory.
See NHER 63728 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 October 2019.

March 2023. Assessment of the Character and Significance of East Anglian Field Systems project.
The site described above was included in the dataset analysed for the Historic England-funded Assessment of East Anglian Field Systems project. See the project report (S7) for further details.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk County Council Environment Team), 22 March 2023.