NHER 44804 (Monument record) - Cropmarks of a possible enclosure and field boundaries of unknown date

June 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a possible enclosure and field boundaries of unknown date are visible on aerial photographs to the north of Rose Farm, Potter Heigham (S1) to (S2). The site is centred on TG 4147 2054, although this point does not correspond to an archaeological feature on the ground. These cropmarks are located within a larger multiphase cropmark site (NHER 43719).

At TG 4149 2064 is a possible sub-rectangular or polygonal enclosure with rounded corners, measuring 30m by 25m. The eastern and western ditches of the enclosure are much broader than the others, 1-2m wide. Within the interior of this enclosure are four possible pits, all approximately 2m across. There is an element of uncertainty over the archaeological nature of these cropmarks, as the apparent ‘ditches’ run into the darker or greener band of crop running around the western edge of the cultivated field. This could indicate that some of these other cropmarks are also agricultural in origin. It is possible that this darker line relates to a strip of crop that received comparatively more fertiliser than the rest. However the eastern sections of the enclosure have a more conventional archaeological cropmark appearance. The enclosure may represent a small settlement or farmstead, with the pits relating to domestic activity. The morphology of the enclosure would suggest an Iron Age to Roman date. The site is located on extremely low-lying land and would have been immediately next to the peat fen area.

To the immediate east of this possible enclosure are a series of ditch fragments, two of which appear to be defining an area just smaller than the enclosure, approximately 25m². Another concentration of similarly aligned field boundaries are located 150m to the south at TG 4141 2046. It is possible that all of these field boundaries are part of field system associated with the enclosure, although the given the question over the archaeological origin of the enclosure, then this inferred relationship is at best hypothetic.
S. Massey (NMP), 16 June 2006.