NHER 45174 (Monument record) - Cropmarks of enclosures and field system of unknown but possibly Roman or medieval date

These cropmarks were previously recorded under NHER 11551.

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of enclosures, a field system and trackways of unknown, but possibly Roman or medieval date are visible to the north and south of Hobland Road (S1-S13). The site consists of a series of conjoined sub-rectangular and rectilinear enclosures and large fields, linked by trackways, and is centred on TG 5068 0119. These cropmarks are located within an extremely complex area of cropmarks dating from the late prehistoric onwards. The date of these enclosures is not certain, although the plan of the enclosures could indicate a Roman date and finds of an Iron Age to Roman date have been found within the area of this site (NHER 11551). However some elements of the site appear to have tie in with more recent and potentially medieval elements of the landscape.

The cropmarks reveal a series of conjoined sub-rectangular and rectilinear enclosures and large fields, linked by sinuous trackways. Some of the field boundaries appear to join with what is now the parish boundary between Belton with Browston and Hopton on Sea. It is also interesting to note that the section of parish boundary running from TG 5071 0109 to TG 5093 0117 follows the general alignment of the field system and enclosures to the north. This may indicate a medieval date for the system or perhaps evidence of relatively ancient boundaries persisting in use. The broadly E-W boundaries appear to follow the dominant alignment in this area, which is defined by a major land boundary or road to the north (NHER 43591), which has been interpreted as a Roman road. Another large area of fields to the west (NHER 43592) also follows this alignment.

The site is bounded to the west by a double ditched boundary or trackway, which runs from the base of the southern valley up towards Browston Hall and to the edge of the northern branch of the same shallow valley system. The area in-between this trackway and the conjoined enclosures appears to have been divided into a series of large fields, 220m long and varying in width. The majority of the site is located to the south of Hobland Road, although the western trackway continues to the north, as do several field boundaries following the general alignment of the site. At TG 5028 0177 a series of sweeping parallel ditches and small ring ditches (NHER 45183) are located at either side of the trackway, however the date and relationship of these two sets of features is unknown, although it is possible that one of the ditches abuts the trackway.

The clearest part of site is a chain of conjoined enclosures, centred on TG 5071 0123, one of which has quite broad ditches and rounded corners, measuring 87m by up to 70m, and with two possible entrances. Two trackways, one to the north and one to the south, connect this enclosure to the rest of the site. This enclosure has the appearance of being one of the main focuses for the site. To the immediate northeast of this at TG 5077 0131 is another well-defined enclosure, although incomplete, measuring 68m by 43m. This has a relatively broad ditch, 2-3m wide and a break in the ditch to the east may indicate an entrance (S12). To the east of these enclosures is an area of fragmentary ditches that roughly follow the same alignment as the conjoined enclosures and are therefore probably part of the same site or phase. A third possible enclosure may be located at TG 5115 0129, potentially 80m by 70m, with a possible annexed enclosure on the western side (S12). Roman finds have been found to the east of this area (NHER 11551) and may be related.

The trackway running south from the main enclosures possibly abuts a major trackway with possible prehistoric origins (NHER 43544) that runs through the site. At several points the field boundaries run up to the trackway and do not appear to cut across it, such as at TG 5048 0126, TG 5065 0099 and TG 5078 0094. This could indicate that parts of the trackway are still visible or perhaps even still partially in use when these fields were laid out. However to the north the boundaries appear to cut across with much more frequency, although it is worth noting that parts of this site to the north of Hobland Road have a different orientation and therefore may represent a slightly different phase.

To the south of this trackway (43544) is another possibly enclosure at TG 5066 0077, measuring 95m by 50m. To the east of this is an area of rectilinear enclosed areas and closely-set parallel ditches. It is possible given the proximity to the base of the valley that these are former drainage features, although the majority of the ditches are positioned on the valley side and are above the area that would normally require drainage. Also some of the parallel ditches are confined to a small area in-between field boundaries and enclosure ditches and therefore may relate to the subdivision of internal space. It is worth noting that some of these ditches are broadly parallel or perpendicular to elements of the post medieval (NHER 45155) and modern field layout and therefore there is some uncertainty about the date and phasing of the cropmarks in this area. However there are some finds of Iron Age to Roman date in the general vicinity of these cropmarks (NHER 11551).
S. Massey (NMP), 19 October 2006.

May 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed route of Lound to Gorleston Water Pipeline.
Three of the trenches coincided with the pair of north-to-south aligned cropmarks recorded to the north of Hobland Road (between TG 5029 0147 and TG 5026 0184), both of which were found to associated with a surviving ditch. Despite the excavation of multiple segments dating evidence was limited to a single flint flake.
See NHER 63598 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 2 October 2019.

June to September 2018. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Additional fieldwork undertaken immediately prior to and during installation of Lound to Gorleston Water Pipeline.
This phase of work saw further excavation of the trackway ditches to the north of Hobland Road. An Early Bronze Age radiocarbon date was obtained for a charred grain present in the eastern ditch (SUERC-85406; 3656 +/- 24 BP; 2060-1949 cal BC at 95% probability) but this was inconsistent with the finds recovered from the western ditch, which produced single sherds of undiagnostic Late Prehistoric, Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age and post-medieval pottery.
See NHER 63598 for further details.

A watching brief maintained nearby as part of the same programme of work saw the investigation of an east-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditch at TG 5029 0182 that was convincingly dated to the Roman period. Although associated with a cropmark recorded under NHER 45154 it is notable that this feature is perpendicular to the main trackway associated with this group and therefore potentially evidence of a Roman date. A north-to-south aligned ditch exposed at this location coincided with another cropmark that had been recorded as part of this group but unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered and its relationship to the Roman ditch was not established.
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 (S14) for further details.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk County Council Environment Team), 22 March 2023.