NHER 45202 (Monument record) - Multi-period and undated cropmarks

SOME OF THESE CROPMARKS WERE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED UNDER NHER 11788.

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a dispersed group of multi-period and undated ditches are visible on aerial photographs to the immediate west of the A12 in Hopton and Gorleston (S1-S12). The site is centred on TG 5190 0092 and covers the area from the Sidegate Road in the west and north, Hall Road to the south and the A12 to the east. NHER 45203, which deals with features to the east of the A12 and in-between the Links Road to the north and the Station Road to the south.

The cropmarks have been split into several different sites. NHER 43494-6 and 43525 deal with settlement, enclosures and fields of potential late prehistoric to Roman date. The main sites being NHER 43494, a large late prehistoric settlement and field system that appears to be overlain by NHER 43495, which is a large coaxial Roman field system and/or settlement. Several trackways run through the site and have been recorded under NHER 43501 and 43529-30. A large prehistoric round barrow cemetery is located at the southern end of the site (NHER 43526) and a number of other ring ditches are located within this area, NHER 43515-6, 43552 and 43557-8. NHER 43559 and 43163 consist of enclosures and fields of unknown, but pre-post medieval date. All of the medieval to post medieval field boundaries are grouped under NHER 45157-9. The cropmarks recorded under this multi-period site do not appear to fit into any specific phase. Without further evidence it is impossible to offer any worthwhile interpretation of these features. Additional aerial photographic material or archaeological excavation would be needed to investigate this area further. For details of finds recorded within this area see NHER 11788, which range from prehistoric to post medieval in date.

The majority of the cropmarks are located within the central and southern parts of the site, with concentrations of features at around TG 5196 0105 and TG 5196 0040. Most of the cropmarks consist of fragmentary ditches and linear features, some of which run parallel to one another and may represent double ditched boundaries or trackway segments, such as at TG 5196 0040 and TG 5185 0080. Centred on TG 5180 0056 are two L-shaped sections of ditch, which may define part of a rectilinear enclosure, 110m long (S7-S8).
S. Massey (NMP), 24 October 2006.

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 (S13) for further details.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk County Council Environment Team), 22 March 2023.