NHER 45178 (Monument record) - Cropmarks of a possible prehistoric trackway

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a possible prehistoric trackway are visible on aerial photographs to the north of Browston Hall (S1-S3). The site is centred on TG 4979 0185. This trackway appears to be part of a much wider system of trackways located to the east of Browston Hall (NHER 43544, 45179 and 45188). The main trackway (NHER 43544) has been interpreted as being possibly late prehistoric in date, although potentially post-dating the Bronze Age round barrows (NHER 17225, 45168-72) alongside which the trackway seems to be sited. This trackway to the west of Browston Hall appears to be a continuation of either this long-distance sinuous trackway (43544) or perhaps one of the more regular trackways recorded to the immediate north as part of NHER 45188. This trackway is located within an extremely complex area of cropmarks dating from the late prehistoric onwards, see NHER 45213 for details.

The trackway runs from TG 4988 0183 to TG 49697 0189 and is defined by a pair of interrupted parallel ditches between 9-14m apart. It is not clear whether the breaks in the ditches are due to the cropmark formation or whether the ditches were originally discontinuous. The ditches of NHER 43544 and 45179 are characteristically interrupted and causewayed.
S. Massey (NMP), 23 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 (S4) for further details.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk County Council Environment Team), 22 March 2023.