NHER 50637 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Ring ditch cropmarks

October 2007. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of two possible ring ditches, one of which probably represents the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow, are visible on aerial photographs to the south of Elsing Church (S1). The site is centred on TG 0507 1646 and is located on the western slopes of a plateau to the south of the River Wensum and the barrow may have overlooked a minor beck or tributary of the River Wensum which ran through Elsing, now marked by a line of drainage channels. Another ring ditch or barrow is located 85m to the southeast (NHER 31751).

The site consists of two overlapping ring ditches, one large and another smaller example. The larger ring ditch is centred on TG 0508 1646 and measures 30m in diameter. The size of this feature would indicate that it is the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow. A second, smaller ring ditch may be visible overlapping the southern part of the ditch, centred on TG 0508 1644, 12m in diameter. Only the western half of this possible ring ditch is visible and it is possible that it represents a geological cropmark rather than one of archaeological origin. Similarly shaped curvilinear features are visible within this area of the site and have been dismissed as being of non-archaeological origin. Finds within this general area (NHER 28643 and NHER 39269) suggest activity dating to the Roman, Saxon and medieval to post medieval periods. It is therefore possible that the smaller ring ditch, if it is archaeological, could be related to a structure or feature that post-dates the prehistoric period. This is also suggested by the potentially overlapping nature of the ring ditch. The ring ditch site recorded to the southeast (NHER 31751) was previously recorded as two overlapping ring ditches and it is possible that the site descriptions have become confused at some point, as only one ring ditch can be identified at this location.
S. Massey (NMP), 22 October 2007.