NHER 51938 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Undated linear and curvilinear ditch features visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
Undated linear and curvilinear ditches are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S9), centred at TG 2815 0966. The majority of these features appear to be post medieval in date, although there are a number of features that may be indicative or earlier activity on the site, perhaps dating to the Bronze Age (NHER 52109), and the Late Iron Age to Roman period (NHER 52105 and 52108).

The features include a broad (6m wide) angled ditch, visible between TG 2810 1008 and TG 2799 0963. The ditch appears to have been cut towards its southern end (at TG 2795 0983 and TG 2798 0972) by two small ponds depicted on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey 6 inch map. The presence of these pits may or may not be significant, it could be that the ditch performed a drainage function, or that it marked a boundary, which was still in use in the late post medieval period. This ditch may in fact represent the enclosed area depicted by Faden in 1797 (S11), to the west of the stream, just to the south of Thorpe Farm (S12). As such, the ditch features may be tentatively dated to the medieval to post medieval period. This ditch appears to continue to south as a field boundary on the Ordnance Survey 2nd edition map.

Together, these might well form an ‘enclosure’ or large field, which seems to be internally subdivided by a ditch visible to the north west of the Norwich to Cromer railway line, running north west-south east from TG 2803 1001 to TG 2808 0990.
The east-west line of this broad ditch appears to be continued by a narrower curvilinear ditch feature, which runs for approximately 85m from TG 2791 0996 to TG2784 0992. This too appears to join to an Ordnance Survey 2nd edition field boundary, suggesting a post medieval date for the feature. This suggests that the curvilinear ditch represents a possible trackway, curving round the corner of a large field, conjoined to OS 2nd edition field boundaries.

A parallel pair of northeast-southwest oriented ditches, approximately 3m apart, suggest a possible trackway running through the site, at TG 2788 0997, towards a concentration of ditches (S7)-(S8) centred on TG 2776 0992. These features were surrounded by a number of pit-like cropmarks, one of which, at TG 2779 0987, with a darker and more regular appearance, appears to represent an archaeological feature and has therefore been mapped. The remainder were considered to be geological solution features.

The other ditch features visible on the site are fragmentary and difficult to characterise, but they may also relate to medieval or post medieval land division within and beside the dry river valley or palaeochannel, running north-south through the site, to some of which are cut by the Norwich to Cromer railway line.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to positively identify any of the features excavated to the east of the railway line (NHER 44715) (S12) from the aerial photographs, apart from two linear ditch features that run north-south through Area C of the excavation, and have been dated to the post medieval period.
E. Bales (NMP), 18 March 2009.