NHER 52659 (Monument record) - Potentially prehistoric cremation burial and other, Iron Age, post-medieval and undated remains

December 2008-January 2009. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with installation of Anglian Water pipeline (Area B north).
A ditch and two apparently overlying pits revealed at this site all produced handmade pottery of probable Early to Middle Iron Age date, although the presence of some later pottery may indicate these were more recent remains that had disturbed Iron Age deposits. The earliest feature was the east-to-west aligned ditch which was only visible where the subsoil had been fully removed from a strip along the eastern edge of the easement. It produced a small number of Iron Age pottery sherds and a single Roman sherd. This ditch was close to the mapped position of a sinuous east-north-east to south-south-west aligned cropmark that is part of a group thought to represent elements of an Iron Age or Roman field system (NHER 27400).
Two intercutting pits visible at a higher level lay on the line of the ditch and were therefore presumably of later date. These produced more than 30 sherds of Iron Age pottery, along with a single handmade sherd identified as being of possible Middle Saxon or later date.
The only other feature identified at this location was a north-to-south aligned ditch that produced post-medieval pottery and corresponds with a former field boundary depicted on the Ormesby St Margaret tithe map (S1). Several small pits cut by this ditch produced no finds but were considered to be potentially prehistoric.
A small assemblage of worked flints recovered from the excavated features consists mostly of Late Prehistoric pieces that probably date to the later Bronze Age; the one exception being an Early Neolithic flint blade.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 April 2021.

This number was originally intended to be used for all remains recorded between Yarmouth Road, Ormesby St Margaret and the A149 Norwich Road at West Caister. Features revealed to the north and south of this site are now recorded separately under NHERs 64881, 64513 and 64514.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 April 2021.

January-February 2026. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of part of large proposed development area (Trenches 1-13 and 16-18).
The 16 trenches excavated at this location revealed a number of linear and discrete features, including three ditches that appear to correspond with cropmarks visible on aerial photographs of this location (all part of a group of potentially prehistoric or Roman remains recorded as NEHR 27400).
Although many of the excavated features produced little or no dating evidence, there was clear evidence for prehistoric activity, with Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age pottery amongst the finds recovered. A small assemble of Mesolithic/Neolithic, Neolithic and Neolithic/Bronze Age worked flints was also recovered, although most – if not all – of these pieces were probably residual within later features.
One of the more notable features was an un-urned cremation burial that was found to comprise the remains of an older child. Although this is undated at present, un-urned cremation burials of this type are generally prehistoric. It also lay adjacent to a reasonably substantial east-north-east to west-south-west aligned ditch that corresponds with one of the previously mapped cropmarks and appears to be prehistoric in date. This feature produced around 20 pottery sherds of probable Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age date, with all but one being recovered from the same excavated shot. Smaller quantities of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery sherds were also recovered from several other ditches, including a north-east to south-west aligned feature that the cropmark evidence suggests potentially formed part of a small 'D'-shaped enclosure adjoining the east-north-east to west-south-west aligned ditch. The dating evidence associated with the latter is though not entirely straightforward as other finds from this feature included a potentially Roman tile fragment, a large piece of metalworking slag and a possible Iron Age or Roman triangular loomweight fragment. A Middle Iron Age pit also lay close to this feature and a pottery sherd of Late Iron Age or early Roman date was recovered from an adjacent, parallel ditch – suggesting this had potentially continued to represent a significant boundary throughout the Iron Age. The single Iron Age pit recorded produced a small assemblage of Middle Iron Age pottery, along with fragments of fired clay and burnt flints, while a sample from its fill was found to contain charcoal and occasional indeterminate charred grains.
There was little evidence for significant subsequent activity on the site. A post-hole was found to contain a single medieval pottery sherd but the only feature of definite post-Roman date was a north-to-south aligned ditch that can be seen to correspond with a former field boundary shown on the Ormesby St Margaret Tithe map (S1). Two nearby parallel ditches may also have been post-medieval features, with a small amount of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery found in one potentially residual.
Undated features included several fairly unremarkable pits and a north-west to south-east aligned ditch in the north-east corner of the site that corresponds with another of the previously mapped cropmarks.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 September 2026.