NHER 52758 (Monument record) - Medieval deposits and undated enclosures

April 2008-June 2010. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of new soke dyke as part of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project (Compartment 11).
Notable discoveries included an area of medieval finds and deposits at TG 4960 0960 (Site 17; Context 1). Topsoil stripping at this location revealed a sub-rectangular area of discoloured clay and ashy and charcoal-rich deposits. When an initial hand-excavated trench failed to clarify the nature of these deposits a much larger machine-excavated trench was opened, which was then stepped to allow the investigation of the full deposit sequence. The earliest material encountered was a sequence of finely laminated grey sand and silt layers interpretated as representing sand flats and mud flats within the former Great Estuary. Although the overlying material was similar there was a sharp contact between the two deposits, suggesting this represented the base of a transgression or erosive channel-cutting event. Several other, later deposits also probably represented water lain silts deposited within natural channels following flooding/erosive events. One of these deposits produced two medieval pottery sherds. These natural silts were overlain by darker deposits containing organic matter. Two of these layers produced medieval pottery, with the bulk recovered from a deposit containing frequent charcoal flecks. The majority of these sherds came from a single jar of possible 13th-century date. These medieval deposits also contained fragments of fired clay and possible fuel ash slag – potentially waste from a nearby saltern.
A little to the south, at TG 4963 0946, the excavation of the dyke exposed three ditches that corresponded with linear earthworks visible on aerial photographs (NHER 42158). These earthwork features appeared to represent a small square enclosure with a narrow entrance and an outer, triangular enclosure. One of the ditches uncovered was associated with the central enclosure, while the other two represented elements of the outer enclosure. Unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered and it was clear that none of the earthworks survived.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
P. Watkins (HES), 2 December 2025.