NHER 53287 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of undated field boundaries and trackways

December 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a series of possible field boundaries and trackways of unknown, but possible Iron Age to Roman date, are visible on aerial photographs to the west of Howe Lane, Howe (S1). The site is centred on TG 2723 0034. The cropmarks are quite faint and slightly obscured by geological cropmarks in the same field. The parallel arrangements of ditches, which probably form trackways in between the fields or enclosed areas run down the slope towards the valley of the former watercourse, which is depicted on Faden’s map of 1797 (S2), to the north. It is possible that these divisions and trackways are associated with the movement of stock for grazing. It is worth noting that some of these boundary ditches follow the same alignment as the nearby Roman road (NHER 53218, part of NHER 52298). It is therefore possible that the system of tracks and boundaries is also Roman or immediately post-Roman in date. Roman and Middle Saxon date finds have been recovered from the wider vicinity of the site (NHER 19927, 23780, 24233, 20352). A sherd of pottery identified as either Neolithic or Iron Age in date (NHER 23780) could indicate an Iron Age to Roman date for these features.
S. Horlock (NMP), 29 December 2009.