NHER 52214 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of possible enclosures, fields and boundaries

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of possible enclosures, fields and boundaries potentially of Iron Age date, pre-dating extramural settlement and fields to the south of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum (NHER 52211), are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S4). The site, which is centred on TG 2303 0312, consists of fragmentary and faint cropmarks suggesting a series of rectilinear enclosures and ditches. The main concentration of these cropmarks is at TG 2298 0310. It seems plausible that these features relate to the fields and boundaries of the Iron Age settlement anticipated to have existed at this location prior to the establishment of the Roman town (NHER 29994). However the faint nature of the cropmarks when compared with the surrounding Roman features (NHER 52211), combined with the presence of geologically derived cropmarks in this field, could indicate that many of these fragmentary ditch-like cropmarks are of a non-archaeological origin. Despite these reservations the cropmarks have been mapped and the fieldwork planned to be undertaken within this field by the Caistor Roman Town Project should elucidate the nature of these features.
S. Horlock (NMP), 23 March 2009.

January 2009. Norfolk NMP.
Excavations within this field during the summer of 2009 indicated a shallow ditch of Iron Age date that broadly followed the same alignment as some of these cropmarks (S5). However it did not reveal any definite evidence of any of the mapped features, which may indicate that some do relate to underlying geological deposits as suggested above. The excavations did reveal numerous features and deposits that were interpreted as relating to periglacial sequences, which again could indicate that some of these cropmarks are derived from non-archaeological sub-surface features. Further comparison of the NMP mapping and the excavations plans is required.
S. Horlock (NMP), 13 January 2009.