NHER 52317 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of a ring ditch

November 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a small ring ditch, possibly the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow or later prehistoric to Roman date roundhouse or agricultural structure, are visible on aerial photographs (S1) to the southwest of Harford Farm cropmark complex. The site is centred on TG 2215 0412. The ring ditch is 6m in diameter, with a break in the ring ditch to the southeast, although this may be due to the cropmark formation and not necessarily due to the original structure. Although it is worth noting that the Middle Iron Age roundhouses excavated to the northeast all had their entrances aligned to the southeast, see NHER 9794 (S2) and 52314 for details. The small size of this ring ditch probably means that it is unlikely to relate to a Bronze Age barrow, although it remains a possibility. Small ring ditches of this size have been interpreted as late Iron Age to early Roman date mortuary enclosures (S3). An alternative interpretation is that the ring ditch relates to the eave-drip gully of a small roundhouse or temporary structure. Ring ditches of this size excavated to the northeast were recorded as relating to Iron Age temporary agricultural structures, see NHER 9794 (S2) and 52314 for details. This ring ditch sites within the area of three different phases of fields, potentially ranging in date from the later prehistoric period (NHER 52292), the late Iron Age to Roman period (NHER 52278) and the Roman to postmedieval (NHER 52293).
S. Horlock (NMP), 23 November 2009.