NHER 56277 (Monument record) - Multi-period remains

August 2011. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey in advance of proposed housing development recorded several strong linear and curvilinear anomalies likely of archaeological origin as well as two small clusters of enhanced response of possible archaeological or geological origin.
Three parallel curvilinear anomalies interpreted as ditches were present in the central portion of the surveyed area. These extended to Chalk Lane and may have been associated with the Devil's Dyke (NHER 3937) earthworks. A large trapezoidal enclosure measuring 140m x 80m x 130m appears to have surrounded the ditches, but additional fieldwork is required to determine the relationship between these features. The remaining clusters of anomalies were located immediately south of the enclosure and across the northern edge of the enclosure and have been interpreted as possible pits, but this interpretation remains tentative.
See report (S1) for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 23 November 2011. Amended by H. Hamilton (HES), 29 May 2014.

October 2011. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site. Fourteen trial trenches were excavated, these placed to investigate anomalies identified during the earlier geophysical survey.
Human skeletal remains and Early Iron Age pottery dating from the 7th-6th centuries BC were recovered from a hollow. The bones are all large and robust and could all belong to a single individual. Sharp cuts across two of the bones of the lower arms suggest that this individual may have died violently.
A significant feature, possibly a pit or sunken-featured building, was located west of the Devil's Dyke, and produced Early Saxon pottery, typical of urns sometimes found in association with cremations and inhumations. Considerable quantities of animal bone were recovered from this feature, perhaps indicating an emphasis on animal husbandry.
See report (S2) for further details.
A. Cattermole (HES), 19 March 2015.

February 2012. Trial Trenching.
Two evaluation trenches were excavated along the roadside verge bordering Chalk Lane in order to investigate an earthwork bank located on the conjectural line of the Bichamditch (Devil's Dyke) earthwork (NHER 3937).
Both trenches were placed partially on the earthwork bank and extended westwards into the arable field. Within the northern trench, the earthwork bank was 1m deep at the eastern end and tapered towards the west for 2.3m before merging with the subsoil. In the southern trench the bank was very similar, but the deposit was not very distinct from the adjacent subsoil. Both bank sections were found to overlay a layer of subsoil and in both trenches this deposit in turn was found to overlay a north-south ditch. In the northern trench, auger sounding confirmed that the ditch was 0.9m deep, but in the southern trench it reached only 0.3m. However, it remains likely that these ditches are part of a single feature. Unfortunately, no finds were recovered from either trench and therefore these features could not be firmly dated.
Although these ditch and bank features were located along one of the posited routes of the Birchamditch (NHER 3937), it is believed that neither feature is actually associated with this earthwork. The upstanding bank west of Chalk Lane has been interpreted as the remains of a woodland bank, as indicated by an avenue of trees on Bryant's 1826 map of Norfolk (S3). The ditch pre-dates the bank and therefore is a more likely candidate to be connected to the Birchamditch. However, this ditch appears to have been sealed below the same subsoil deposit that sealed the medieval ditch system recorded in the adjacent trenches at this site in October 2011. This ditch is likely of similar date and may have formed part of the same system.
See report (S4) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S5).
S. Howard (HES), 22 March 2012. Amended by H. Hamilton (HES), 29 May 2014.

January 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site to south of previously investigated area.
The 15 trenches excavated revealed several ditches and dispersed, diffuse clusters of possible pits and post-holes. Finds were scarce and as a result few of the features could be convincingly dated. One exception was an east-to-west aligned ditch encountered in four of the trenches. This feature appears to correspond with a former field boundary shown on the Narborough tithe map of 1837 (S6), a suggestion that is supported by the fact it produced a small number of finds of post-medieval or later date. This feature also appears to coincide with one of the three geophysical anomalies that were thought to represent a trapezoidal enclosure.
Other linear features of note included two adjacent groups of intercutting north-to-south alignment ditches exposed at the eastern edge of the site that presumably represented a boundary that had been re-established on numerous occasions. One the earlier ditches was a particularly substantial feature but unfortunately this produced no dating evidence. A bar mount of probable medieval date found in one of the later feature was the only find recovered from this group. It is possible that one of these groups is a continuation of the previously investigated ditch adjacent to Chalk Lane (which also produced a medieval material). It should though also be noted that the tithe map indicates this boundary was still an extant landscape feature in the late post-medieval period.
The other possible ditches displayed a variety of alignments and with one exception were not encountered in more than one trench. Their nature is therefore uncertain.
The majority of the discrete features were regarded as potentially prehistoric although in most cases this could only be a tentative suggestion due to the lack of convincingly dating evidence. One pit produced a handmade sherd of Iron Age or Saxon date but otherwise finds were limited to occasional prehistoric worked flints and a small quantities of burnt flint. The flints represented activity during both the Mesolithic/Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age periods and it should be noted that not only were the quantities recovered small, in several cases adjacent features produced material of differing date.
The small number of unstratified finds recovered included additional Mesolithic/Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age worked flints; a Roman coin, post-medieval pottery; a post-medieval brick and a small number of post-medieval and undated metal objects.
See report (S7) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.287).
P. Watkins (HES), 10 March 2021.