NHER 56537 (Monument record) - Multi-period remains including Early to Middle Iron Age features and Late Iron Age/Roman enclosure

September 2010. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of large proposed development area to south-east of Downham Market.
See report (S1) for further details, including detailed plot of former field boundaries depicted on 19th-century maps.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 May 2022.

May 2011. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development area (Field 3).
The survey revealed a group of positive anomalies probably representing a square or rectilinear ditched enclosure. The form of the enclosure suggests it might be of late prehistoric or Roman date. To the north and west of the enclosure is a linear spread of discrete positive anomalies which may represent infilled pits or natural hollows. A discontinuous positive linear anomaly bisecting the field from east to west corresponds with the line of the 19th-century boundary for Crow Hall Park. A narrow band of irregular magnetic anomalies could indicate burnt ground or a scatter of ceramic debris such as brick or tile.
See report (S2) for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 13 January 2012. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 8 September 2015.

June 2011. Systematic Fieldwalking Survey.
Field survey of proposed development area.
This site was one of several areas examined and unfortunately it is not possible to determine exactly which objects were recovered in which fields.
See report (S3) and NHER 61169 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 September 2015.

December 2014. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of large proposed development area to south-east of Downham Market.
See report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 May 2022.

September 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of part of large proposed development area (Trenches 1-12 and 23).
The 13 trenches excavated at this location revealed evidence for activity during multiple prehistoric periods, although the earliest of these were represented primarily by finds that were either unstatified or likely to be residual within later features. These included Mesolithic/Early Neolithic, Neolithic/Bronze Age worked flints, a flake from a Bronze Age flint core and a single sherd of Early Neolithic pottery. A much larger assemblage of Early Iron Age and Middle Iron Age pottery (70+ sherds) was also recovered and it is likely the some of the cruder worked flints were contemporary with this material.
Remains of probable Iron Age date included a cluster of features in the north-east corner of the site, close to the probable enclosure identified by the preceding geophysical survey. These included north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditches, a pit and an arch of three adjacent post-holes. The pit coincided with one of the discrete geophysical anomalies identified as potentially archaeological in origin and another to the west was found to coincide with a possible natural feature containing Iron Age pottery. It is therefore highly likely that the other, unexcavated examples also represent pit-type features.
The trenches placed to investigate the probable ditched enclosure identified a number of corresponding features, including a ditch running parallel to its southern side. As indicated by the geophysical survey the line of this feature was potentially continued by a ditch to the west, where the presence of a second, parallel ditch to the north suggested it potentially bounded some form of trackway associated with the enclosure. The ditch likely to form the southern side of the enclosure produced a mixed finds assemblage comprising 20 sherds of Early to Middle Iron Age pottery, 11 Late Iron Age/early Roman 'transitional' sherds (including part of a 'Belgic'-style carinated jar indicative of a 1-70 AD date range) and 15 Roman greyware sherds of probable late 1st- to 2nd-century date. This material suggests that the enclosure ditches were still open in at least the late 1st century but whether activity persisted much beyond this point is unclear. A small quantity of burnt animal bone was also recovered from this feature and a sample from its fill was found to contain a small number of charred cereal grains. An east-to-west aligned ditch to the north that was potentially associated with the enclosure (possibly forming its northern side) produced a single additional sherd of Late Iron Age/early Roman 'transitional' pottery.
An east-to-west ditch crossing the central part of the site corresponds with a former field boundary depicted on 19th-century maps and had also been identified by the preceding geophysical survey. It is recorded that this feature contained finds of post-medieval/modern date. Ditches that were probably at least broadly contemporary with this feature included an adjacent, parallel ditch that produced a medieval pottery sherd, an east-to-west aligned ditch to the south that contained "…finds of post-medieval date" and a perpendicular ditch at the western edge of the site from which a post-medieval thimble was recovered.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.608).
P. Watkins (HES), 26 May 2022.