NHER 56538 (Monument record) - Possible Early Bronze Age round barrow and Early Iron Age pit

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.
Magnetometry survey of proposed development area (Field 4).
The survey revealed a positive curvilinear anomaly extending southwards, which is likely to represent part of an enclosure ditch, possibly associated with the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age site to the south (NHER 21478). Two dipolar anomalies in this area could relate to buried iron objects or burnt sediment associated with kilns or hearths.
See report (S2) for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 13 January 2012.

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 13-15 and 22)
The trench placed to examined that main curvilinear geophysical anomaly identified a reasonably substantial corresponding ditch. This feature was 1.5m wide, 0.80m deep and contained two deposits, the lower of which produced a single sherd from an Early Bronze Age Biconical Urn. A small number of prehistoric worked flints and a sherd of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Beaker pottery were recovered from the overlying, secondary fill. A second ditch recorded immediately to the north also appeared to be curvilinear, suggesting it potentially represented an associated outer ring-ditch that had not be detected by the geophysical survey. It is argued that these features are likely to represent the remains of an Early Bronze Age round barrow, although no trace of an associated mound survived (a number of plough scars being visible in the surface of the natural geological deposits).
The only other feature of note was a shallow sub-circular pit to the east of the ring-ditch that contained a number of worked flints and Early Iron Age pottery sherds. The presence of fragments of heavily burnt, calcined bone within this feature meant that it was initially regarded as a possible cremation burial. However, close examination of the bone suggested it was most likely animal (though not identifiable to species). Material within a sample taken from this deposit included charred hazel nutshells.
Three of the four trenches excavated revealed large amorphous patches of pale sand that appeared to be distinct from the surrounding natural deposits, several of which coincided with fragmentary curvi-linear anomalies recorded by the geophysical survey. Test pits excavated into these possible soil deposits recovered single sherds of Early and Middle Iron Age pottery and several prehistoric worked flints.
One of the discrete dipolar anomaies identified by the geophysical survey was examined and found to coincide with a modern feature.
The small number of unstratified finds recovered included a Late Neolithic transverse flint arrowhead and a second Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Beaker sherd.
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), 25 May 2022.