NHER 58053 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks and vegetation marks of unknown date

August 2012.
The cropmarks and vegetation marks of fragmentary and undated ditches and probable former field boundaries are visible on aerial photographs to the southwest of Coltishall airfield (S1-S2). The site is centred on TG 2571 2221. Roman date finds have been recovered from this wider area (eg NHER 31236) and it is therefore possible that some of these ditches are of that date. Additional possible cropmarks were tentatively identified in this area and to the east on (S3), however these were not mapped due to uncertainty over their archaeological origin. Two of the possible ditches mapped were visible as faint vegetation marks within the southwestern part of the airfield in 2006 (S2). It must be stated that there is a relatively high level of uncertainty over the origin and significance of these vegetation marks. The fact that these features appear to be showing as ditch-like features on grass within a recently active airfield means that further work would be needed to establish if these do relate to actual archaeological features. However vegetation marks with a similar appearance elsewhere in the airfield where found to relate to former medieval to post medieval boundary ditches depicted on historic maps, see NHER 57995 for discussion and it is therefore feasible that these marks also relate to underlying ditch-like features.
S. Horlock (HES), 30 August 2012.