NHER 58507 (Monument record) - ?Iron Age, Roman, post-medieval and undated features

October 2012. Geophyical Survey.
Magnetometer survey carried out in advance of residential development.
Two possible east-west aligned drainage ditches on either side of a former narrow track were identified in the south-east of the western study area, along with smaller anomalies which may represent partial remains of former ditches.
Several linear anomalies in the central study area appear to correspond to former field boundaries depicted on the 1845 Tithe map (S1) and early OS maps (S2).
Anomalies in the eastern area were limited to buried material likely associated with a mound of bricks and other building rubble present on the southern edge of the study area and a hollow visible on the ground surface which the landowner advised had previously been filled with bonfire waste and building rubble.
See report (S3) for further information.
H. Hamilton (HES), 27 December 2012.

March 2014. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed development.
Based in part of the results of the preceding geophysical survey this study concluded that the site had limited archaeological potential and that any remains present would be of only local significance.
See report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2021.

October 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
Ten of the eleven trenches excavated revealed archaeologically-significant remains, the majority of which were ditches. These linear features can be split into three groups based on their alignments – each of which is likely to represent a different phase of activity. Although finds were fairly scarce each of these groups was associated with at least some limited dating evidence.
A north-north-west to south-south-east aligned ditch in the western part of the site and two perpendicular features to the east potentially represent relatively early features, particularly as one produced several sherds of probable Iron Age pottery.
The most convincingly-dated features were two pairs of ditches in the western part of the site, one aligned north-west to south-east and the other north-east to south-west. These were encountered in adjacent trenches and may well have converged to form the corner of a field or enclosure. Two of these ditches (one in each pair) produced small groups of early Roman pottery sherds. One of these assemblages represents a substantial part of a single greyware jar and was found in close associated with what appeared to be burnt bone fragments – leading to the suggestion that this was a disturbed cremation. It is notable that the alignments of these ditches are very similar to those of a group of Roman fields or enclosures now identified approximately 700m to the east (NHER 64820). A north-east to south-west aligned features in the central part of the site was potentially of a similar date but produced no finds. An adjacent, similarly-aligned sub-rectangular pit did however produce several abraded fragments of Roman tegula roof tile and a fragment of a millstone grit millstone or quern that was also of probable Roman date. The lower fill of this pit comprised a dump of burnt flints and charcoal which had probably been deposited whilst still hot (the margins of the feature being noticeably heat-reddened). Samples from the fills of this pit produced charcoal but little else in the way of plant macrofossils apart from two cereal grains.
The remaining linear features were all aligned north-to-south and east-to-west and were probably mostly of much more recent date. These included two north-to-south aligned linear features that correspond with former boundaries depicted on 19th-century maps and a similarly-aligned feature to the west that produced a single sherd of post-medieval pottery. Two of these features had been identified by the geophysical survey, as had two undated east-to-west aligned ditches at southern end of the westernmost part of the site.
The only other features recorded were a number of large probable quarry pits in the north-west corner of the site, only one of which had been identified by the geophysical survey. These produced no finds but are presumed to be of relatively recent date.
See report (S5) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2020.11).
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2021. Amended 18 January 2024.