NHER 59570 (Monument record) - Palaeochannel and Middle Neolithic to Roman palaeo-sediments

October-November 2012. Augur Survey, Borehole Survey and Topographical Survey.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
Investigation of the sedimentary sequence at this site via a programme of auguring recorded the survival of organic deposits from the middle Neolithic to the Roman period. A peat-filled stream was identified along the western portion of the site, where sediments were lower-lying. Radiocarbon dating of samples dated the lowest fills within this deposit to the middle Neolithic and the uppermost fill to the first century AD. The lowest of the peat deposits likely have excellent preservation of plant and insect micro and macrofossils, while the upper deposits likely suffer degradation on a seasonal basis.
The stream was overlain by sediments formed by marine inundation which likely date to the late Roman or post-Roman period. This site was most likely part of a larger area of salt marsh in the post-Roman period and ridges observed in the modern topography indicate the courses of former creeks that drained the landscape. The present topography, with the lowest-lying area to the north-east, varies greatly from that of the pre-peat surface. During the Neolithic period the low-lying stream along the western and southern edges appears to have been over-looked by an area of high ground in the north-east.
See report (S1) for further information.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2013.94).
H. Hamilton (HES), 18 June 2013. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 16 May 2019.

March-April 2014. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation comprising two forty metre long trenches.
No archaeological finds or features were encountered. Part of the purpose of the investigation was to determine whether a potential buried soil was preserved between the peat and the natural sand, but this was found not to be the case across the entire evaluation area.
See report (S2) for further information.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.476).
A. Cattermole (HES), 30 April 2015. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 27 May 2019.