NHER 61500 (Monument record) - Second World War emplacements, weapons pits and possible craters, formerly interpreted as Neolithic flint mine shafts

1988. Observation.
The land in this area, where a Bronze Age sherd (NHER 5141) was recovered in 1929, was marked as heathland on the First Edition (six inch) Ordnance Survey map (S1) but is now forested. New metric Ordnance Survey map data briefly shared by Ordnance Survey staff depicts several depressions within this area interpreted as Neolithic flint mines.
Information from record card (S2).
E. Rose (NAU), 25 April 1988.
These features were previously recorded under NHER 5141.
H. Hamilton (HES), 26 May 2020.

March 1988. Field Observation.
Area visited by J. Wymer (NAU) who says these are similar to infilled shafts at Grimes Graves and therefore probably genuine. Also at least one bomb crater but this not shown by Ordnance Survey.
Information from record card (S2).
E. Rose (NAU), 25 April 1988. Amended by H. Hamilton(HES), 26 May 2020.

August 1994. Air Photo Interpretation.
RAF aerial photograph aken on 5 February 1946 (S3) shows craters all over this area and some to west of the road (not recorded at the time but now recorded under NHER 61507). All are of varying sizes and appear much more like bomb craters than flint mines. There are two or three similar features within Grimes Graves. The features recorded here may all be stray bombs that landed within the area, or as J. Wymer (NAU) suggested there may be a mixture of flint mines and bomb craters here.
Information originally recorded in internal data transfer form (S4).
K. Sussams (IAU), and E. Rose (NAU), 1 August 1994. Amended by H. Hamilton(HES), 26 May 2020.

May 1995. Field Observation.
At west end of site, west of NHER 5141 centred on [1].
A trench 2m deep, 60m long and 10m wide was excavated by Ministry of Defence to create a temporary field hospital as part of training exercise. The trench was aligned north to south. A short distance to the southeast the remains of an earlier trench, possibly excavated by the UEA, were observed. The earlier trench was aligned east to west and remained open but was backfilling naturally.
Information originally recorded in internal data transfer form (S4).
D. Gurney (NLA), 24 May 1995. Amended by H. Hamilton(HES), 26 May 2020.

November 2016. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
Emplacements, weapons pits and possible craters, relating to Second World War military training, survive as earthworks on heathland. They have been visited on the ground, and are visible on aerial photographs (S5) and imagery from a recent lidar survey (S6). They were previously recorded as part of NHER 5141. The features are shown on Ordnance Survey maps, and were tentatively interpreted as Neolithic flint mines. However, their 'fresh' appearance on 1940s aerial photographs (S5) indicates that a modern, military origin is more likely (although see NHER 5640 to the immediate south for apparent Second World War use of excavated flint shaft mines for training and/or defence). Only the larger features have been mapped, but much of the area shows disturbance, with scatterings and lines of smaller pits between the larger emplacements or weapons pits. Any craters amongst the features are likely to have been caused by ground-based impacts, rather than bombs, as there is no evidence of the large spread of material typically seen surrounding bomb craters.
One pit has been identified (at TL 8109 9025) which is not identifiable on the 1940s photographs, only on the lidar; this could feasibly relate to flint mining, or a natural process such as a solution feature, but could equally relate to post-war military activity, as the area remains part of Stanford Training Area (STANTA) to the present day. Another pit (at TL 8106 9024) is not visible in June 1945 (S7), but is visible in February 1946 (S5), indicating activity very late in the war, or in the immediate post-war period. Other features visible on the photographs (around TL 8078 9018) are not evident on the lidar and have presumably been levelled.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 10 November 2016.