NHER 61954 (Monument record) - Undated ditches and discrete features

2011. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of large proposed development area.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2019.

November/December 2014. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The 37 trenches excavated in this field revealed a number of ditches and a range of possible discrete features, although unfortunately none could be convincingly dated, with finds limited to a single Neolithic flint blade and a sherd of Late Neolithic/Bronze Age pottery.
It appears that the majority of the probable pits were reasonably regular sub-circular features, although most had sterile fills and were generally fairly unremarkable. Exceptions included a small number of pits with dark charcoal-rich fills described as ‘fire pits’. As with similar examples excavated elsewhere these features were not necessarily associated with domestic activity. The more irregular discrete features were most likely of nature origin.
A number of the ditches appear to correspond with a series a of east-to-west aligned cropmarks that have been recorded at this location (NHER 54453). It has been suggested that these cropmarks represent a continuation of a possible Roman road (NHER 15768), although as has previously been noted the cropmarks at this location also appear to correspond with the former boundary of a plantation marked on 19th-century maps. As no dating evidence was recovered the nature of these features remains uncertain, although a post-Roman date seems the more likely.
The remaining ditches displayed a variety of alignments and therefore potentially represent more than one phase of activity. It should though be noted that many of the features identified as ditches were not traced in the adjacent trenches in which they could be expected to appear, suggesting they were either not all in fact linear features (although it could also indicate that remains are not consistently preserved across the site).
Although several trenches in the western half of the site revealed notable concentrations of remains the absence of finds and the limited range of features present nevertheless suggests this area was unlikely to have been the focus of activity of any great intensity.
See report (S2) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2019.215).
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2019. Amended 24 June 2019.