NHER 62516 (Monument record) - Possible post-medieval road and undated ditches and pit

November 2014. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The four trenches excavated revealed a number of linear features, the majority of which are probably field boundary ditches. The notable exception was a much broader, north-west to south-east aligned feature that was interpreted as a possible roadway. The fill of this feature contained frequent inclusions of charcoal, ceramic building material, chalk and mortar; with the pottery sherds and other finds recovered indicative of an 18th- or 19th-century date. It should be noted that no roads or tracks are marked in this position on any of the available late 19th- and 20th-century maps, suggesting that this was probably an earlier feature, perhaps some form of private driveway. The alignment of this feature is though similar to that of the nearby Drayton High Road, suggesting that it may have been an earlier incarnation of this route.
The other linear features were all very shallow and unfortunately produced little in the way of dating evidence. The alignments of these features do though suggest that they were probably associated with at least two phases of activity. Two of the ditches produced small assemblages of worked flints leading to the suggestion that these features were potentially prehistoric, although it seems most likely that this material was residual. Two discrete features in the southernmost trench were interpreted as natural tree-throw hollows.
The flint assemblage appears to represent two distinct phases of activity, comprising an Early Neolithic blade core and flakes, and a scraper and flakes of probable later, Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age date.
See report (S1) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.283).
P. Watkins (HES), 30 January 2018. Amended 19 May 2019.

August-September 2015. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of several new residential dwellings.
The stripping of several building plots exposed larger section of the previously identified possible road, confirming that its alignment was indeed identical to that of the Drayton High Road. The slot excavated across this feature demonstrated that it had an irregular base in which a number of possible wheel ruts could be identified. Post-medieval ceramic building material was recovered from its fill. A ditch exposed in the northernmost part of the site was probably a continuation of one of the similarly-aligned features identified during the evaluation. As during the earlier work no dating evidence was recovered. The only other feature identified was a circular pit with steep sides and a charcoal-flecked fill. A single prehistoric worked flint was the only find recovered. A intermittent subsoil layer was noted across the site.
No other finds were recovered.
See report (S2) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.319).
P. Watkins (HES), 30 January 2018. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 27 May 2019.