NHER 62016 (Monument record) - Fragmentary earthworks of uncertain date and significance, possibly Roman

March 2018. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
An area of fragmentary earthworks of uncertain date and significance, possibly ranging in date from Roman to medieval to post-medieval, are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S3) and Environment Agency lidar data (S4). The site is located to the immediate east of the Hockwold Roman settlement (NHER 5587) and another significant Roman site (NHER 5638 and NHER 62084) is located to the east of the site. This could suggest that some of these earthworks relate to Roman date boundaries and enclosures, in particular those within the western part of the site – see below for note of caution over interpretation of this area. Finds of Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery have also been found in proximity to the eastern part of the site (NHER 5595), which could indicate an earlier date for some features. Although some elements may also be of medieval to post-medieval date.
A broad sinuous bank-like feature runs across the southern part of the site, visible on aerial photographs (S1-S2) and surviving on the Environment Agency lidar data (S4). It was decided that this earthwork appeared to relate a pathway running along the valley from the east, and consequently it was not included in the mapping, but may warrant further examination.
Along the western edge of the site, within the carr woodland, are a group of features tentatively mapped from the Environment Agency 2m resolution lidar (S4). The coarse/low resolution of the data makes confident identification of archaeological features problematic and it may be that some or all of these anomalies relate to activity associated with the management of the carr woodland or artefacts within the data processing itself. The earthworks recorded from the historic aerial photographs (S1) within the eastern part of the site were fairly faint and fragmentary features. It is not clear to what extent they survive on the ground from the more recent photography and lidar.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 15 March 2018.