NHER 63453 (Monument record) - Post-medieval and undated features

2004-2005. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed line of Norwich Northern Distributor Road.
See reports (S1) and (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 16 June 2019.

April 2012-April 2013. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometry survey on proposed line of Norwich Northern Distributor Road (Block 44).
This survey revealed little clear evidence for sub-surface archaeological remains. Although a range of anomalies were detected these were thought to be of predominantly geological origin. Discrete dipolar anomalies are typical of the responses caused by the presence of modern ferrous debris.
See report (S3) for further details.
Previously recorded under NHER 49754.
P. Watkins (HES), 5 August 2015. Amended 16 June 2019.

April-August 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of site on proposed line of Norwich Northern Distributor Road (Field G3).
The 27 trenches excavated in this field revealed little in the way of archaeologically-significant remains, with only a ditch and two pits identified.
The ditch was aligned north-north-west to south-south-east and was almost certainly associated with a former field boundary marked on 19th-century maps at this location. It produced a number of late post-medieval/modern finds including pottery sherds and bottle glass fragments.
The two pits were exposed in a trench excavated towards the centre of the site and were both reasonably large features. Their date and function are however uncertain as their fills were unremarkable and finds were limited to a single medieval horseshoe nail and two undatable fragments of vitrified ?clay or degraded lava quern.
No unstratified finds were recovered.
See report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 June 2019.

January-September 2016. Strip Map and Sample Excavation.
Excavation of site on route of Norwich Northern Distributor Road (Area 15).
This phase of work saw the opening of a relative small area centred on the location of the two pits identified during the preceeding trial trenching.
A small disperate group of features was exposed, the majority of which were undated.
Several of the features were of probable natural original, including a three-throw hollow that was found to contain a Mesolithic/Early Neolithic flint blade core fragment and a single Middle Bronze Age pottery sherd. What initially appeared to be a pair of intercutting pits may have also been an irregular tree-throw hollow. A sample taken from one of these features did however contain spheroidal hammerscale, which is debris associated with iron working.
The only other features exposed were a undated north-to-south aligned ditch that terminated within the excavated area and a small post-hole that produced a post-medieval/modern pottery sherd, an iron nail and a tiny undiagnostic scrap of ?Early Iron Age pottery. A sample from the ditch produced a significant amount of charcoal.
Information from draft assessment report. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 June 2019.