NHER 65019 (Monument record) - Iron Age, Roman, post-medieval and undated remains

February 2012. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site (Field 10; Trenches 37-54).
Archaeological features were recorded in six of eighteen trial trenches excavated.
A single pit containing 60 sherds of Iron Age pottery was recorded in the south-west of the site.
To the north-west of the Iron Age feature, on the western edge of the area, a ditch containing Roman pottery and animal bone and a partially excavated feature containing Roman pottery were recorded as well as an unstratified fragment of lava quern likely of Roman date. On the extreme eastern edge of the site a single un-urned cremation burial was recorded. Analysis of the bone indicates that the individual was in their teenage years.
Several post-medieval ditches were also recorded: two in the northwest of the site, one in the south-west near the Roman features, and one on the eastern edge near the cremation.
See report (S1) for further information.
Previously recorded under NHER 58844.
H. Hamilton (HES), 10 May 2013. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2021.

October 2017. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of new access road.
The road corridor was stripped down to natural sand and clay deposits, revealing two ditches and a truncated cluster of discrete features - all of which lay in the western half of the field.
One of the ditches was an extensive east-to-west aligned feature that corresponds with a former field boundary depicted on the Hethersett tithe map (S2). This feature cut an earlier north-to-south aligned ditch of uncertain date. The discrete features were located close to the ditches and included five possible post-holes and a pit. It is unclear whether these features formed any kind of structure and their date is uncertain. Although a single sherd of Early Neolithic pottery was recovered from the surface of one of the post-holes this was regarded as most likely residual.
Other unstratified finds recovered during this work included a small assemblage of Neolithic/Bronze Age and undatable prehistoric worked flints. Metal-detecting also recovered a small assemblage of post-medieval and undated metal objects, including copper alloy buttons, iron nails and lead waste.
There was evidence that much of the site had been disturbed by heavy dumpers prior to the commencement of this work, with numerous wheel ruts visible in the stripped surface.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 May 2021.