NHER 65082 (Monument record) - Possible ring-ditch, post-medieval and undated ditches and undated possible pits

18 April 1996. Field Observation.
May/June 1995. Attempt to implement outline planning permission, granted 1990, for supermarket on western half of site. Fences erected, some topsoil stripped and four trenches excavated. Subject of legal dispute between developer and local planning authority. See sketch plan in file and local press articles (S2).
Previously recorded under NHER 21843.
D. Gurney (NLA), 19 April 1996. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 14 June 2021.

May 2016. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of archaeological implications of proposed development.
It is noted that at least some of the cropmarks visible on the 1976 aerial photographs and originally recorded under NHER 21843 can be seen on Google Earth aerial imagery dated 25 May 2011 (S3). These include a ring-ditch at [1] (now recorded as NHER 69663) and various fragmentary north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west aligned linear features in the western half of the site (now NHER 69666).
An enclosure map drawn in 1808 (S4) shows the site crossed by a north-west to south-east aligned trackway that is absent on later maps. Close to the northern edge of the site the trackway is shown to turn abruptly to follow the line of a north-north-east to south-south-west aligned former subdivision of the field. This may represent a late post-medieval division of an earlier route way that once ran to the north-west corner of the field. Several of the cropmarks potentially relate to this trackway and it is possible the others represent field boundaries associated with its original form - lying on only one side of this feature and running either roughly parallel or perpendicular to its line.
No features of archaeological or historical significance were recorded during a brief walkover examination of the site.
See report (S5) for further details, including cropmark plot.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 June 2021.

September 2016. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site.
This survey identified a range of potentially archaeologically-significant responses, including a weak, positive curvilinear anomaly that clearly corresponds with the ring-ditch visible as a cropmark on aerial imagery. All of the linear cropmarks visible on the 2011 Google Earth imagery were also associated with geophysical anomalies. However, although these cropmarks appeared likely to represent fragments of a wider field system, the geophysical survey identified little evidence for other contemporary remains. The most notable exception was a north-west to south-east aligned linear anomaly that extended into the north-west corner of the field.
Other responses of interest included a pair of parallel north-west to south-east aligned linear anomalies that clearly correspond with a former trackway shown on a map of 1808 (demonstrating that the similarly-aligned cropmarks were not directly associated with this feature). A north-north-east to south-south-west aligned linear anomaly corresponds with a former field boundary shown on 19th-century maps and it is likely that a parallel, weaker linear anomaly at the eastern end of the site represents a feature of broadly similar date.
The various other anomalies identified were not thought to be archaeologically significant. These include several weak linear anomalies and an area of enhanced dipolar response in the north-western part of the site that correspond with the foundation trenches excavated in 1995. An area of magnetic disturbance in the south-west corner of the site is also likely to be associated with the aborted construction work that took place around this time. A second, more extensive area of magnetic disturbance in the south-east corner of the site is thought to represent modern made ground.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 June 2021.

October 2022-February 2023. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of part of large potential development site (Area 2).
This second survey of the site identified a range of potentially archaeologically-significant responses. The most notable is a curvilinear anomaly at TG 2735 3029 that clearly corresponds with the previously mapped cropmark ring-ditch visible on aerial imagery of the site (NHER 69663). A circular response immediately to the west potentially represents a second ring-ditch, although this anomaly is weaker and has no corresponding cropmark evidence.
Various linear anomalies were also recorded, including a group of north-east to south-west and north-west to south-east aligned responses in the western half of the site that also correspond with previously identified cropmark features (NHER 69666). These features appear to represent a contemporary group of field or enclosure boundaries that are clearly unrelated to the field system present by the late post-medieval period. As noted above they were though potentially associated with a similarly-aligned trackway shown on a map of 1810, which may have represented a surviving element of an earlier system of land division. Two adjacent north-west to south-east aligned linear anomalies represent traces of this trackway. A north-north-east to south-south-west aligned linear anomaly corresponds with a former field boundary shown on the North Walsham tithe map (S5).
Other responses of potential interest include a cluster of magnetically strong linear and discrete anomalies at the southern edge of the site, adjacent to the Aylsham Road. These are similar to a more extensive band of anomalies recorded at the southern edge of the field to the west (NHER 69647), which are thought to potentially represent remains associated with an area of medieval or later roadside settlement.
Numerous discrete anomalies scattered across the remainder of the site are regarded as being of uncertain origin, including a concentration in the north-west part of the site. As noted above, it is likely that at least some of these responses relate to the ground disturbance that occurred in 1996.
See report (S6) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 4 January 2025.