NHER 66035 (Monument record) - Evidence for prehistoric activity (including Neolithic flint working) and remains associated with early Roman farmstead

January 2015. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development area.
Potentially archaeologically-significant responses were limited to a pair of conjoining north-east to south-west and north-west to south-east aligned linear anomalies which may represent infilled ditches. The line of the former was potentially continued by a similarly-aligned anomaly identified at the eastern edge of the site.
The remaining anomalies are all thought to be the result of post-medieval to modern activity on the site. These included a discrete area of strongly enhanced magnetic anomalies at TG 2168 0446 that coincides with a former marl pit shown on the Ordnance Survey First Edition Six-inch map (S1). An area of strong dipolar anomalies to the south-east is thought to represent a spread of agricultural debris. Two strongly-enhanced dipolar linear anomalies were both caused by modern services – one by an overhead cable and the other by an unidentified unground service.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 10 September 2022.

October 2015. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of potential archaeological impact of proposed development.
This study determined that the archaeological potential of the site is high, with prehistoric and Roman remains being particular likely to be present.
An early 18th-century map shows the site and the field to the south to have been part of a large, single parcel of land known as 'The Heath'. At this time, it was bisected by a north-east to south-west aligned trackway which originally connected the Harford Bridge junction to a track running all the way to Mangreen Hall (which is still extant, albeit now bisected by the A47 Norwich Southern Bypass). It is clear that the geophysical survey had identified no trace of this former route way. A later map of 1818 shows The Heath subdivided and the trackway rerouted, turning to the west at the point it entered the southern end of the site (to run parallel to its southern boundary). By the time an estate map was produced in 1841 the trackway had been removed entirely. Two probable marl pits are shown at the southern edge of the site on this map - one in its western corner that is still a substantial landscape feature and a smaller pit at TG 2168 0446. Both are shown on later, Ordnance Survey maps.
It is recorded that no additional features of archaeological or historical interest were noted during an earlier site visit (undertaken in December 2014).
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 10 September 2022.

October-November 2019. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of large proposed development site.
The 24 trenches excavated revealed a range of ditches, pits and possible post-holes, the majority of which lay in the central portion of the site. Although the majority of these features produced little or no dating evidence the finds that were recovered suggest many were probably associated with prehistoric to Roman phases of activity.
Evidence for prehistoric activity includes more than 300 worked flints and a small collection of handmade pottery sherd. The worked flint are predominantly of Neolithic date, although the assemblage also includes several Mesolithic/Early Neolithic blades and blade-like flakes and a number of crude ‘squat’ flakes of probable Bronze Age or later date. The bulk of the Neolithic material was recovered during the investigation of a colluvial deposit in the central part of the site and appears to consist primarily of core-shaping and biface-thinning flakes - most likely from axehead manufacture. Similar debitage was recovered during the excavation at the Harford Park and Ride site to the south (NHER 39268). Although worked flints were recovered from many of the excavated features the quantities were generally very small, suggesting that much of this material was most likely residual.
Additional evidence for later prehistoric phases of activity included a single sherd of probable Middle/Late Bronze Age pottery found in a colluvial deposit and a small assemblage of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery. The latter includes 18 sherds of Early Iron Age pottery recovered from what appeared to be a linear feature in the central part of the site. Although recorded as a possible ditch it should be noted that this had steep sides and a flat base. Similar pottery was recovered from three pits elsewhere on the site, although two of these also produced Roman finds.
Small quantities of Roman pottery were recovered from a number of pits and ditches, all of which lay in the central part of the site. The more diagnostic sherds suggest that activity was occurring at this location primarily during the earlier part of the period (that is, between the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD). Other Roman finds of notes included fragments of tegula roof tile, suggesting at least one reasonably substantial structure had existed in the vicinity. A large fragment of what appeared to be dressed architectural flint may also have been derived from a Roman building. Two adjacent potentially Roman pits also contained small assemblages of fired clay, included a roughly-squared block that possibly represents oven furniture of some kind.
There was little clear evidence for later activity on the site, with post-Roman finds limited to two post-medieval pottery sherds and a small assemblage of post-medieval to modern metal objects, all of which were recovered from unstratified contexts. The only features identified as potentially post-Roman were a cluster of probable extraction pits at the southern end of the site.
The nature of the various ditches recorded is difficult to determine due to the limited number of finds recovered. It is though notable that with one exception (a north-east to south-west aligned feature crossing the central part of the site) these ditches were not seen to continue into adjacent trenches, suggesting that were mostly associated with relatively small fields or enclosures. There was little possible concordance between these remains and the potentially-archaeologically significant anomalies identified by the geophysical survey (which had failed to identify the majority of the features that were present). With one possible exception there was also no evidence for surviving sub-surface remains associated with the small number of previously identified linear cropmarks that coincided with the excavated trenches (part of a fragmentary group recorded as NHER 52155).
Although a number of undated probable post-holes were recorded no potentially structural arrangements were noted.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 11 September 2022.

March 2020. Excavation.
This final phase of archaeological mitigation prior to the development of this location saw the investigation of a roughly rectangular area in the central part of the site, where a concentration of significant prehistoric and Roman remains had been identified by the preceding trial trenching. The work again revealed evidence for prehistoric activity, although the bulk of the features uncovered were of probable Roman date, including ditch, pits, post-holes and the possible remains of a roundhouse.
More than 800 worked flints was recovered, the bulk of which were of probable Neolithic date, although the assemblage also includes a small number of pieces of probable Mesolithic/Early Neolithic and Bronze Age or late date. The Neolithic material was mostly recovered from a large pit or hollow in the north-west corner of the site, close to the main concentration identified during the trial trenching. The flints from the pit were of a similar nature to these earlier finds, consisting primarily of probable flake debitage from axehead manufacture. Other pieces of note include axehead roughouts, broken unfinished axeheads, cores and a small number of flake implements. It is suggested that the large feature containing these flints may have been deliberate dug in order to extract the flint nodules that were being worked at the site. Samples taken from the fill of this feature contained varying amounts of wood charcoal along with small numbers of other charred plant macrofossils including unidentifiable cereal grains, seeds and hazelnut shell fragments. A range of instrusive remains were also present, indicating at least a degree of post-depositional disturbance.
Worked flints were also recovered from a range of other features including a number of otherwise undated pits. The individual assemblages were though mostly small and in many cases of mixed date – making it likely that much of this material was probably residual within later contexts.
Features that could be more convincingly identified as prehistoric date included a dispersed group of pits containing varying quantities of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery. A single sherd of similar pottery was also recovered from the fill of a probable solution feature.
Numberous ditches of probable Roman date were exposed, which appear to have defined a series of small, interlinked fields or enclosures. The intercutting nature of several of these ditches indicates that the enclosures had probably been removed on at least one occasion. The pottery recovered does though indicate that activity at the site was been restricted to the early Roman period, with the majority of the assemblage dating to the mid to late 1st century AD. The pottery consists primarily of locally-sourced coarsewares, with fine wares and imported wares making up only 6.4% of the assemblage. This is suggestive of a rural farmstead of low status/wealth, although it is may also reflect the fact that activity had peaked at a time when the distribution of imported wares was still limited. Other finds of note from Roman features included several additional tegula fragments, a glass vessel fragment, lava quern fragments, a small assemblage of fired clay (including fragments of possible heath or oven lining) and several animal bones. Samples taken from Roman contexts contained varying quantities of charcoal and generally sparse assemblage of other charred plant macrofossils, including barley, wheat and indeterminate cereal grains and a range of seeds – material that most likely represents scattered domestic refuse.
The possible roundhouse lay within one of the ditched enclosures and consisted of two adjacent curvilinear features that potentially represented the remains of a ring-ditch with a diameter of approximately 10m. These features produced no finds but there is no reason to think they weren’t associated with the early Roman phase of activity, particular as roundhouse structures of this date have been identified on a number of sites elsewhere in the county.
Other features of probable Roman date included pits and a number of post-holes, several of which were possibly associated with a fence line or other ephemeral structure.
There was again little evidence for subsequent activity on the site, with the only potentially post-Roman feature identified being a shallow pit that contained fragments of post-medieval bottle glass.
Information from assessment report (S4). Final reports awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 September 2022.