NHER 66672 (Monument record) - Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval to modern remains

July 2016. Earthwork Survey.
Analytical earthwork survey of proposed development site which coincides with a number of linear features visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs. These features are thought to represent post-medieval drainages ditches associated with water meadows adjacent to the river (part of a much large group recorded as NHER 26835).
This survey demonstrated the survival of various earthwork features. These include two north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditches in the eastern half of the site that coincide with two of the features visible on aerial photographs. There was however no trace of a number of other parallel features recorded from the aerial images, although it is possible that these were visible as cropmarks rather than earthworks. The only other feature noted in this half of the site was a slight north and west facing scarp that also correlates with postion of previously recorded features.
Earthworks recorded in the western half of the site included a north-west to south-east linear depression that had been partly backfilled. Both this feature and a pair of east-to-west aligned features visible on aerial photographs to the east follow the line of a curving road shown crossing the site on a map surveyed in 1592 (S1). The line of this former routeway is marked by a curving field boundary shown on the Heacham tithe map of 1839 (S2).
Three low north-north-west to south-south-east aligned earthworks ridges were also noted in the central part of the site. These potentially represent traces of medieval or early post-medieval ridge and furrow cultivation.
There was evidence for episodes of earthmoving and dumping on the site in modern times that have masked and disturbed the surviving earthworks.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 7 February 2023.

August 2016. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of potential archaeological implications of proposed development.
See report (S4) for further details, including extracts of all relevant cartographic sources.
P. Watkins (HES), 7 February 2023.

April 2017. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The ten trenches excavated primarily targeted the surviving earthwork features recorded by the 2016 survey and a number of additional features visible as cropmarks or earthworks on aerial photographs (part of the group recorded as NHER 26835). Although the corresponding remains were likely to be primarily post-medieval or later in date this work also revealed a range of additional linear and discrete features, many of which appear to have been associated with much earlier phases of activity. The pottery recovered suggests that sustained activity had begun by the 11th century and then continued until as late as the 15th century. Notable groups of features included a cluster of pits and a ditch in the western part of the site, which produced pottery of exclusively Late Saxon date (albeit in only small quantities) along with fragments of iron smithing slag, animal bone and oyster shells. A trench to the east that had been positioned to investigate the possible ridge and furrow earthworks revealed an apparently unrelated group of possible pits and short linear features. These were mostly undated, the one exception being a linear feature that contained several sherds of Late Saxon and early medieval pottery. A trench to the south-east revealed several pits of probable medieval date, one of which produced a reasonably large amount of later medieval pottery as well as animal bone fragments and oyster shells. This feature was also notable for the fact its uppermost fill contained numerous large chalk fragments.
Four of the trenches were positioned to target the three north-north-east to south-south-west aligned earthwork ditches recorded in the eastern half of the site. These were associated with largely infilled features, all three of which had ceramic land drains at their bases – indicating that they had been actively maintained drainage features until relatively recently. These ditches had though clearly been recut on a number of occasions. These earlier cuts were mostly undated although a similarly aligned ditch close to one of the earthwork features did produce a small quantity of medieval pottery. Other finds from these ditches included fragments of animal bone and a number of oyster shells.
The north-west to south-east aligned hollow in the western half of the site was shown to coincide with a broad, largely infilled, flat-based feature which was almost certainly a hollow way associated with the lane shown on the late 16th-century map of Heacham (S1). Unfortunately no secure dating evidence was recovered that could indicate when this routeway was first created. Its main fill contained a variety of debris, including ceramic building material and fragments of metal and plastic - suggesting that much of this material probably represented relatively recent infill. Possible traces of this road were also potentially identified in the eastern half of the site, where its line appears to coincide with a pair of parallel features visible on aerial photographs. One of these previously recorded earthworks was shown to coincide with a substantial ditch, the fills of which produced a range of late post-medieval objects including pottery, roof tiles and bottle glass.
Miscellaneous finds of note found during this work included a single abraded sherd of Middle Saxon pottery (residual in a later feature) and two fragments of medieval architectural stonework that were both recovered from a subsoil context.
Although a number of bulk environmental samples were taken these have yet to be processed.
See report (S5) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 7 Febrary 2023.