NHER 67246 (Monument record) - Site of Roman building and associated finds

March 1980. Fieldwalking by Norfolk Archaeological Rescue Group.
Location described in telephone call (S1) as "immediately north of church", on the surface of a ploughed field.
Sherds of Roman pottery and lumps of chalk representing possible building material were found at the north side of the field, by the edge of the salt marsh.
A published summary (S2) of these finds interprets the building material as the remains of a "small Romano-British building constructed of chalk and flint" and notes that domestic refuse and pottery recovered from the site dates primarily to the 2nd century. It also indicates that only one or two tile fragments were recovered and therefore the building may have been thatched.
These remains were originally recorded under NHER 15868, which is located in the large field to the west of the church, along with concentrations of Thetford ware found in that field at the same time as this Roman material. However, there appears to have been some confusion regarding the exact location of these Roman remains. There is no doubt that they were located on the edge of the saltmarsh. However, the original telephone report recorded in the HER Record Card (S1) specifically states that it was in the field immediately north of the church, not the field to the west (NHER 15868). Furthermore, the published summary (S2) records this Roman building very separately from the Late Saxon and Medieval material seen at NHER 15868, supporting the conclusiion that it was likely not observed in the same field. Yet the grid reference published with the discussion of the Roman material places it well into the salt marsh to the north and slightly east of NHER 15868. On balance, it appears most likely that the Roman building was observed at the northern edge of this field immediately north of the church. However, it cannot be completely ruled out that it was in face located along the northern edge of the adjacent field, NHER 15868.
A. Gregory (NAU), 4 March 1980. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 06 July 2023.