NHER 68108 (Monument record) - Medieval or later ditch and late post-medieval remains

July 2022. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of two new residential dwellings, which were built following the demolition of the post-medieval house that previously occupied the site (Pear Tree Cottage - see NHER 69239).
The foundation trenches excavated revealed a fairly substantial east-to-west aligned ditch that contained a small assemblage of medieval pottery. These sherds are regarded as reasonably convincing dating evidence, although this feature also contained an iron object of probable post-medieval date and a piece of 19th-century field drain. It is suggested that this ditch may have been associated with the northern edge of Low Common, a triangular area of former common land that extended to the south of Wymondham Road.
The fills of this ditch were overlain by soil layers containing building debris and hoggin material. The sharp boundary between the earliest of these layers and the geological deposits is indicative of at least a degree of post-medieval truncation, presumably during the construction of Pear Tree Cottage. Two possible pits were also probably associated with the post-medieval phase of activity. Foundations and masonry related to Pear Tree Cottage were also recorded in both plots. These brick structures were of probable 19th-century date.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 February 2024.