NHER 68447 (Monument record) - Undated pits, ditches and post-hole structure

March 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The most significant remains were a group of seventeen poorly-dated post-holes revealed in a trench close to the northern edge of the site. The majority lay within two adjacent clusters, with a single outlier identified to the west. These potentially represented the remains of a building of some kind, although if this was the case its overall layout couldn't be discerned from the features exposed. Unfortunately dating evidence was limited to a single pottery sherd that could only be tentatively dated as Roman or later.
The other four trenches excavated revealed only sparse, scattered remains. These features included two ditches, one aligned east-to-west and the other north-east to south-west. The former contained pottery of Roman or later date (similar to that recovered from the post-hole group), while the latter produced three pottery sherds of probable medieval date.
A curvilinear feature encountered towards the western end of the site was initially though to be a possible ring-ditch but widening of this trench demonstrated that it was actually an irregular nature feature.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2021.38).
P. Watkins (HES), 20 August 2024.

August 2015. Trial Trenching and Excavation.
This final phase of archaeological mitigation saw further investigation of the possible post-hole structure revealed by the preceding evaluation. A small excavation area opened at the location of these remains identified a further 13 post-holes, although unfortunately finds were limited to a fragment of undiagnostic ceramic building material. A number of shallow pits and a north-to-south aligned ditch were also recorded, all of which also produced no dating evidence. Samples taken from four of the post-holes and two of the other features all proved to be devoid of charred plant macrofossils. It is thought that the post-holes most likely represented the remains of some form of agricultural building or structure, with the lack of finds suggesting it had likely been located away from any contemporary settlement focus.
Three additional trial trenches were also opened close to the main excavation area to investigate the potential for further significant remains in the vicinity of the possible post-hole structure(s). These revealed only two undated post-holes and two north-to-south aligned ditches (one a continuation of the feature recorded in the main excavation area). A single pottery sherd of Roman or medieval date was recovered from one of the ditches, while the other produced a fragment of undiagnostic ceramic building material and a piece of lead.
See report (S1) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.229).
P. Watkins (HES), 20 August 2024.