NHER 68877 (Find Spot record) - Prehistoric and medieval to modern finds

April-May 2017. Test Pitting and Metal-detecting.
Excavation of two test pits as part of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust's 'Imagined Land' project - a community archaeology project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Test Pit 5 at [1] was excavated to a depth of 0.5m, at which level a dense dark grey clay silt was encountered, beneath which the ground became waterlogged. This material was overlain a thin spread of brick rubble, mortar and window glass and a layer of redeposited clay – with both of these deposits likely to represent past attempts to consolidate this ground. The rubble appears to have come from at least one demolished structure of late post-medieval date.
Finds recovered included:
45 undatable animal bones (mostly from two butchered geese) and 4 burnt flints.
?Palaeolithic flint flake.
Prehistoric flint flake and utilised fragment.
4 post-medieval pottery sherds and 3 brick fragments.
8 late post-medieval/modern pottery sherds and 7 roof tile fragments.

Test Pit 9 at [2] was excavated to a depth of 0.65m, exposing a deep sequence of waterlogged riverine deposits which then subject to hand auger testing. A chalky clay at a depth of 2.5m was shown to be overlain by clean fluvial sands and gravels, which were in turn sealed by a deep layer of dark grey riverine silt. The uppermost riverine deposits (which included a layer of peaty silt) were sealed by a probable consolidation layer of 19th or 20th-century date. Finds recovered included:
4 undatable animal bones.
2 prehistoric flint flakes.
9 post-medieval pottery sherds, a clay tobacco pipe stem fragment, 2 iron nails and an iron probable barrel hoop.
5 late post-medieval/modern pottery sherds, 8 brick fragments and 3 roof tile fragments and a furniture fitting.

Unsystematic metal-detecting also took place during the test pitting at Commerce House. Finds recovered included:
Medieval/post-medieval suspension loop.
Post-medieval coin and 19th-century temperance-style pledge or commemorative medallion (issued by the ‘Brethren Society’).
Late post-medieval/modern button, bell and furniture fitting.

See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 18 January 2025.