NHER 69312 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Possible Roman road agger or medieval boundary bank

May 2025. Lidar Interpretation.
A member of the Roman Roads Research Associaion [1] identified a linear earthwork running northwest-southeast through Hockering Wood (NHER 38190) in a lidar visualisation (S1). It has been suggested that the earthwork is the remains of a Roman road agger and may be part of a longer Roman road connecting Caistor Roman Town (NHER 9786) to the settlement at Billingford (NHER 7206).
A portion of the earthwork is visible on the ground, near the medieval moat (S2).
Additional portions of the possible route of the proposed road from Caistor Roman Town (NHER 9786) to the settlement at Billingford (NHER 7206) have been suggested (S3).
See submitted Lidar imagery (S1), site photographs (S2), and possible route (S3).
A. Henderson (HES), 06 June 2025. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 22 July 2025.

June-July 2025. Interpretation.
The lidar reveals a clearly defined linear embankment running northwest-southeast across Hockering Wood. The preserved section appears to terminate at the northern boundary of the wood, whilst at the southern end the earthwork appears to terminate at the junction of a modern field boundary where it meets the edge of the wood. The modern field boundary does not continue on the same alignment as the earthwork.

The earthwork clearly follows a completely different alignment to the modern forest rides, the layout of known World War Two activity in Hockering Wood, and all boundaries depicted on available 19th-century maps (S4) and (S5), indicating that it is likely of medieval or earlier date.

The linear feature abuts a known medieval moat located within Hockering Wood (NHER 7307) and they appear to follow the same alignment, but there is currently no clear evidence as to whether the earthwork was constructed prior to the moat, and therefore was a visible feature in the landscape when the moated site was established, or if they are perhaps contemporary. An earthwork survey undertaken by Dr. Tom Williamson and students from the University of East Anglia in 2007 (S6) did successfully locate a small section of this earthwork running south from the southwest corner of the moat towards a drainage feature to the southeast, but did not locate any visible raised earthwork continuing to the north, as visible in the lidar.

The form of the earthwork is very similar to the remains of other more firmly confirmed Roman roads in Norfolk, such as a recent discovery on Marsham Heath (NHER 64215 and NHER 64216). The Marsham discovery identified just over 1km of embankment along a previously known route. The road could also conceivably align with a fragment of road of possible Roman date (NHER 14228) identified running southeast from the Fen Causeway (NHER 2796) immediately east of Billingford Roman Town (NHER 7206). However, this particular fragment is not located in close proximity to a Roman site, there has not previously been a Roman road postulated at this location, and there is currently no indication that the embankment continues into adjacent fields, all of which more often occur in Norfolk around firmly identified Roman roads.

Additional research is required to provide a more conclusive interpretation of whether this embankment is more likely related to the moated manorial site or if it is indeed part of a Roman road.
H. Hamilton (HES), 22 July 2025.