NHER 7887 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of undated ring ditch, possibly relating to the site of a Bronze Age round barrow

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Summary

The cropmarks of a ring ditch, probably representing the remains of Bronze Age round barrow, are visible on aerial photographs to the north of the River Tud at Costessey. An excavation in 1964 revealed no finds but may have discovered part of the ditch. The barrow, along another 80m to the east (NHER 7888), is located on the lower slopes of the valley for the River Tud.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TG11SE
Civil Parish COSTESSEY, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Map

1959. St Joseph aerial photography.
Ring ditch, probably a barrow.
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

1964. Trenched by schoolmaster - no finds, but may have revealed part of the ditch.
See (S1) in file.

Clarke's siting at TG 1710 1142 is incorrect - correct site as in NGR section.
E. Rose (NAU).

Irregular ring ditch seen as reversal mark in crop of cereal.
D. A. Edwards (NAU), 27 January 1980.

No evidence in field of young cereal, though site on knoll.
A. J. Lawson (NAU), 9 December 1976.

The central grid reference for this site has been altered from TG 1710 1143 to TG 1709 1145.

September 2010. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a ring ditch, probably representing the remains of Bronze Age round barrow, are visible on aerial photographs to the north of the River Tud at Costessey (S2-S4). The ring ditch, which is centred on TG 1709 1145, measures 34m in diameter. The barrow, along another 80m to the east (NHER 7888), is located on the lower slopes of the valley for the River Tud.
S. Horlock (NMP), 12 September 2010.

September 2025. Record reviewed as part of the Forestry Commission Project K
The ring ditch which probably represents the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow, mapped by the NMP survey (see above), is also visible as a cropmark on Google Earth and APGB imagery from 2022 (S5 and S6).
J. Powell (Norfolk County Council Environment Service), 10 September 2025

  • --- Aerial Photograph: RAF 106G/UK 1636 3156-7.
  • --- Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Miscellaneous. Costessey.
  • --- Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
  • --- Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 11 SE 33.
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • --- Serial: 1960. Council for British Archaeology Group 7 Bulletin of Archaeological Discoveries for 1960. No 7. p 2.
  • --- Unpublished Document: Green, E.B.. 1964. Letter regarding Costessey ring ditch cropmark. 19 February.
  • --- Unpublished Document: Green, E.B.. 1964. Letter regarding Costessey ring ditch cropmark. 31 March.
  • --- Unpublished Document: Reeve, P.H.. 1964. Letter regarding Costessey ring ditch cropmark. 20 February.
  • --- Unpublished Document: Reeve, P.H.. 1964. Letter regarding Costessey ring ditch cropmark. 24 February.
  • <S1> Unpublished Document: Maitland,. 1964. Report on Investigation of Circular Markings.
  • <S2> Oblique Aerial Photograph: CUCAP. 1959. NHER 1711A-C (CUCAP ZP82-4) 04-JUL-1959.
  • <S3> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1990. OS/90224 047-8 31-JUL-1990 (NMR).
  • <S4> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. NHER TG 1711D-K (NLA 371/HRZ1-7) 18-JUL-1996.
  • <S5> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Google Earth. ? - present. Google Earth Orthophotographs. https://earth.google.com/web. 14-JUL-2022 Accessed 10-SEP-2025.
  • <S6> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Bluesky International Ltd and Getmapping Plc. unknown. Aerial Photography for Great Britain (APGB) Orthophotographs. https://www.apgb.co.uk. Bluesky International Ltd APGB Imagery TG1711 10-AUG-2022.

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Record last edited

Sep 30 2025 9:51AM

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