NHER 8689 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmark of undated ring ditch

3 July 1946. RAF aerial photography.
Varied cropmarks including ring ditches (S1).
The ring ditches are not barrows.
A. J. Lawson (NAU), 1979.

The ring ditches appear to be the site of the 'flour windmil' marked on (S2).
However, this is not the case - more a fact of bad locating by (S2) of site NHER 16362.
H. Apling, January 1982.

Now officially in Caister on Sea parish.
E. Rose (NAU), 1987.

13 May 1999. NLA air photography.
Cropmark of larger (more southerly) ring ditch visible.
However this is quite faint and hard to determine.
H. Clare (NLA), 13 December 2001.

August 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A cropmark of an undated penannular ring ditch is visible on aerial photographs (S3). This ring ditch is located at TG 5174 1154 on an area of former marshland at Caister on Sea. The grid reference for this site has been adjusted from TG 5180 1150.

The ring ditch is sub circular in plan with a 13m gap in its southwest side. It has a diameter of 17m and a narrow ditch. The function of this ditch is not known, although its location on former marshland suggests that it is of medieval to post medieval date. This ring ditch does not correspond to the position of any known windmill. A wind pump located 240m to the east (NHER 2750) was surrounded by a smaller ring ditch and it is possible, that this cropmark could relate to a similar feature.

Various cropmarks had previously been noted at this location on aerial photographs dating to July 1946 (the actual date of these photographs is 9 July not the 3 July as previously recorded). However, with the exception of the ring ditch recorded here, none of the visible marks are convincingly of archaeological origin. Similarly, the cropmarks recorded as being visible on 1999 aerial photographs do not appear to be archaeological and include vehicle tracks in the grass (S4).
J. Albone (NMP), 5 August 2005.