NHER 15769 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Site of undated trapezoidal enclosure

14 June 1974. NAU air photography.
Cropmark of rectangular enclosure and adjacent linear feature (S1)-(S2).
D. Edwards (NAU), 29 January 1980.

2 July 1996. NLA air photography.
Cropmark of rectilinear enclosure visible amidst geological background (S3).
S. Massey (NLA), 23 July 2001.

April 2010. Norfolk NMP.
The linear feature described above is now recorded as part of NHER 53475.
NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference of the site from TG 2314 0523 to TG 2315 0521.
The enclosure described above is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1)-(S11), centred at TG 2315 0521. It lies in an area of known prehistoric activity; a substantial double concentric ring ditch (NHER 9582) and an associated D-shaped enclosure (NHER 9583) lie only 100m to its northeast. However, later activity, including evidence of possible settlement in the Iron Age to Roman and late Saxon to post medieval periods, is also recorded in the area, not least in the multi-phase boundary ditches which overlie and surround the site (NHER 53475). At least one of these ditches is conjoined to the northeast corner of the enclosure, while others share its orientation and alignment. This orientation is also shared by boundaries of probable late Saxon to post medieval date recorded approximately 150m to the south (NHER 52326), and thus while an earlier date cannot be ruled out, a post-Roman date for the enclosure is perhaps indicated. Its function, however, remains uncertain. This is not helped by the uncertainty as to the precise plan of the enclosure, the cropmarks being notably unclear.
The enclosure has an irregular, trapezoidal plan, the ditched element measuring approximately 58m long and up to 52m wide. There are no obvious entrances, although there are several potential breaks along the ditch circuit, including a substantial gap in its west side where the cropmark is masked by geological marks. Traces of an outer bank on its south side are evident on some of the aerial photographs, but these are indistinct and their archaeological significance uncertain. Internal ditches seem more likely to relate to the multi-phase boundary ditches that surround and overlie the site (NHER 53475), although the ditch close and parallel to the south side of the enclosure and some of those in the surrounding area could represent internal or external divisions or annexes.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 13 April 2010.