NHER 30258 (Monument record) - Roman field system and kiln, prehistoric, Roman, medieval and post medieval finds, Alpha Business Park

Large scatter including NHER 17523, NHER 16557 and NHER 17361.

June 1990. Planning permission granted.
See (S1).

10 July 1990. NAU aerial photography.
Possible ring ditch visible on (S2).
D. Edwards (NAU).

10 July 1990. NAU aerial photography.
Two large features, one roughly circular, pale, with dark ring around, very large for ring ditch; the other an even larger oval shape. Both probably infilled pits but bearing in mind the archaeology of area some caution needs to be exercised in identification.
E. Rose (NLA) 6 September 1996.

1991. Trial Trench.
Trench excavated in advance of tree-planting.
No archaeological features were encountered.
Finds included a worked flint flake, a Late Saxon hooked tag, a medieval belt fitting and a medieval pottery sherd.
See report (S3) for further details.
Previously recorded under NHER 25154
E. Rose (NAU), 10 February 1992. Amended A. Cattermole (NLA), 1 August 2008.

June 1992. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey identified three areas of possible archaeological activity. The first comprised three linear anomalies which suggest part of an enclosure in the northernmost part of the site. The second was in the centre of the site, where two small linear anomalies and a possible pit were recorded, with a further area of anomalies which were thought to be possible areas of burning or ferrous material. To the east of this, close to Mundford Road, the greatest anomalies were recorded. These were thought to have been caused by ferrous disturbance or by burnt deposits possibly resulting from small scale industrial working of some kind. It was noted that these anomalies coincided with a slight hollow in the field, possibly a former pit infilled with rubbish, or the site of a demolished building.
See report (S4) for further details.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 August 2008.

December 1993-January 1994. Systematic Fieldwalking and Metal-detecting Survey.
Field survey of five fields at Mundford Road,Thetford.
67 struck and worked flints were recovered during the survey. All are unpatinated or only lightly patinated. The assemblage consistes of 7 scrapers, 3 notched pieces, 1 biface, 16 retouched pieces and 40 waste flakes and blades. The collection gives little useful dating evidence, but the presence of some blades and some long narrow flakes point to a possible early Neolithic origin. The probable Levallois type core and the reworked scraper would fit into a late Neolithic industry. 87 potboilers were also collected during the survey.
Three sherds of Iron Age pottery were recovered. The majority of the pottery recorded on this site was Roman, and it appeared to be concentrated in an area close to Fison Way. Local coarseware products dominate the assemblage, and Samian is conspicuous by its absence. Where the pottery can be specifically dated, it appears to be late Roman, probably 4th century. The medieval pottery assemblage consisted of 50 sherds of glazed and unglazed material. The remainder of the pottery assemblage consisted of 53 sherds of post medieval pottery, the majority of which was glazed red earthenware.
49 fragments of brick and tile were recovered. This assemblage largely comprised medieval roof tile, but also included three fragments of Roman tile, five fragments of early post medieval brick and tile and two of malting kiln tile.
29 metal objects were found during the survey. These included a Roman coin, two Roman brooch fragments and a lead steelyard arm weight, probably also of Roman date. A copper alloy gilt buckle plate and a gilt belt fitting were both dated to the medieval period. Other finds included lead musket balls, buttons and other unidentifiable objects of copper alloy, iron, lead and pewter.
See report (S5) for further information. The results of this work are also summarised in (S6).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1995.64).
S. Bates (NAU), 9 February 1994. Amended A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 August 2008 and P. Watkins (HES), 29 April 2019.

September-October 2001. Trial Trenching. Contexts 500-690.
Ten of the 67 trenches contained archaeological features, and all were located in the north-east of the evaluation area.
Prehistoric evidence largely took the form of unstratified and residual flints within Roman cut features. 19 sherds of Bronze Age pottery were recovered. The only possible prehistoric features were all located in two trenches, one of which contained a ditch, a pit and a post hole, and another a single pit. The dating of these features is tenuous.
All other recorded features appear to date to the Roman period. Ditches produced pottery ranging in date from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, though several of these features remain undated. Most of the ditches followed a north-south or east-west alignment, suggesting a rectilinear field system. Of particular interest are two substantial parallel ditches which lie very close to the edge of the plateau. Although these were not contemporary features, their dimensions suggest a different function to the field boundary ditches recorded elsewhere on the site. It is possible that these substantial ditches served to enclose the Roman settlement. In the most northerly part of the site, one trench was found to contain the remains of a clay-built oven measuring 2.2m long by 1.3m deep. The lack of pottery wasters suggests that the feature served as an oven for drying foodstuffs or for malting, rather than as a pottery kiln. The feature contained no datable artefacts, but several Roman pottery sherds were recovered from the overlying topsoil.
Most of the dating evidence for this site points towards mid-late Roman activity on the site, thus post-dating activity at nearby Fison Way (NHER 5853).
Roman finds recovered during the evaluation included a relatively small assemblage of Roman pottery, three Roman coins, the shaft of a pin and a Colchester-type brooch.
Other small finds recovered from this site include a Late Saxon stirrup terminal, a small medieval D-shaped buckle and a post medieval coin. Two pieces of undiagnostic slag, probably associate with smelting, were recovered, but there was no other evidence for metal-working.
Samples were taken for the extraction of plant macrofossils and revealed a low density of cereal grains, chaff and weed seeds, consistent with cereal processing debris. The potential for plant macrofossil preservation in this area appears to be high.
See report (S7) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S8).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.438).
D. Gurney (NLA), 12 December 2001. Amended by A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 August 2008 and P. Watkins (HES), 29 April 20198.

Before 9 October 2002. Metal detecting.
Nine Roman coins.
Roman brooch.
Post medieval sword chape.
See lists in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 30 January 2003.