NHER 30587 (Monument record) - ?Prehistoric ditched boundary

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Summary

Cropmarks and soil marks of a linear feature runs across seven fields on aerial photographs. It appears as a dark mark between two parallel light lines, or a light mark between two parallel dark lines. It was originally interpreted as a possible Roman road. Excavation of this feature at site NHER 22920 demonstrated that it was in fact a ditched boundary. The nature of the deposits filling and overlying this feature suggested a relatively early date, although unfortunately little direct dating evidence was recovered. Two prehistoric flints recovered from an overlying peaty deposit do however provide some support for the suggestion that this is a prehistoric feature.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TL69SE
Civil Parish FELTWELL, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Map

1 July 1976. Ordnance Survey air photography (photocopy of print supplied by source [1] in 1994).
Feature also very faintly visible on 1946 RAF air photography.
Linear feature: according to the different crops or soil of the seven fields crossed, this appears as a dark mark between two parallel light lines, or a light mark between two parallel dark lines. Not exactly dead straight but clearly an artificial feature and not a roddon. East end is at Cut Off Channel and does not seem to link up with cropmarks on site NHER 5213 to east (on RAF air photograph, dating pre channel, this end is obscured by different cropping). West end is at field boundary, west of which are cropmarks of various channels and roddons - again this end obscured on RAF photo. Feature seems to pass directly through context 3 of site NHER 14623 described by R. Silvester (NAU) as 'sitting on a ridge above a hollow'. Does not appear like R. Silvester's (NAU) suggested medieval canals, more like a road. Roman?
E. Rose (NLA), 26 April 1994.

January 2000. Trial Trench.
This feature was sectioned during the excavation of an evaluation trench at site NHER 22920. This work demonstrated that the feature is a boundary ditch, although unfortunately little in the way of dating evidence was recovered. It was however suggested by the excavator that the presence of two flint flakes in an overlying peaty deposit may indicated a prehistoric date. An early date was also supported by the nature of the deposits filling and overlying this feature.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S3) and (S4).
E. Rose (NLA), 10 February 2000. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 7 November 2013.

  • --- Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. OS 432.76.127.
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • <S1> Unpublished Contractor Report: Crowson, A. 2000. Report on an Archaeological Evaluation at Whitebridge Farm, Feltwell. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 481.
  • <S2> Unpublished Contractor Report: Network Archaeology. 2002. Bacton to Kings Lynn Proposed Gas Pipeline. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment. Network Archaeology. 179.
  • <S3> Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2000. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1999. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt III pp 521-543. p 526.
  • <S4> Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2001. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 2000. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt IV pp 707-728. p 712.

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Related NHER Records (0)

Record last edited

Apr 27 2021 7:43AM

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