NHER 26963 (Monument record) - Undated pits

September 2002. Norfolk NMP.
There are six pit features within the site (S1) and there are at least three further pits to the north that have not been mapped. The pits are rectangular in plan, varying in size from 11m by 5m up to 40m by 10m, and several of the features appear to contain water. The features are situated immediately landward of a sea defence bank that was constructed some time after 1907, as it does not appear on the second edition Ordnance Survey (S2). The features may pre-date the bank but they appear to closely follow the dogleg course of the bank, and it is suggested that they post-date the sea defence feature.
The purpose of the pits is unclear. They do not appear to be solely for drainage, and an extensive network of linear drains have been excavated in the area by 1946 (S1). They appear to be deliberately positioned out of tidal range behind the sea defence bank, although the water at that location may still be brackish or saline. They may be artificial shellfish beds, although one might have expected the saltmarsh to be a more suitable location for this type of activity. Likewise they may relate to salt processing although the saltmarsh would presumably be a more suitable location. Interestingly there are freshly excavated pits visible in 1988 (S3) that are morphologically similar to these, situated on the saltmarsh itself.
M. Brennand (NMP), 23 September 2002.