NHER 40711 (Monument record) - Saxon settlement and other remains, Three Score

August-September 2004. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site (Trenches 1-5, 8-12, 14-20, 23, 29, 36-39, 41-50, 52-53, 55-66, 68, 70-79, 81-85, 88, 90, 92, 94-97, 99, 103-105).
The 74 trenches excavated at this location revealed a range of features, including tree boles and periglacial features. Prehistoric elements included a single dated Neolithic pit together with a possible prehistoric buried soil and probably prehistoric pits. Two ditches were potentially Iron Age (though dated by only a single pottery sherd). Although the bulk of the worked flint recovered was of probable Neolithic or Bronze Age date a small number of potentially earlier pieces were present, including a large blade of possible Late Upper Palaeolithic/Early Mesolithic date and a small Mesolithic/Early Neolithic serrated blade. Several blades and a number of other pieces are of possible Early Neolithic date.
No features were firmly dated to the Roman period, but several undated ditches were possibly part of a Romano-British field system identified previously.
A fine Early Saxon 'two post' Grubenhaus (sunken-featured building) was found, containing a wide range of Early Saxon pottery together with fragments of loom weights, a brooch and large amounts of animal bone. A second less certain sunken-featured building was also identified at the northern end of the site.
Post-medieval and modern utilisation of the land includes agricultural use together with sand and gravel extraction, from quarries of various sizes, some large enough to be noted on 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey maps of the present day.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.197).
J. Allen (NLA) 25 August 2004. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 13 July 2015, 12 May 2019 and 25 October 2023.

March-June 2005. Excavation.
Open area excavation targeting features and deposits identified during the preceding trial trench evaluation.
This work revealed further remains associated with a small Early Saxon settlement, along with limited evidence for earlier and later activity.
The assemblage of worked flints recovered provides evidence for at least limited activity during multiple prehistoric periods. The earliest pieces are of probable Upper Palaeolithic date, including a prismatic blade core, a crested blade and at least one other large blade. A probable micro burin is indicative of Mesolithic activity and a number of the systematically-produced smaller blades recovered are potentially of a similar age. A much large proportion of the assemblage is though likely to be of a slightly later, Early Neolithic date, with these pieces recovered from features and layers across the site. A number of the pits uncovered were potentially associated with this phase of activity, although exactly how many is difficult to establish as only 17 sherds of Early Neolithic pottery were recovered and at least some of the Early Neolithic flints demonstrably residual within later contexts. Features thought to be of Neolithic date include a diffuse cluster of pits on the higher ground in the north-eastern part of the excavated area. Pottery was limited to five small sherds of probable Early Neolithic date, although these did come from a feature that also contained a reasonably large (and seemingly in situ) assemblage of Early Neolithic worked flint. It was therefore somewhat surprising that a Late Neolithic radiocarbon date of 2850-2480 cal BC at 95% probability was obtained for material from this pit (Beta-243327; 4060 ±40 BP). The majority of the other features in this group contained small assemblages of worked flint, much of which is also of likely Early Neolithic date. In several cases it is suggested that material had been placed within recuts of earlier features and there was an apparent distinction between the flint assemblages that contained usable/used pieces and those that consisted primarily of waste debitage. At least one refit was noted between two groups of the latter, one of which came from either the upper fill or a recut of a feature associated with an Early Bronze Age radiocarbon date of 2120-1880 cal BC at 95% probability (Beta-243326; 3610 ±40 BP) and a Middle Bronze Age date of 1420-1220 cal BC at 95% probability (Beta-243325; 3060 ±40 BP) (both of which came from charcoal recovered from its primary fill). Several other radiocarbon carbon dates obtained for features within this group were also inconsistent with a Neolithic date, with one pit produced a Middle/Late Iron Age date of 200 cal BC to 10 Cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-243331; 2080 ±40 BP) and Middle Saxon dates of 620 to 690 Cal AD (Beta-243329; 1360 ±40 BP) and 650-780 cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-243330; 1310 ±40 BP) (both from charred hazelnut shell) and another pit producing a Middle Saxon date of 650-770 Cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-243328; 1320 ±40 BP).
A dispersed group of pits or large post-holes to the south-west are also regarded as potentially Neolithic. Finds were though limited to four prehistoric pottery sherds (two identifiable as Early Neolithic) and a small number of worked flints. A surviving area of what is believed to have been a prehistoric soil was also recorded in this part of the site. A small assemblage of worked flint was recovered from this soil. A number of the potentially Neolithic discrete features in the vicinity of this soil are tentatively interpreted as potentially representing the remains of some form of rectangular structure but this is not particularly convincing. Also recorded in this part of the site were a number of patches of reddened (rubified) sand. Magnetic susceptibility analysis indicated these patches were the result of in situ burning and it is suggested they were associated with fires created during prehistoric woodland clearance.
Several additional prehistoric pits were recorded in the southern half of the excavation area, including one that produced 48 sherds of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Grooved Ware pottery and an assemblage of worked flints of probable later Neolithic date. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the age of this feature, with Late Neolithic dates of 2840-2480 cal BC at 95% probability (Beta-243323; 4050 ±40 BP) and 2890-2620 cal BC at 95% probability (Beta-243324; 4170 ±40 BP) obtained for material recovered from its single fill. An adjacent pit that contained two sherds of Grooved Ware pottery and a small number of worked flints (including an end scraper) was likely to have been of a similar age.
A single Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Beaker pottery sherd was also recovered, from what appeared to be a naturally-formed gully.
There was only limited evidence for subsequent prehistoric activity at the site. The worked flint assemblage does include some irregular debitage, crude cores and broad, thick flakes indicative of later Bronze Age or Iron Age industries but this material was mostly from unstratified contexts or recovered from natural or later features. Only two sherds of probably Bronze Age pottery were recovered – a possible Collared Urn sherd found in a small, otherwise undated pit at the southern edge of the excavated area and a sherd of indeterminate Bronze Age date residual within a later feature. Only a single Iron Age pottery sherd was recovered, which was found in a natural channel.
Although a small assemblage of abraded Roman pottery was found this material was mostly residual within later features - the only possible exception being a single sherd recovered from an otherwise undated small pit.
Early Saxon features uncovered included two additional Early Saxon Grubenhäuser (sunken-feature buildings) and a number of associated pits, all of which lay in the south-east part of the site, the majority in close proximity to the building recorded during the preceding evaluation. The two additional buildings were both aligned east-to-west, relatively shallow (presumably truncated) features, one with a pair of a axial post-hole and the other associated with at least five (indicating it had potentially been rebuilt on at least occasion). Overall the pottery recovered from these structures suggests they were probably all of 6th-century date. Other finds recovered from the two buildings excavated during this phase of work include fragments of Roman ceramic building material, fragments of fired clay, an iron buckle, ceramic spindle whorls, fragments of two antler combs, glass beads, a perforated sheep or goat metacarpal of uncertain function and fragments of animal bone likely to represent both butchery and culinary waste. A small crude miniature pottery cup and a bone pin beater were also found in the vicinity of these features. In one of the buildings the primary use deposits were overlain by a dump of charcoal-rich waste presumed to relate to some form of secondary use or activity that had taken place once the structure fell out of use.
Finds recovered from the surrounding pits included Early Saxon pottery sherds, Roman tile fragments, a cylindrical glass bead, an iron nail and fragments of animal bone. One of the more interesting pits associated with this phase of activity was a relatively shallow feature filled with charcoal-rich material and burnt flint. Although no finds were recovered two similar Early Saxon radiocarbon dates of 420-610 cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-243332; 1540 ±40 BP) and 420 to 600 cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-243333; 1550 ±40 BP) were obtained for charcoal from this pit. There was no evidence for in-situ heating, suggesting the flint had been burnt elsewhere and that this had possibly functioned as some form of cooking pit.
There was little evidence for significant activity on the site following the abandonment of the small Early Saxon settlement. The anomalous radiocarbon dates noted above are were the only evidence for subsequent Saxon activity and although a small number of medieval finds were recovered no features of this date were identified. An east-to-west aligned ditch of probable post-medieval date was only later feature recorded.
Undated remains included a series of ditches in the northern part of the excavated area, the majority of which were aligned north-west to south-east. These features produced a small number of finds of mixed date, including prehistoric worked flints and sherds of Roman, Early Saxon and medieval pottery. The fact that these features were sealed beneath a thick colluvial deposit does though suggest that they were probably fairly early in date and it is noted that their alignment is similar to that of Roman ditches recorded at sites to the west (see NHERs 9304 and 39797).
See full report (S3) and assessment report (S4) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S5).
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.197).
S. Howard (NLA), 9 April 2010. Amended and expanded by P. Watkins (HES), 25 October 2023.

February-March 2014. Excavation.
Excavation of three areas on route of new spine road for Three Score development (Areas A-C).
The southernmost excavation area (Area A) revealed only an undated north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditch and a probable natural feature.
The central and northern excavation areas (Areas B and C respectively) revealed numerous discrete features and several ditches. There was evidence for at least some limited activity during the Early Neolithic period, with several pottery sherds of this date recovered from a group of irregular, intercutting pits (or possibly a large natural feature) in the central excavation area, along with a number of likely contemporary worked flints. A small but notable assemblage of Early Neolithic worked flints was also recovered from one of the discrete features in the northern excavation area. This comprised a core with several refitting flakes and a number of other flakes and blades likely to have come from the same nodule.
Later features included an east-to-west aligned ditch in the northern excavation area that contained a small assemblage of Late Saxon and early medieval pottery, suggesting a probable 11th-century date. A single sherd of Late Saxon was also recovered from an adjacent, otherwise undated curving possible enclosure ditch. Although various other pits and possible post-holes were revealed in this excavation area these were all undated.
There was little evidence for subsequent activity, with later remains limited to a small number of pits of probable post-medieval and modern date. As elsewhere on the site the lack of evidence for medieval and early post-medieval activity is particularly notable.
Information for report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy and final reports awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.242).
P. Watkins (HES), 26 October 2023. Amended 24 August 2025.