NHER 42664 (Monument record) - Prehistoric, Middle and Late Saxon remains, land near Church Close

November 2005. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site. Contexts 1-1010.
The earliest recorded features were prehistoric in date. A spread of burnt flint may have been the remains of an upstanding potboiler mound. A small number of worked flints were also recovered including a probable Early Neolithic piercer and a possible later Neolithic or Bronze Age scraper. Early to Middle Saxon finds were recovered from unstratified contexts and included a possible early 6th century gusset plate and an 8th century coin. Two post-built structures recorded on the site are also thought to date to the Saxon period. One sherd of 10th-11th century pottery recovered from a ?pit adjacent to one of the post-built structures reinforces the view that this site was close to the focal point of the village throughout the Saxon and medieval periods. A large number of undated features were recorded; most were postholes and ditches, many of which appear to relate to land divisions and the use of this area for agricultural purposes.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
See also (S3)-(S5).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 14 March 2007.

February-May 2008. Excavation.
Excavation of four parts of proposed development site (Areas 1-4). Contexts 2000 onwards.
The earliest remains encountered during the excavation comprised a spread of prehistoric heat-shattered flint in the north-western part of Area 3. Also recovered were 67 unstratified worked flints including a small number of Mesolithic or Early Neolithic blades, and a larger number of flakes, probably from the Neolithic or Iron Age. The flint assemblage also consists of cores and spalls indicating in-situ flint knapping.
The Roman period is represented by five coins, a fibula brooch, two sherds of pottery, fragments of tile and tegulae.
Twenty sherds of Early Saxon pottery were recovered from ditches, a pit and a posthole.
The Middle Saxon period is represented by two structures and a large pit which lies adjacent to one of the structures. One of the structures may have been an open-ended building measuring approximately 5m by 5m. The other post-built structure was approximately 3m long by 5m wide.
Late Saxon evidence included a feature tentatively interpreted as a sunken-featured building dating from the 10th-11th centuries. A sherd of Early Saxon pottery and 12 sherds of Thetford-type ware were recovered from the fill of this feature. A line of four post-holes also dates from the 10th-11th centuries and may form the southern extent of a structure recorded during the evaluation. The excavations also revealed regular land divisions aligned SE-NW and NE-SW which were found to contain Late Saxon pottery. The ditches enclosed small parcels of land, suggesting a deliberately planned landscape, and there is some evidence that these field boundaries respected earlier features, perhaps suggesting an earlier date for this field system than is indicated by the pottery.
A large quantity of medieval pottery primarily dating from the 11th-13th centuries was recovered from ditches, pits and a probable beam slot. A complex of 12th-13th century ditches at the northern end of Area 3 probably relates to water management and the River Blackwater immediately to the north.
See unpublished report (S6) and assessment report (S7) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S8).
See also newspaper article (S9) and (S10)-(S11).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 12 February 2008.

April 2009.
According to (S12) finds from the excavations were to be given to the Thomas Bullock Primary School. The Norwich Castle Museum does however now hold the documentary archive and at least the majority of the finds (NWHCM : 2013.330).
D. Gurney (NLA), 8 April 2009. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019 and 27 June 2021.