NHER 42237 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Probable site of Bronze Age round barrow

December 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A ring ditch is visible as a cropmark on an aerial photograph (S1), centred at TG 4907 1525. It is most likely to represent the remains of a prehistoric burial mound, one of several to be identified in the area. Its rather oval shape and relatively large size (compared to NHER 12179, for example) indicates that it could be of Late Neolithic to Bronze Age date. It is crossed by several linear ditches (part of NHER 19534) which have been interpreted as medieval to post medieval field boundaries. The fact that they do not respect the barrow site suggests that it had already been levelled by the time they were laid out, or that it was deliberately ignored.

The rather fragmentary ring ditch is oval in shape and is double ditched on its northeast side at least. It measures approximately 48.5m long and 39.5m wide. It should be noted that it is only convincing as an archaeological feature on one aerial photograph and that consequently the possibility that it is in fact a product of modern agricultural activity cannot be ruled out.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 20 December 2005.