NHER 44843 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of possible prehistoric oval enclosure/long barrow and undated trackway

July 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Cropmarks of a possible sub-oval enclosure, trackway and ditches are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S5). These cropmarks are centred on TM 3428 9313. The possible enclosure is located at TM 3428 9315. It has a sub-oval curvilinear plan with external dimensions of 27m by 17m. The ditch defining the enclosure is up to 2m wide and it has a possible entrance on its southern side. A further break in the ditch on the north side of the enclosure may be another entrance, but this is less certain. Two parallel curvilinear ditches extend southwards from the entrance on the southern side of the enclosure and appear to define a trackway or boundary. A further curvilinear cuts the western part of the possible enclosure on a roughly north to south alignment. This ditch could be a continuation of the trackway and may join a linear ditch to its north (NHER 17276). It is not clear if the possible trackway or boundary is related to the possible enclosure or not, but the alignment of the ditches with the possible entrance in the enclosure suggests that they may be. The date and function of the enclosure is not clear. It lies immediately to the east of a round barrow ring ditch (NHER 11587) with a barrow cemetery (NHER 44844). Its dimensions and overall form mean that it could be a small Neolithic long barrow, although the presence of side entrances would be more unusual. Alternatively it could be a curvilinear enclosure of unknown, but possibly late prehistoric date. The faint appearance of the cropmark of the possible enclosure means that a geological origin cannot be entirely ruled out, although its apparent relationship with the trackway cropmark makes this unlikely. The possible trackway cropmark seems to be aligned on the southern entrance of the enclosure. However, its possible continuation across the enclosure may indicate that it had an earlier origin. Short sections of linear ditch cropmark are also present to the south of the enclosure.
J. Albone (NMP), 11 July 2006.

See (S6) for additional aerial photographs.
H. Hamilton (HES), 23 August 2013.