NHER 43558 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Group of cropmark ring ditches

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a group of ring ditches of unknown definite date and origin are visible on aerial photographs to the northwest of Valley Farm, Hopton on Sea (S1-S6). These ring ditches may be the remains of prehistoric or Roman date round houses, although none are obviously associated with an enclosure. An alternative interpretation is that they the remains of small round barrows. The ring ditches are located within an extremely complex area of cropmarks dating from the late prehistoric onwards. The site is centred on TG 5195 0114, although this point does not correspond to an archaeological feature included within this site; it represents a central point in-between the three ring ditches.

The site consists of six ring ditches, three of which are penannular. The largest of the ring ditches is located at TG 5173 0110 and is 11m in diameter (S3) and the smallest is 5m at TG 5188 0109 (S2). The features are relatively dispersed and may not be of the same date or origin. The larger ring ditch may be the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow. There are several other possible round barrows located nearby to the east (NHER 43515-6, 43557), although these are much larger. However the size range of all of these ring ditches is consistent with other small ring ditches identified within this area, the majority of which are located within enclosures and fields, such as NHER 43494-5, 43559 and 45052. These ring ditches have generally been interpreted as the remains of domestic round houses or small agricultural structures. The ring ditches grouped together under this number are not obviously associated with any of the surrounding field system and enclosures and therefore it is hard to assign a date or function to them.
S. Massey (NMP), 18 October 2006.