NHER 49242 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Medieval to post medieval flood defence bank, boundary or levee

May 2008. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks of a substantial flood bank or levee running alongside the River Wensum are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S2). The archaeological significance of this feature is uncertain and it may be a naturally deposited band of water-laid sediment or levee.

This feature is visible as a discontinuous raised linear band of material, ranging in width from 5m to 22m. The back edges of this embankment or levee are quite irregular in shape and this may indicate a natural origin. It is obviously possible that this represents a naturally forming levee that has been augmented and added to, creating a more substantial flood defence.

This bank or raised embankment is cut through by a series of straight drainage ditches that appear to be relatively late in the sequence of drainage and enclosure. These drains and boundaries are marked on the Ordnance Survey first edition map. Unfortunately no Tithe or Enclosure maps available for this area at the time of recording, so it is hard to assign this feature or the drainage ditches cutting it a more definite date.
S. Massey (NMP), 28 May 2008.