NHER 50766 (Monument record) - Extraction pits, possible iron working site

December 2007. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks of a several clusters of small pits are visible on aerial photographs on a former area of rough ground in 1946 (S1). The site is centred on TG 0652 1744. The date and function of these pits is uncertain, although the two most likely interpretations are that they are extraction pits. One possible interpretation is that they extraction pits dug to procuring and processing iron oxide deposits within the gravel. Similar features excavated on the Cromer Ridge, North Norfolk (for example NHER 6281-2), were thought to date to the Late Saxon and medieval periods.

The site consists of four distinct clusters of small closely-spaced pits. The pits are quite discrete and exhibit no obvious signs of being the recent of recent activity, which could suggest that they are not the remains of World War Two weapons pits or similar military training features. The appearance of the pits in clusters, combined with the discrete nature of the pits, could indicate that they were created through the targeted extraction of a particular deposit that is exposed on the contours of the slight knoll upon which the site is located. The date of this possible extraction is not known although a post medieval date could be indicated by the clarity of the features, although an earlier date (Late Saxon to medieval) is possible if they are to be compared with similar sites elsewhere in Norfolk. The pits would still appear to survive as earthworks in 1988 (S2).

The features look incredibly similar to the iron procurement pits created along the Cromer Ridge, North Norfolk, when these sites were viewed on the aerial photographs. Investigation into these sites, such as NHER 6281-2, revealed iron working furnaces and abundant amounts of waste materials, such as slag The pits were used for the procurement and processing of iron ores and were thought to date to the Late Saxon and medieval periods.
S. Massey (NMP), 19 December 2007.