NHER 50712 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Site of possible undated ring ditch

January 2008. Norfolk NMP.
A possible ring ditch, together with what might be part of a second, is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), centred at TG 2825 1584. Their date and function are not known, but they could represent the site of one or more Bronze Age round barrows. Other prehistoric funerary monuments have been identified in the area, including a probable linear barrow cemetery (NHER 50816) 700m to the southwest. The juxtaposition of a barrow with a later parish boundary, as is the case here, is also not unusual for such sites, which were often used as markers in later land division. It may also be respected by the probably post medieval field boundary (part of NHER 50817) which passes close to its western side. At the same time, the origin and archaeological significance of the cropmarks is not entirely certain, as the underlying geology is conducive to the formation of circular cropmarks. Conversely, further archaeological cropmarks could be visible which have been left unmapped, as they are difficult to distinguish from those of natural origin.
The main ring ditch is roughly circular in plan and measures approximately 20.5m in diameter. Breaks in the ditch circuit are as likely to be caused by the cropmark being masked, as by the presence of a genuine causeway or entrance. Part of a second possible ring ditch is visible a few metres to its east.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 23 January 2008.