NHER 51761 (Monument record) - Late Saxon or medieval burial, medieval and post medieval pits and finds beneath Samson and Hercules House

August 2007. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed redevelopment site. Two trenches excavated. contexts 1 to 128, initially recorded under NHER 704.
Two trenches were excavated during redevelopment of this site. The earliest feature recorded in Trench 1 was a east-west burial within a grave. The skeleton was badly preserved and the skull was crushed. The grave was sealed by a pit containing 11th-12th century pottery, so the burial is thought to date to the period of the Norman conquest, or earlier. This inhumation is almost certainly associated with the church of St George which lies to the south (NHER #). It is thought that this church once had a more extensive churchyard, before selling plots for development around AD 1200. More burials are likely to survive in this area.
In both trenches a series of large pits were recorded. Some of these appear to have been excavated for the extraction of sand and/or chalk; this quarrying activity appears to date from the 11th to 15th centuries. Smaller pits found within both trenches probably represent medieval and post-medieval waste disposal.
A poorly constructed wall probably indicates the location of a property boundary and dates from the 12th to 15th centuries. Several phases of levelling are represented by dumped deposits and demolition layers. A large steep-sided pit which truncates many of these deposits may represent the remains of a robbed-out well or possibly a latrine.
Finds recovered during the evaluation include Late Saxon, medieval and post medieval pottery sherds. All of the Late Saxon material was redeposited, suggesting that all features and deposits relating to activity of this date have been heavily truncated by medieval and later activity on the site.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 18 September 2008.

October-November 2007. Excavation.
The earliest evidence revealed during the excavation was prehistoric worked flints. These included a potentially Mesolithic or Early Neolithic blade and three flakes of probable later prehistoric date.
No archaeological features or deposits dated from the Middle Saxon period, but three sherds of sandy Ipswich ware pottery and a Middle Saxon strap end were recovered, indicating activity within the vicinity of this site during this period.
The evidence for Late Saxon occupation of this site consisted of a post-built structure with a rammed chalk floor, probable extraction pits and a series of make-up deposits. These discoveries are significant as they represent the first evidence for exploitation of this area during the Late Saxon period.
Full publication is awaited. See assessment report (S3) for further details.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 2 July 2009.

A combined archive comprising material from both phases of work at this site has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.79).
P. Watkins (HES), 18 May 2019.