NHER 52660 (Monument record) - Multi-period remains, including Late Bronze Age pits and medieval ditches

December 2008-January 2009. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with installation of Anglian Water pipeline along eastern edge of field (Area D).
Excavations at this location revealed numerous linear and discrete features, although unfortunately many produced little or no dating evidence. Amongst the more notable exceptions were a pair of adjacent, steep-sided, flat-based pits at TG 5130 1212 that between them produced more than 400 sherds of Late Bronze Age pottery. Other finds from the charcoal-rich fills of these features included a small number of potentially contemporary worked flints, more than 200 burnt flints, a cylindrical clay loomweight and various fragments of undiagnostic fired clay. Samples taken from the fills of one of these pits contained charcoal, along with several wheat grains and a little chaff and two grass seeds. Some of the cereal remains are identifiable as emmer – a typical crop of the Bronze Age. These pits were potentially contemporary with two adjacent post-holes, one of which produced several additional sherds of Late Bronze Age pottery and fragments of fired clay. Similar pottery of probable Late Bronze Age date was also recovered from a number of features uncovered to the north and south of this group, although in most cases the quantities were very small.
A west-north-west to east-south-east ditch also apparently produced pottery of Early to Middle Iron Age date, although this isn’t described in detail.
A number of the ditches recorded in the northernmost part of the site appear to correspond with previous recorded cropmarks, all of which are part of an extensive group thought to represent remains of Iron Age to Roman date (NHER 27513). Unfortunately, none of these features could be regarded as securely dated. Although Roman pottery was recovered during this work the quantities are small, with no feature producing more than two sherds. Several of the features associated with cropmarks produced only Late Bronze Age pottery, including a north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditch that corresponds with the fairly substantial cropmark running between TG 5128 1222 and TG 5125 1209. This at least raises the possibility that some of these remains were associated with a much earlier phase of activity, although the prehistoric pottery sherds were mostly fairly small and potentially residual. The ditch to produce the largest assemblage of Late Bronze Age pottery (associated with a north-east to south-west aligned cropmark at TG 5125 1221) also contained two sherds of Roman pottery and a handmade sherd identified as potentially Middle Saxon. Two Roman coins were also found immediately above this feature. Adjacent to this ditch was a group of narrow ditches that appear to have defined a small, presumably contemporary enclosure. This enclosure was only 6m wide and a large proportion of its internal area was occupied by a sub-square, flat-based pit. Although dating evidence from these features was limited to a single sherd of Late Bronze Age pottery, a later, Roman date seem most likely. These remains are reminiscence of a small Roman enclosure identified during work at Quidenham in 2001 (NHER 35776), within which was a sub-rectangular containing finds that suggested it may have been a robbed or otherwise disturbed Roman burial. No such objects were recovered from the pit at this site, although it should be noted that it was significantly truncated and only partly excavated.
Numerous ditches were also uncovered in the southern half of the site, beyond the mapped cropmarks. Although many of these ditches were also poorly dated it appears that the majority were probably associated with post-Roman phases of activity. Finds from features in this part of the site included sherds of probable Middle Saxon and Saxo-Norman pottery and a much larger assemblage of high medieval pottery. Remains of likely medieval date all lay in the southernmost part of the site and included two groups of intercut north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditches and a large pit. A similarly-aligned ditch that turned through 90 degree within the excavated area was also probably medieval and presumably represented the corner of some form of enclosure. Other potentially medieval remains in this part of the site included a short, narrow linear feature that appeared to be associated with a post-hole. A sample taken from one of the medieval ditches contained cereal remains (some identifiable as five hulled barley and free-threshing wheat) and a range of wild plant seeds, including sedges (which would have had a variety of uses, including as thatching, matting and fuel).
A series of east-to-west aligned ditches were also recorded in the southern half of the site, although the dating of these features was much more uncertain and it is entirely possible that they were associated with multiple phases of activity. At least one was post-medieval, being found to contain fragments of clay tobacco pipe and likely to correspond with a former field boundary depicted on the Caister next Yarmouth tithe map (S1).
Other notable finds included a large dressed nodule of flint recovered from a colluvial deposit at the southern end of the site. Previous finds in the area suggest that this may be Roman in date, although the same deposit did also produce a large lump of potentially medieval architectural masonry or building stone.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2023.