NHER 52795 (Monument record) - Early Neolithic occupation deposit and Iron Age pits

January 2009. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site within grounds of RAF Feltwell.
Six of the 24 trenches excavated revealed archaeologically significant features, including several possible ditches and at least two pits. The datable features included a shallow irregular possible pit that produced Early Neolithic Mildenhall Ware pottery. A small number of worked flints were also recovered from this feature, including three of probable Mesolithic/Neolithic date.
Another pit produced a single sherd of Iron Age pottery.
Notable unstratified finds included a small number of medieval objects, including a silver coin, a coin or token, a mount and a portable candle holder.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 25 August 2015.

August 2009. Excavation.
Excavation of two areas within proposed development area, targeting archaeologically significant deposits identified during the earlier evaluation (Areas 1 and 2).
The deposit that had produced Early Neolithic material during the evaluation was found to be large spread of soil within a natural hollow, rather than a pit fill (Area 2). Over 100 additional Early Neolithic pottery sherds were recovered from this material, along with 24 Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age sherds and 29 Iron Age sherds. This deposit also produced a number of worked flints, including Early Neolithic pieces. Samples taken from this material suggested that it was probably somewhat disturbed and contained remnants of heath and midden waste.
A single sherd of Early Neolithic pottery was recovered from an otherwise undated pit in Area 1 and a small number of residual and unstratified sherds were also recovered.
Several pits were identified in Area 1, which was placed to investigate the potentially Iron Age pits identifed during the evaluation. One of these pits produced an assemblage of Iron Age pottery as well as 85 fragment of animal bone. The form of the undated pits suggested that most, if not all, were probably also Iron Age in date.
Area 1 was crossed by one of the ditches identified during the evaluation, although this feature remains unphased as no dating evidence was recovered.
See report (S2) for further details.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 25 August 2015.

An archive comprising material from both phases of work at this site has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2010.48).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2023.