NHER 51992 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Vegetation mark of a small ring ditch, possible barrow of Bronze Age, Roman or Saxon date, or a post medieval stack stand

This site may relate to parchmarks previously recorded under NHER 9721.

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The possible vegetation mark of an incomplete ring ditch, possibly relating to the remains of a small round barrow dating to the Bronze Age, Roman or Saxon periods, may be visible on aerial photographs (S1). This feature may relate to one of the circular parchmarks within the pasture previously identified at this location, see NHER 9721 for details. These were interpreted as representing the remains of dovecotes, although the evidence for this limited. The surviving earthworks of possibly comparable monuments have been identified within the vicinity on aerial photographs (NHER 48963, 51993-4). It must be noted that the archaeological origin of this vegetational mark is uncertain and was only mapped due to the presence of nearby comparable features and the previously recorded circular parchmarks at this site. The site is centred on TG 2251 0065.
The aerial photographs possibly indicate the presence of an incomplete ring ditch 7m in diameter (S1). Although as stated above the archaeological nature of this feature is extremely uncertain. The ring ditch is located alongside a number of parchmarks and vegetation marks relating to the enclosure and drainage of the valley floor (NHER 51991) and it is possible that this ring ditch, if it is archaeological, represents the remains of a related structure, such as a drainage pump or stack stand.
An alternative interpretation may be that it relates to a Saxon barrow ditch. Barrows ranging in size from 3m to around 9m are known to have covered Early (or early Middle) Saxon inhumations and these are often surrounded by a penannular ring ditch (S3-S4). Ring ditches 8m in diameter were excavated surrounding graves at Spong Hill (NHER 1012). The earthworks of small circular mounds have been identified on aerial photographs (NHER 51993-4) and/or on the ground (NHER 48963) within close proximity to this site and these have tentatively been interpreted as the remains of Saxon barrows, see records for details. Finds of an early Saxon date have been found within the general vicinity of the site and the assemblages recovered in the area could suggest at least one Middle to Late Saxon settlement nearby (NHER 9721, 9724).
S. Horlock (NMP), 11 March 2009.