NHER 52220 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of a possible road or trackway of unknown date to the northwest of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum

These cropmarks were previously recorded under NHER 9759.

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a possible road or trackway of unknown date are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S3) to the northwest of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum (NHER 9786). The site is centred on TG 2264 0360 and consists of a 4m wide parchmark, suggesting the former presence of a roadway or bank, flanked to either side by ditches. The linear heads towards the northwestern corner of the field, but shows no definite relationship with the modern or post medieval field layout. Although it is hard to be certain this possible road or trackway appears to overlie the extramural settlement to the west of the town (NHER 52194), potentially suggesting that it is post-Roman in date. It does follow a similar alignment to a series of boundaries recorded to the south (NHER 52189), assumed to be of medieval to post medieval date. It could also perhaps relate to an access road or path between the railway and river to the east used during the construction of the railway line. Despite its apparent post-dating of the Roman settlement, it is worth noting that it could form a continuation of a Roman road suggested running along a broadly similar course from northwest, following the line of the Low Road through Keswick (NHER 9762). However no convincing sign of it could be detected in the field linking the two possible road segments.
A note of caution over this feature must be recorded as some aerial photographs for this site, for example (S3) indicate the presence of parallel linear cropmarks showing lighter and darker bands of subsoil over the area of the possible road or trackway. Although these natural cropmarks do not follow exactly the same alignment as the roadway, potentially indicating that this feature is derived from underlying archaeology rather than geology or soils, it did make confident identification and interpretation of the feature problematic.
S. Horlock (NMP), 23 March 2009.