NHER 55301 (Monument record) - Extensive Roman remains and Early Saxon and post-medieval features

June 2010. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site (Trenches 1-12).
The trenches excavated at this location revealed only three pits and a ditch, all of which were of uncertain date. It is suggested that the pits were potentially prehistoric, although no dating evidence was recovered. One contained a small number of burnt flints and another had a dark fill, a sample of which was found to contain only charcoal/charred wood.
The ditch was a north-west to south-east aligned feature located close to the northern edge of the site. This also produced no finds.
Unstratified finds were limited to a single prehistoric worked flint, a small number of potentially Iron Age pottery sherds and two medieval pottery sherds.
See report (S1) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.152).
S. Howard (HES), 25 February 2011. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2019 and 26 August 2024.

August-September 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site (Trenches 41-85).
The 50 trenches excavated at this location revealed evidence for significant Roman-period activity in the western portion of the site, with various ditches and a number of discrete features likely to have been associated with this phase of activity. No pre-Roman features were identified, with a small assemblage of undiagnostic prehistoric flint flakes the only evidence for earlier activity on the site.
The excavated features produced more than 400 Roman pottery sherds, suggesting some form of settlement focus had likely lain nearby. Pieces of Roman brick and tile was also recovered (including two possible box flue tile fragments), indicating at least one substantial building had lain somewhere in the vicinity, although this material was widely dispersed across the site with no obvious concentrations. Other finds from features of probable Roman date included an incomplete a glass bead, numerous pieces of fired clay (including a possible corner from a kiln bar or loomweight), fragments of lava quern, an unidentified copper alloy object, iron hob nails, iron nails and a moderately large amount of animal bone. The animal bone assemblage is dominated by elements of cattle and horse and it is noted that many of the bones are heavily gnawed, suggesting they lay exposed and available to dogs prior to burial. Samples taken from the Roman features produced small amounts of charred cereal grain, with hulled barley, spelt wheat, bread/club wheat, wheat and oats all represented. Chaff was also present in several samples and hammerscale from ironworking was also recovered.
The composition of the Roman pottery assemblage suggest the site saw at least some activity through much of the period. Although several sherds are from grog-tempered vessels typical of pottery manufactured between the Late Iron Age and Early Roman period, the absence of handmade pottery means there is no reason to think that activity had commenced prior to the Roman Conquest of AD 43.
The ditches of probable Roman date display a range of alignments and it isn’t possible to determine a clear pattern to these features. It is though notable that the majority of the better-dated features are aligned north-north-west to south-south-east, suggesting this was potentially the dominant alignment of the field or enclosure system represented (at least in the latter part of the period). Although a small number of pits were identified only one produced Roman finds. A significant quantity of Roman material was also recovered from a large feature interpreted as an infilled pond in the north-western part of the site.
The small number of features of likely post-Roman date included a small pit in the centre of the eastern field that contained sherds from a handmade bowl of Early Saxon date. There was little evidence for subsequent activity on the site, although it is probable that at least some of the ditches were associated with former post-medieval field boundaries. These included a pair of east-to-west aligned ditches, one of which contained post-medieval pottery and post-medieval or later ceramic building material. Similar brick and tile fragments were also recovered from one of the narrower north-north-west to south-south-east aligned ditches, suggest this was potentially also of relatively recent date. Other post-medieval to modern finds were though likely to be residual within Roman features.
Unstratified finds included a small amount of Roman pottery and a number of post-medieval to modern brick and tile fragments.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2019.66).
P. Watkins (HES), 26 August 2024.