NHER 57426 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Earthworks of possible Bronze Age round barrow

August 2012. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks of a possible Bronze Age round barrow and cropmarks of a surrounding ring ditch are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S4) on Overa Heath, Quidenham.
The site is centred on TL 9921 8798 and the central barrow measures approximately 15m in diameter. The ring ditch, which is only clearly visible as a cropmark on the latest photographs (S4), measures approximately 17m in internal diameter, and 21m externally. It is not possible to distinguish a berm between the ditch and mound, although there appears to have been a small (1.5m) gap between the two. A second round barrow is visible, approximately 70m to the south-east, and has been recorded separately (NHER 57427), although it seems likely that these two features are broadly contemporary, as they exhibit very similar features, and may make up part of a larger barrow cemetery.
A site of possible Bronze Age barrows, recorded nearly 400m to the west (NHER 54940), has been re-interpreted as possible roundhouses or hut circles rather than burial mounds, and there are many other undulations within the field which have been considered to be natural in origin, but it should be bourne in mind that any of these features could also date to the Bronze Age period, particularly those to the south, centred on TL 9921 8788 (S2).
E. Bales (NMP), 04 September 2012.