NHER 61657 (Monument record) - Iron Age, Early/Middle Saxon and undated remains

April 2014. Geophysical Survey.
Geophysical survey of part of large proposed development area (Field 9).
A reasonably distinct 'L'-shaped linear anomaly at the southern edge of the site potentially represents the remains of an enclosure.
Although numberous discrete anomalies were recorded only a small number were identified as potentially archaeologically significant. The remainder are thought to probably represent naturally silted hollows or variations in topsoil depth.
Several parallel linear anomalies are likely to relate to current or recent cultivation.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 June 2021.

November 2014. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
A total of 10 trenches were excavated at this location (Trenches 9-18), of which six revealed potentially archaeologically-significant remains. Although a range of pits, ditches and gullies were excavated little in the way of dating evidence was recovered. The pits were all shallow, fairly unremarkable features that produced no finds. Several of these pits did however have charcoal-rich fills and two also had partially scorched edges indicative of in situ burning. Samples taken from the fills of these features produced plant macrofossil assemblage composed almost entirely of charcoal and other remains associated with the combustion of organic material.
The linear features were similarly poorly dated and all fairly sterile, producing only a single sherd of handmade Early/Middle Saxon pottery. Only one of the ditches appeared to correspond with an anomaly detected during an earlier geophysical survey.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 August 2016.

January-February 2022. Trial Trenching.
Further evaluation of proposed development site. The 40 trenches excavated at this location (Trenches 1-40) revealed a number of ditches and pits, the majority of which produced little in the way of dating evidence. There was though evidence that at least some of these remains were associated with Saxon activity, with small amounts of handmade pottery of probable Early/Middle Saxon date recovered from two pits and two ditches in the southern half of the site. One of the latter potentially corresponded with the linear anomaly identified by the geophysical survey. It is noted that one of pottery sherds has what appears to be calcareous fabric and could actually represent a fragment of a mould or other fired clay object.
The other features included several pits with black charcoal-rich lower fills and heat-scorched margins that were clearly very similar to features recorded during the 2014 work. Samples taken from the fills of these features contained abundant charcoal (identified as being predominantly from oak heartwood) but little else in the way of charred plant macrofossils or other debris. This evidence, plus the absence of finds, strongly suggests that most, if not, all of these pits were associated with small-scale charcoal production. Similar features have now been recorded at numerous sites in the Norwich environs, with radiocarbon dating suggesting that the majority were associated with Middle to Late Saxon and medieval industries. Interestingly, this does not appear to have been the case with all of those recorded here, with charcoal from one of the pits produced a Middle to Late Iron Age date of 338 cal BC to 1 cal AD at 95.4% probability (SUERC-102720; 2098 ± 33 BP). Another very similar pit did though produce an Early/Middle Saxon date of 553-647 cal AD at 95.4% probability (SUERC-102721; 1472 ± 33 BP) - indicating a least some of these features were contemporary with the pottery recovered.
Many of the remaining discrete features and the majority of the linear features recorded were somewhat irregular with sterile fills and it is suggested that many were potentially of natural origin. At least some of this disturbance was possibly relatively recent as finds from these features included single fragments of late post-medieval/modern pottery and ceramic building material.
Although a number of the trenches coincided with linear cropmarks mapped at this location (all part of the group of undated remains recorded as NHER 53663), none could be convincingly associated with the excavated features.
A pantile of late post-medieval or modern date was the only unstratified find recovered.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 May 2024.