NHER 61516 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Earthworks of multi-phase boundary banks, ditches and trackways

February 2017. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
A group of multi-phase earthwork boundary banks, ditches and trackways are visible on the historic aerial photographs (S1-S4) and on the 0.5m resolution Lidar data (S5). Many of these boundary banks may relate to the medieval to post-medieval use of the heath and early areas of plantation, however it is speculated that some of the banks relate to earlier fields and enclosures of Roman and/or later prehistoric date.
Many of these banks can be seen to underlie those on the Ordnance Survey First Edition map (S6) and the 19th-century Tithe map (S7) indicating a relatively early date. Whilst a medieval to post-medieval date is still a possibility, an earlier and potentially prehistoric date must be considered a possibility for some components of the site. The relationship to the low earthworks of a sinuous trackway visible on the lidar (S4) with the barrow cemetery (NHER 61515), in particular barrow NHER 33605, might be considered unusual if it post-dated the construction of the Fossditch (NHER 1089) in the Saxon period, again suggesting a possible prehistoric or Roman date. Another straighter boundary bank also runs alongside this barrow, although this may represent a more historic feature. However it must be noted that other banks parallel to this linear do underlie historic and post-medieval boundaries depicted on maps. The faint and fragmentary earthworks, particularly within the northern part of the site, may relate to multiple phases of cultivation ridges or form part of an early co-axial field system. The shared alignment with the cropmark and earthworks fields/enclosures to the southeast (NHER 61573) must be noted. Additional earthworks may be visible on the aerial photographs and the lidar (S1-S5) within the northern part of the site and may require further assessment and mapping, but currently fall outside of the project area.
It must be noted that some of the banks and ditches located in and around Bunker’s Hill may relate to the workings of the large post-medieval extraction site (NHER 42575). See also NHER 5002 for the route of road running through this area.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 14 February 2017.