NHER 62518 (Negative evidence record) - Site with no evidence for archaeologically significant remains

March 2017. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The eight trenches excavated revealed virtually no archaeologically significant features or deposits. There was some evidence for past truncation, with a subsoil deposit only identified at the eastern end of the site and plough scars noted in at least one of the trenches.
All of the trenches also revealed evidence for significant modern landscaping of the site, much of which probably took place during the construction of North Pickenham Airfield during the 1940s (NHER 2697). There was also evidence for a subsequent phase of disturbance that had probably occurred after the airfield was decommissioned. A buried broken concrete slab that lay within a shallow scrape and a segment of brick wall masonry found within redeposited natural deposits were both probably associated with this second landscaping episode. An irregular linear feature and an adjacent small pit were the only other features exposed - both were considered to be of probable modern date.
Only a small number of modern finds were recovered during this work, including fragments of wire mesh safety glass, a fragment of mortar, an American-made World War Two brass bullet cartridge and several unidentifiable metal fragments.
See report (S1) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.302).
P. Watkins (HES), 31 January 2018. Amended 27 May 2019.