NHER 63090 (Monument record) - Potentially prehistoric, post-medieval and undated features

January 2017. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed development site.
This review of relevant archaeological, cartographic and documentary sources identified only limited new information regarding the site's likely archaeological potential.
During a site visit undertaken as part of this work it was however noted that the site was currently being utilised as construction storage for surrounding developments. As a result the ground was wet and muddy with occasional track marks from machinery.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 18 November 2018.

July 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
This work confirmed that much of the site had been disturbed by modern machinery, in some places severely. Surviving sub-surface features were however identified in a number of locations, although these were mostly of limited archaeological significance.
A group of features exposed beneath a deep sequence of undisturbed subsoil deposits in the central part of the site was regarded as potentially prehistoric. These remains included a large pit that produced burnt flints and a small number of prehistoric flint flakes and an adjacent and potentially associated gully that also produced fragments of burnt flint.
The majority of the other features investigated were probably of much more recent date. These included a north-east to south-west aligned ditch that corresponded with a previously identified cropmark feature (NHER 50998). Post-medieval finds were recovered from what appeared to be a recut of this ditch, suggesting it was most likely associated with a boundary of medieval to post-medieval date. Post-medieval material was also recovered from a perpendicular and presumably broadly contemporary ditch and a nearby large pit interpreted as a quarry.
A number of smaller possible pits and post-holes were also investigated but found to contain no dating evidence. The relationship of these features to the subsoil deposits did however suggest that there were unlikely to be of great antiquity.
Unstratified finds recovered included an abraded fragment of possible Roman tile; a single sherd of medieval/post-medieval pottery; various post-medieval or early modern objects and a fragment of undatable iron smelting slag.
See report (S2) for further details.
The archive from this work is to be submitted to the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2018.154)
P. Watkins (HES), 18 November 2018. Amended 17 May 2019.