NHER 64822 (Monument) - Roman and undated ditches and possible metalled surface

March 2018. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey on route of proposed A47 Blofield to North Burlingham upgrade works (Area BLO6).
Two adjacent, perpendicular north-east to south-west and north-west to south-east aligned linear anomalies in the central part of the site potentially represent archaeologically-significant remains. The orientations of these anomalies suggests that they could be related to cropmarks recorded to the north-east and south-east of the site (NHERs 49456 and NHER 49613 respectively). A pair of adjacent, parallel north-to-south aligned linear anomalies were also identified as being potentially of archaeological interest.
Small, scattered ferrous anomalies are likely to represent modern ferrous debris within the topsoil.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2021.

May-July 2020. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of route of proposed A47 Blofield to North Burlingham upgrade works (Trenches 52-56)
The five trenches excavated at this location revealed a number of ditches and a possible metalled surface. The majority of the ditches were undated, the one notable exception being a north-to-south aligned feature that contained a small assemblage of late Roman pottery, two fragments of imbrex and several burnt flints. A sample from the fill of this ditch produced a small number of charred cereal grains, along with fragments of fired clay and a piece of animal bone. This ditch corresponded with one of previously identified geophysical anomalies. A similar quantity of late Roman pottery was also recovered from a subsoil deposit within an adjacent trench, which also contained a Late Iron Age/early Roman terret and a Roman strap end of possible mid- to late-2nd century date. It was in this trench that the possible metalled surface was noted. This was aligned north-west to south-east and consisted of small and medium stones pushed into the underlying clay. Four sherds of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery were recovered from a charcoal-flecked deposit overlying this surface.
The remaining features were all undated, including two east-to-west aligned ditches to either side of the metalled surface and a north-east to south-west aligned ditch that corresponded with another of the geophysical anomalies.
See report (S1) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2020.103).
P. Watkins (HES), 26 June 2023. Amended 27 July 2023.