NHER 65566 (Monument record) - Medieval to post-medieval ditches and undated possible pits

August 2020. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The 23 trenches excavated revealed only scattered linear and discrete features, the majority of which produced little or no dating evidence.
The small number of ditches recorded were all aligned roughly east-to-west or north-to-south. Finds were limited to a small number of medieval pottery sherds, although it should be noted that the largest assemblage (three sherds) was recovered from a more substantial north-to-south aligned feature in the south-east corner of the site that potentially related to a former field boundary depicted on the Hellesdon tithe map of 1839 (S1).
The majority of the discrete features investigated were of probable natural origin. These included a large sub-circular feature in the south-west corner of the site that proved to be more than 2m deep and was probably a solution hollow (although a sample from its fill was found to contain a small number of charred barley and possible rye grains). A nearby feature of similar size that contained three small sherds of prehistoric pottery was interpreted as a deliberately dug pit, although its depth suggests it was potentially another solution feature. The two other possible pits recorded also lay in the southernmost part of the site and were both undated. Samples taken from the fill of one of these pits and an adjacent ditch of possible medieval date both contained small amounts of charred grain.
The northernmost part of the site was entirely devoid of archaeological remains and there was evidence that this area may have been truncated by recent activity, with patches of disturbed natural observed and no subsoil layer present in several trenches.
Unstratified finds were limited to a single prehistoric flint flake recovered from a subsoil deposit.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2022.