NHER 67123 (Monument record) - ?Prehistoric, modern and undated remains

August-September 2011. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site at former Pontins Holiday Camp.
A total of nine trenches were excavated, seven in the southern half of the site (Trenches 1-6 and 9) and two at the far northern end (Trenches 7 and 8).
There was evidence for considerable recent disturbance at the northern end of the site, with one of the trenches in this area having to be abandoned due to the presence of concrete obstructions and the adjacent trench failing to reach the base of a deposit containing concrete, metal and modern rubbish. The excavation of a trench in the south-west corner of the site also had to be abandoned due to the presence of large quantities of rubble. A trench at the southern end of the site also revealed evidence for modern disturbance, with a layer containing building rubble and other debris lying directly above the natural sand.
The five trenches excavated closer to the central part of the site did though demonstrate that this area was comparatively undisturbed, with intact subsoil layers present above the natural deposits (although there was evidence to suggest a degree of truncation had been caused by recent landscaping). These trenches revealed a range of surviving archaeological features, including a number of pits and possible post-holes and a single ditch. However, although the finds recovered during this work hint at activity during multiple periods, many of these objects were unstratified and the majority of the excavated features produced little or no dating evidence. Evidence for prehistoric activity included a small assemblage of worked flints of probable Early Neolithic date, comprising two side scrapers, a blade and debitage flakes. A number of these pieces came from otherwise undated features, including several of the pits and possible post-holes. The feature most likely to been prehistoric was though a small pit or post-hole that contained 10 sherds of hand-made pottery of Early Iron Age (or possibly earlier) date. Although several sherds of Roman pottery were recovered, only one was stratified and this came from a group of four relatively small post-holes, another of which contained early medieval pottery. The site also produced several sherds of handmade Saxon pottery, although these were all unstratified.
The ditch was an east-to-west aligned feature of uncertain date, as the only finds recovered from its fills were limited to several flint flakes and a fragment of undiagnostic (but potentially Roman) ceramic building material. This feature appears to have coincided with the line of a possible bank visible on contemporary aerial photographs of the military camp present at this location during World War Two (NHER 27370). This may though be coincidental, as there was no evidence for this bank (or any other associated feature) in another trench that coincided with its line. The only definite evidence for activity at this time was a pit contained fragments of barbed wire.
Other undated features of note included a sub-rectangular pit with numerous flints imbedded in its sides. This is interpreted as potentially some kind of fire pit as it had notably charcoal-rich fills that also contained abundant fractured and crushed flint. Samples taken from its fills were found to contain abundant charcoal fragments but little else in the way of charred plant macrofossils. This feature was potentially contemporary with an adjacent possible clay floor surface that lay within an shallow, steep-sided cut.
See report (S1) for further details.
It appears an archive associated with this work has probably been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.140) [1].
P. Watkins (HES), 19 June 2023.

July 2020. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of potential impact of proposed development at former Pontins Holiday Camp.
A site visit undertaken as part of this study documented ongoing demolition activities in the northernmost part of the proposed development area, which is likely to have resulted in further ground disturbance. A mound noted at TG 4969 1703 potentially contains the remains of a World War Two pillbox visible at this location on aerial photographs taken during the 1940s (NHER 67124).
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 June 2023.

October 2022. Trial Trenching.
This second phase of evaluation work saw the excavation of four additional trenches in the north-east part of the site.
No archaeologically-significant features or deposits were recorded.
There was again evidence for recent disturbance, with a surviving subsoil only noted in one trench. Elsewhere modern deposits lay directly above the natural geological deposits, indicating at least a degree of truncation.
See report (S3) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2023.3).
P. Watkins (HES), 20 June 2023. Amended 28 July 2023.