NHER 67066 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of possible Iron Age to Roman trackways, field boundaries and possible enclosures

September 1977. Air Photo Interpretation.
Norfolk Air Photo Library oblique photography taken in 1976 (S5).
Complex of cropmarks including two parallel features like elongated squares running for nearly a mile across field boundaries and roads.
See NHER 66766 for details of causewayed ring ditch and NHER 67062 for details of rectangular enclosure.
These features were previously recorded under NHER 12772 (now revoked), at field centred approximately TG 2048 2909.
Information from HER Record Card (S1).
E. Rose (NLA), 11 September 1977. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 26 February 2024.

September 1987. Air Photo Interpretation.
Northwest end of cropmark complex extended from Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography air photographs taken in 1976 (S3).
These features were previously recorded under NHER 12772 (now revoked), at field centred approximately TG 2048 2909.
Information from HER Record Card (S1).
E. Rose (NAU), 7 September 1987. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 26 February 2024.

September 1996. Air Photo Interpretation.
Norfolk Air Photo Library oblique photography taken in 1990 (S8).
Shows an apparent trackway following line of Aylsham to Ingworth parish boundary.
These features were previously recorded under NHER 12772 (now revoked), at field centred approximately TG 2048 2909.
Information from HER Data Transfer Form (S2)
E. Rose (NLA), 6 September 1996. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 26 February 2024.

August 2001. Air Photo Interpretation.
Norfolk Air Photo Library oblique photography taken in 1996 (S9).
Cropmarks of trackways and field system still showing (NHER 67066). Also enclosure (NHER 67062) cut by route of road.
These features were previously recorded under NHER 12772 (now revoked), at field centred approximately TG 2048 2909.
Information from HER Data Transfer Form (S2)
S. Massey (NLA), 24 September 2001. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 26 February 2024.

August 2001. Air Photo Interpretation.
Norfolk Air Photo Library oblique photography taken in 1996 (S10, S13).
Cropmarks visible at TG 2010 2920 are probably part of this site, although outside the NHER map boundary at the time of recording.
These features were previously recorded under NHER 12772 (now revoked), at field centred approximately TG 2048 2909.
Information from HER Data Transfer Form (S2)
M. Brennand (NLA), 22 August 2001. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 26 February 2024.

June 2017. Aerial Imagery Interpretation.
Assessment of aerial imagery along proposed route of onshore cable for Norfolk Vanguard and Boreas Offshore Wind Farms.
Various linear cropmarks recorded (Site 46 - 'Multi period complex cropmarks').
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 September 2024.

October 2017-March 2018. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of sites on proposed route of onshore cable for Norfolk Vanguard and Boreas Offshore Wind Farms.
Although many of the cropmarks in this group fell within the areas example only a small number were associated with evidence for surviving sub-surface remains. These included one of the adjacent east-north-east to west-south-west aligned cropmarks at TG 2055 2891, one of the cropmarks associated with the roughly north-to-south aligned probable trackway at TG 2084 2898 and several of the north-west to south-east and north-north-west to south-south-east aligned cropmarks mapped in the vicinity of TG 2080 2866. Subsequent trial trenching (see below) did though suggest that this survey wasn't particularly reliable, with many ditches recorded that it had failed to identify.
Information from draft report. See NHERs 65879, 65885-65887 and 65889 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 September 2024.

October 2020-June 2021. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of sites on proposed route of onshore cable for Norfolk Vanguard and Boreas Offshore Wind Farms.
A number of the trenches excavated were placed to coincide with the mapped locations of cropmarks in this group, the majority of which were actually found to be associated with surviving sub-surface remains. These included north-north-west to south-south-east aligned cropmarks at TG 2050 2895, TG 2057 2900 and TG 2066 2897, a north-east to south-west aligned cropmark at TG 2062 2897, a roughly north-to-south aligned probable trackway at TG 2085 2899, a north-west to south-east aligned cropmark at TG 2081 2891 and one of a pair of adjacent north-north-west to south-south-east aligned cropmarks at TG 2091 2906. Unfortunately none of the corresponding ditches produced any dating evidence. The one find recovered from features related to this group was an iron horseshoe of medieval or later date, which came from a ditch associated with a north-west to south-east aligned cropmark at TG 2061 2903. This feature was though almost certainly of a different age to the other cropmarks mapped at this location, none of which shared its orientation.
Information from draft report. See NHERs 65879, 65885 and 65887 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 September 2024.

March 2023. Aylsham and Brampton Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project.
The cropmarks of an extensive area of field boundaries, trackways and possible enclosures, of an unknown, but possible Iron Age to Roman date, are seen on aerial photographs (S4-S7, S9-S12, S14-S19). The alignment of the features do not correspond with the field boundaries and roads recorded on the Ordnance Survey 1st edition 6" map (S20) which may suggest an earlier than medieval to post medeival date. It is possible that the features may date to the Iron Age to Roman period. However, it is also possible that some of the features, which have been interpreted as being potentially Iron age to Roman in date, could date to the medieval to post medieval period. The features most likely form part of field system. It is also possible that the features may have related to more than one phase of activity. The cropmarks of rectilinear enclosures (NHER 67062, 67056 and 67057) of an unknown but possible Iron Age to Roman date have also been recorded in amongst the series of field boundaries and trackways.
J. Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 31 March 2023.