NHER 12872 (Monument record) - Late Bronze Age hoard, Caister on Sea Roman vicus and enclosure and multi-period finds

Site officially in Caister on Sea parish as from 1986.

1976-1977. Metal detecting.
Found on site of bypass:
Medieval copper alloy seal matrix.
Identified by A. Rogerson (NLA). See description in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

June 1977. Excavation. Caister Bypass.
A trench was excavated west of the track now cut by the bypass in order to locate the Roman road thought to run west from the town (NHER 8675). No evidence of the Roman road was found, but several post medieval clay pits were recorded. It is presumed that the whole area had been disturbed by the clay pits.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 19 May 2008.

September 1977. Metal detecting. Caister Bypass.
A Late Bronze Age hoard consisting of a socketed axe, a baluster bead, a hollow ring, a decorative comb-shaped plate, and two pieces of lead was recoverd by [1]. The hoard has been dated to the 8th or 7th century BC and has Carp's Tongue affinities. Only one other cast bead is known from this period and there are no known parallels for the lead piece.
See (S1-S4) for further details.
See (S15) in the Illustration Library.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 19 May 2008.

1977 to 1978. Metal detecting and fieldwalking in advance of bypass work.
Detecting by the Norfolk and Suffolk Metal-Detecting Society along the line of the Caister Bypass both before and during construction recorded finds ranging from the Bronze Age to the post medieval period. Finds included the Late Bronze Age hoard described above and a concentration of 23 Roman coins dated from the late 2nd to the late 4th century AD as well as one Saxon, three medieval and seven post medieval coins, large numbers of post medieval copper coins and tokens, and other post medieval domestic and agricultural items. A Late Saxon brooch (NWHCM: 1984.26.2) was also recovered, see (S32) and (S33). Finds dated to the medieval period include two seal-dies (S5), and a seal matrix of a French knight.
Information from (S1) and (S2).
See (S14), (S16) and (S17) in the Illustration Library.
Finds also include a Late Saxon brooch.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 19 May 2008. Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 17 January 2020.

9th-century strap-end found 1977-8 (NCM Acc. No. 454.978) is illustrated in Thomas, G. ‘Strap-ends and the Identification of Regional Patterns in the Production and Circulation of Ornamental Metalwork in Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking-Age Britain’ in Redknap, M., Edwards, N., Youngs, S., Lane, A. and Knight, J. Pattern and Purpose in Insular Art 2001, 39-48, fig. 4.3b

1977.
Aerial photograph record of ring ditch and linear features.
Full details and plans in file.
THESE FEATURES ARE NOW RECORDED UNDER NHER 27513, NHER 27397 AND NHER 27395

Autumn 1980. Metal-detecting.
Five Roman coins and four sherds of Roman pottery were recovered along with one sherd of Ipswich ware, a Late Saxon Thetford-type rim sherd, a Late Saxon brooch, medieval pottery and coins, two 14th century circular seals (S5), a 13th century circular stock seal, a medieval book clasp, and post medieval coins, tokens, jettons, and pottery.
See list in file.
See (S18, S19, S20, S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, S26, S27, S28 and S29) in the Illustration Library.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

December 1980. Metal detecting.
Finds included a Neolithic or Bronze Age retouched flake, Roman coins and brooch, S30, Medieval coins and pottery, and post medieval buckles.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

1980. Found with metal detecting.
Medieval metalwork.
Middle Saxon and Roman pottery.

Early to mid 1980's. Casual find.
An almost complete 3rd to 4th century Nene Valley colourcoated ware dish was recovered during construction of [8].
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

1980's. Metal detecting.
A flint waste flake, a flint borer, Roman coins, a Saxon openwork mount (S31), medieval pottery and coins, a medieval lead mortuary cross, a medieval gold finger ring, and other medieval metal items were recovered.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

November 1983. Watching Brief.
Excavation of roadside trenches was observed by M. Darling. No archaeological finds or features were observed.
See description in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 19 May 2008.

September 1984. Metal detecting at [2].
A copper alloy Hod Hill brooch was recovered.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

March 1986. Metal detecting at [3].
A Roman coin was recovered.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

July 1986. Excavation on Roman site, 'Tessera Park'.
Excavation of five trial trenches recorded several features within the concentration of surface finds spreading west from the fort (NHER 8675), including clay-lined pits, post holes, ditches, and gullies. Finds included several flint flakes, a retouched flake, a scraper, a few sherds of Prehistoric pottery (likely pre-Iron Age), one probably Iron Age pottery sherd, large quantities of tile (primarily tegulae and imbrices), and pottery from the late 2nd to early to mid 4th century. A pair of hob-nailed shoes (S7), two 4th century coins, and an inscribed copper alloy plaque were also recovered. The plaque was recovered from a large depression containing 3rd to 4th century pottery (S6).
It was hoped that the east-west road leading to the west gate would be located in one of the trenches. Two shallow ditches were located in this trench, but they did not appear to be related to a road and no traces of metalling were observed. The ditches likely relate to cropmarks (see NHER 27513 and NHER 27397) to the west of the trench. The road may actually be represented by linear cropmarks running west south-west of the fort with a branch to the north-west.
See (S2), (S6) and (S7) for further details.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

October to November 1987. Metal detecting at [4].
Three medieval coins were recovered. These were found quite close together and may represent part of a hoard or a dropped purse.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

Winter 1987-88. Metal detecting at [5].
A Roman miniature votive axe and a square of Roman bricks were found during building work. There were likely three bricks on each side, laid flat on natural sand. Two of the bricks have a double-horseshoe signature.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

June to August 1988. Finds made during bypass construction.
Two struck flints (flake and core trimming).
One sherd glazed red earthenware.
Two post medieval sherds.

1989. Observation [6] and metal detecting [7].
Several trenches were excavated by a builder. No archaeological finds or features were observed. However, metal detecting recovered one jetton.
See list in file.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008.

October 1992. Metal detecting. Context 563.
A 4th century Roman coin was recovered.
See file for details.
W. Milligan (NCM), 28 October 1992.

1993. Metal detecting finds.
Bronze large headed nail ?medieval.
Half a 16th century copper alloy buckle.
Identified S. Margeson (NCM), 4 November 1993.
W. Milligan (NCM), 8 November 1993.

January-April 1997. Systematic Fieldwalking and Metal-detecting Survey.
Field survey on proposed route of Bacton to Great Yarmouth pipeline (Field/Location RDX 36.1; Context 100).
Eight worked flint fragments including a core, a scraper, flakes and retouched flakes were recovered along with medieval and post medieval pottery and ceramic building material.
See report (S8) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.55 and NWHCM : 2017.395).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 20 May 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2019.

July 1998. Noted on aerial photographs (S9) X-Y by Gary Trimble (NAU).
Cropmark of enclosure with radiussed corners and the right shape and size for a Roman marching camp.
Followed by field boundaries on Ordnance Survey.
Derek Edwards (NLA) is highly sceptical.
D. Gurney (NLA) 3 July 1998.
THESE CROPMARKS ARE NOW RECORDED AS NHER 27513 AND NHER 27397.

November 1998. Systematic Fieldwalking Survey.
Additional field survey on proposed route of Bacton to Great Yarmouth pipeline (Field/Location RDX 36.1; Site 12).
The route of the pipeline was re-aligned through this field and the new area was walked.
Worked flint was recovered from all but two of the collection units. The assemblage consists of 54 flakes, a blade, a hammerstone, and two hammer flakes and largely dates to the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, although the blade may be earlier. Only 8 burnt flint fragments were recovered, and no collection units produced more than one fragment. Other finds include one sherd Roman pottery, one sherd Ipswich-type ware, 17 sherds medieval pottery (8 glazed), 28 sherds post medieval pottery, and medieval to post medieval ceramic building material.
See report (S10) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.55 and NWHCM : 2017.395).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 3 June 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2019.

March-May 1999. Excavation.
Excavation on route of Bacton to Great Yarmouth pipeline (Site 12).
A well-defined post-hole was excavated containing nine sherds one from a sessel of Middle Bronze Age date and two pieces of daub. A ditch running north-south lengthways across the site contained pottery of indeterminate prehistoric date although it may be residual. A flint flake was recovered from a ditch and the slightly stepped profile could indicate that it was recut. An undated elongated oval feature was either a pit or natural feature. A north-south ditch was cut by one aligned east-west and was dated to the medieval period by finds. In the northern area of the site subsoil has washed into a large depression and contained struck flints including retouched pieces and pottery of Middle Saxon to Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval date.
See publication draft (S13) and assessment report (S11) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.55 and NWHCM : 2017.395).
S. Howard (NLA), 4 February 2010. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2019.

August 2005. Norfolk NMP.
Cropmarks previously recorded under this NHER number are now included in the larger cropmark complex NHER 27513, NHER 27397 and a ring ditch is recorded as NHER 27395.
J. Albone (NMP), 12 August 2005