NHER 42102 (Monument record) - Possible World War Two minefield

October 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A group of what appear to be parallel banks is visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs (S1) and (S2), centred at TG 4597 2477. They appear to have been relatively fresh earthworks in 1940 (S1) and their layout is similar to that of the World War Two minefields to their southeast (e.g. NHER 42103), suggesting that they too were part of a similar World War Two defence. While the extent of the visible banks seems too small for a typical minefield, they might be the only visible part of a larger mined area. At the same time, the possibility that the banks represent a different type of World War Two military activity or defence, or that they relate to civilian activity in the pre-war period cannot be ruled out, although what function they might have served is difficult to imagine. They are not visible on more recent aerial photographs suggesting that they have been levelled deliberately or by natural means.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 26 October 2005.