NHER 9206 (Monument record) - Bunn's Bank

Linear earthwork used as park boundary from 12th century onwards, but older?
See description in file, including for condition.
Ancient Monuments schedule in file.
E. Rose (NAU) 9 November 1983.

May 2012. Norfolk NMP.
Bunn’s bank as described above is visible as an earthwork, cropmark and soilmark on aerial photographs (S1-S10). For the most part, it is visible as an earthwork, largely tree-covered, and the aerial photographs did little to augment the existing Ordnance survey mapping, except between TM 0730 9399 and TM 0742 9416, where a cropmark of two, or possibly three ditches with banks between, measuring approximately 12m in total width, was visible on aerial photographs (S4).
However, a possible extension of the bank to the west is visible as a soilmark (S1) stretching from TM 0579 9348 to TM 0545 9345 and is still faintly visible as a soilmark as recently as 1999 (S7).
To the northwest, it is possible to see another extension to the bank stretching from TM0781 9471 to TM 0809 9509, with another possible arm to the east, ending at TM 0840 9503 (S6-S8 and S10). However, both of these soilmarks may represent post medieval field boundaries, and have been recorded with a note of caution. Banks and a mound are reported to be visible in this area on aerial photographs from 1934 (NMR Record TM 09 SE 33), but it is impossible from the available aerial photographs to distinguish a mound feature in this area.
It should also be noted that a further section of Bank has been recorded by the NMP in New Buckenham (NHER 57351)
E. Bales (NMP), 31st May 2012.

December 2012. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks of two sections of bank and a ditch possibly related to Bunn's Bank are visible on aerial photographs on land to the east of Leys Lane, Attleborough. It is difficult to be certain whether these earthworks are in fact related to this monument, or whether they are simply the remains of medieval to post medieval field division. For this reason, the earthworks have been recorded separately as NHER 57492.
E. Ford (NMP), 11 December 2012.

August-September 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of part of proposed development area to west of Attleborough Road.
Two of the trenches excavated at this location coincided with the section of earthwork bank recorded between TM 0545 9345 and TM 0580 9348. No trace of the earthwork appeared to survive, with natural sandy clay lying immediately beneath the topsoil in both trenches. The only potentially related feature was a similarly-aligned but undated ditch that lay immediately to the north of its recorded position. This produced an iron horse shoe of medieval or post-medieval date. Trenches excavated in the gap between this main section of the earthwork and its possible extension to the west (NHER 57351) also revealed no evidence for surviving bank material.
See NHERs 65438 and 65439 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 1 March 2022.

February-March 2022. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development areas.
This survey identified a number of fragmentary east-to-west aligned linear anomalies at the southern edge of the field immediately west of the Buckenham Road that potentially relate to Bunn's Bank.
See report (S11) and NHER 65438 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 October 2024.

March-July 2023. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development area.
The trenches excavated at the southern end of the field immediately west of the Buckenham Road revealed no evidence for surviving remains associated with Bunn’s Bank.
See report (S12) and NHER 65438 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 October 2024.