Record Details

NHER Number:21128
Type of record:Monument
Name:Cropmarks of possible Iron Age or Roman settlement

Summary

A sub-rectangular enclosure of unknown date and function is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. It is surrounded by the fragmentary cropmarks of ditches, perhaps field boundaries, with which it is probably associated. Although no dating evidence has been recovered form the site, comparison with 'simple' enclosures mapped from aerial photographs in Lincolnshire would suggest that it might represent an Iron Age or Roman period settlement site. Roman period material has been found approximately 1.125km to the south-west (NHER 23337) and other cropmark sites in the surrounding area (e.g. NHER 11867, 31746 and 15911) have been interpreted as Iron Age to Roman period settlements or farmsteads and field systems.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 2943 3528
Map Sheet:TG23NE
Parish:TRUNCH, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

30 July 1977. NAU aerial photographss.
Positive cropmarks 100ft AMSL.
Subrectangular enclosure with entrance to east of centre in south side.
D. A. Edwards (NAU), 29 January 1985

December 2004. Norfolk NMP.
NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference of the site from TG 295 353 to TG 2949 3534.

The sub-rectangular or rectilinear enclosure described above is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1), centred at TG 2949 3534. In the surrounding area the fragmentary cropmarks of associated ditches are also visible (S1-2), as well as post-medieval field boundaries (NHER 39046). The morphology of the enclosure, which is comparable to examples mapped in Lincolnshire (S3), suggests that it is likely to be of Iron Age and/or Roman date. The nearby ditches may represent contemporary fields or other enclosures.

The south-west corner of the enclosure is not visible due to masking, but it can be seen be sub-rectangular or rectilinear in plan, with rounded corners. It measures approximately 61m long and up to 52m wide, and is defined by a fairly substantial ditch measuring 2-3m across. A narrow, linear cropmark within this, on the south side of the enclosure, may represent an internal palisade. This 'blocks' a possible entrance on the enclosure's south side. The conjoined ditch to the east may represent some form of annexe. Too little of the ditches in the surrounding area is visible for any overall pattern to be discerned.
(S1-3)
S. Tremlett (NMP), 7 December 2004.

Monument Types

  • FARMSTEAD (Unknown date)
  • FIELD BOUNDARY (Unknown date)
  • RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
  • SETTLEMENT (Unknown date)
  • FARMSTEAD (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
  • FIELD BOUNDARY (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
  • RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
  • SETTLEMENT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • SHINE

Sources and further reading

---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
<S1>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1977. NHER TG 2935A-D (NLA 52/AKJ18 & 21-3) 30-JUL-1977.
<S2>Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1968. OS/68083 039-40 25-APR-1968 (NMR).
<S3>Monograph: Winton, H.. 1998. The cropmark evidence for prehistoric and Roman settlement in West Lincolnshire.. Lincolnshire's Archaeology from the Air. Bewley, R.H. (ed.). pp 47-68. Fig 2.

Related records - none

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