Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

1938. Field Observation.
A tumulus was identified at the west end of the common. It consists of a bowl without a ditch or bank on the west end of the common and near a track leading from the road past the old gravel pit. The tumulus is located about 274m (300 yards) from road and measures 16.5m (18 yards) in diameter by 76cm to 90cm (2 1/2 to 3 feet) high.
A. Q. Watson, 1938.

30 September to 1 October 1958. Field Observation.
C. Green examined the remains of the barrow, which was partly destroyed by gravel digging for the Ministry of Works on 30 August. Green could find no evidence that it had been a barrow. No ditch or burial pit was observed.
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

The entire site was quarried away before 7 January 1976.
A. J. Lawson (NAU).

The tumulus had been scheduled, (S1) number 266b, but is now destroyed and descheduled.
See details in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 4 March 1986.

October 2007. Norfolk NMP.
The site of an earthwork Bronze Age round barrow was located in the northeastern corner of Sparham Common (S2). The site is centred on TG 0754 1794, although the extent of this site includes the pre-NMP site location and the possible barrow location identified on the aerial photographs, at TG 0755 1794. The new central grid reference for this site takes in both locations. At least one other barrow has been identified on the ground on the common (NHER 3021). According to the Scheduling descriptions (see secondary file) NHER 3022 was 266a and 3021 was 266b. Other possible examples were tentatively identified on the aerial photographs (NHER 50645), although none of these additional examples were identified within any certainty, see record for details. The site is located on the valley floor to the north of the River Wensum.

The definite identification this barrow on the aerial photographs is not possible, although two possible low mounds were tentatively identified, one at TG 0755 1794 approximately 10m in diameter and another at TG 0753 1795, approximately 11m in diameter (S2). Both of these features would fit the description given for the site in 1938 of ‘near to the track leading from old gravel pit’. However both of these suggested mounds are significantly smaller than the mound previously recorded on the ground and this may be a natural hummock of vegetation that is visible on the aerial photographs. Neither of these mounds was added to the NMP mapping layer due to the uncertainty over their archaeological origin.
S. Massey (NMP), 22 October 2007.

August 2008. Norfolk Aggregates Assessment Project.
Confirmation and the date of the site’s de-Scheduling is being sought from English Heritage.
S. Tremlett (NLA), 6 August 2008.

Monument Types

• ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Sparham (Parish Summary)