Record Details

NHER Number:30978
Type of record:Monument
Name:Possible site of post-medieval market and multi-period finds

Summary

A large number of post medieval clay pipe fragments, including intact pipe bowls, were found in this field in 1994. Metal-detecting around the same time recovered a range of objects, including a Late Saxon harness piece, a medieval key, and post-medieval buckles, cloth seals, coins, a ring, spurs and musket balls. Opinion is divided as to why these objects accumulated here, but suggestions have been made of a pipe-making or a market site. A range of prehistoric worked flints have also been recovered in this field including Late Upper Palaeolithic long blades and long blade-derived tools; Mesolithic microliths and blade cores and an unusual ?Mesolithic chopping tool.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TM 10 79
Map Sheet:TM17NW
Parish:ROYDON (NEAR DISS), SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Around 1982. Stray Find.
Found by [1]:
1 Mesolithic flint tranchet axehead. 19 cm long, with smoky, dark, grey patina, suggesting contact with peat.
Identified and compiled by J. J. Wymer (NAU), 1985.
Information from (S1). This axehead is also noted in R. Jacobi's records (S2), where it is recorded as a tranchet adze that came from "reclaimed fenland near Waveney".

This implement was originally recorded under NHER 21659 but information subsequently received suggests it actually come from this site. The objects found in 1982 were re-examined by P. Robins (NCM) at the Diss Museum in 1996 - see notes in file [2]. A corrected grid reference was supplied by Diss Museum at this time [3].
In 2008 a small group of objects that had been found by [1] was brought in to the Norwich Castle Museum. It is clear from notes made by P. Robins at this time that the assemblage largely comprised objects first seen in 1982, including the tranchet axehead. This connection was not made at the time, although it was noted that traces of labels suggested these objects had been previously identified by the NCM. It was recorded that the axehead is marked with the grid reference [4], which, whilst slightly different to that previously given, nevertheless still places the findspot in the immediate vicinity of this site.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 6 January 2013 and 13 September 2016.

1994. Fieldwalking and Metal-detecting.
Found by [5]:
500 pieces of clay pipe, including intact bowls; some bearing mark of Thomas Parsley of Redenhall (early 18th century). See list in file (S3).

Metal detecting by [6] produced Diss Farthings of 1669, coins of Charles II, musket balls, shoe buckles, spurs, lead seals, lead weights, buttons, King's Lynn farthings. List of finds from NCM adds other categories, also Late Saxon object and medieval metalwork.

In (S4) it is suggested that the adjacent name Potash Fen indicates pipes were made here, but this name is common in Norfolk. It is also suggested the field was a fairstead, but [7] thinks this improbable. See press cuttings (S5), (S6) and (S7) in file.

Field to be put down to grass.
E. Rose (NLA), 21 December 1994. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 6 January 2014.

1990s. Metal-detecting and Fieldwalking.
Various objects recovered by [8] during the 1990s and seen by NLA in 2006. Amongst these finds were a range of worked flints that were found by [9], mostly during the early 1990s. These include:
Several Late Upper Palaeolithic long blades (including 1 lightly bruised blade segment and several with shallow ventral retouch) and 4 tools derived from long blades, including 1 end scraper (on blade 125mm long), 1 double-ended scraper (on blade segment), 1 piercer (on distal end of blade 111mm long) and serrated blade (102mm long). See drawings (S7).
3 Mesolithic microliths (obliquely blunted points), 1 ?microlith fragment (failed microburin break or fragment of microlith base), 1 notched microblade (?abandoned microburin technique), and 4 blade cores (including 1 very small, neat microblade core). See drawings (S8).
1 ?Mesolithic unusual chopping tool prepared on a >120mm long, narrow pebble. See illustration (S9).
5 undatable prehistoric rounded end scrapers (on flakes), 2 rounded end-and-one-side scrapers (on flakes), 2 side scrapers (on flakes), 1 concave scraper, 2 knives, 1 backed piece (small flake), 1 utilised small blade, 6 miscellaneous retouched pieces, 1 hammerstone, 4 two-platform flake cores (2 alternate, 2 orthogonal), 2 core regeneration flakes, 50+ blades (38 under 50mm), 20 flakes and flake fragments and 3 chips/spalls.
Identified by P. Robins (NCM), see notes and descriptions in file. Two of the microliths and a number of the flakes from this site are also noted in R. Jacobi's records (S2).

The other finds included:
Roman, medieval and post medieval pottery.
Post medieval coins and tokens.
Medieval and post medieval metal objects.
See lists in file.
E. Darch (NLA), 13 December 2006. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 6 January 2014.

Monument Types

  • FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CLAY TOBACCO PIPE FACTORY? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • MARKET? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • BLADE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • CORE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • HAMMERSTONE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • KNIFE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SIDE AND END SCRAPER (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SIDE SCRAPER (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • BLADE (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • BORER (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • END SCRAPER (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED BLADE (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • SERRATED BLADE (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC to 10001 BC)
  • BLADE CORE (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • CHOPPER (Mesolithic - 10000 BC? to 4001 BC?)
  • MICROLITH (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • MICROLITH? (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • NOTCHED BLADE (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • TRANCHET AXEHEAD (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • BALANCE (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • HARNESS (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • BALANCE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BUCKLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BUCKLE (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • HARNESS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • KEY (LOCKING) (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • RING (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • ROOF TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • STRAP END (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • STUD (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • BOOK FITTING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • BUCKLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • BUTTON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • BUTTON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CLOTH SEAL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • COIN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CROTAL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • DRESS COMPONENT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • FINGER RING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • JEWS HARP (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • MOUNT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • MUSKET BALL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • SEAL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • SPUR (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • STRAP END (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • TOKEN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • WEIGHT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Photograph: I & RS. Digital finds image.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. NHER 21659.
<S2>Archive: R. Jacobi. -. Jacobi Archive. 10239; 10370.
<S3>Unpublished Document: Woollard, G.. List of clay pipes with maker's marks.
<S4>Publication: Woollard, G.. 1996. The Royden Field Mystery! The story so far.
<S5>Newspaper Article: The Mercury. 1997. Perplexing pipe puzzle still mystery. 7 February.
<S6>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1995. Pipe up if you know old-time smokers. 7 February.
<S7>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1997. The field of dreams. 29 January.
<S7>Illustration: Robins, P. 2005. Drawings of Late Upper Palaeolithic flint end scrapers, utilised blade, piecer and serrated blade from Roydon. Paper. 1:1.
<S8>Illustration: Robins, P. 2005. Drawings of Mesolithic flint microliths, possible microlith and blade cores from Roydon. Paper. 1:1.
<S9>Illustration: Robins, P. 2005. Drawing of a ?Mesolithic flint chopping tool from Roydon. Paper. 1:1.

Related records - none

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