Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

November 1998. Geophysical Survey.
Bacton to Great Yarmouth Pipeline (Site 5 - Area C).
Geophysical Survey along the 30m easement of the proposed pipeline recorded anomalies interpreted as a likely rectilinear enclosure at the southwestern end of the survey area and several possible silted pits including one cluster located towards the east of the survey area. The survey also recorded parallel linear marks which are likely caused by ploughing, possibly indicating traces of ridge and furrow.
See report (S1) for further details.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 04 June 2008.

March-May 1999. Excavation.
Excavation on route of Bacton to Great Yarmouth pipeline (Site 5S).
Several ditches running north-south across the site, which could represent a gradually shifting field boundary, contained a few struck flints and two fragments of possible Bronze Age pottery.
A possible Early Saxon ditch running west-east contained sherds of Early Saxon pottery and a piece of probable daub. Two sub-circular pits excavated 15m to the east of the ditch also contained pottery of the same date.
Three parallel east-west ditches representing a field system of probable medieval date cut an Early saxon pit and contained a piece of late 12th - 14th century pottery.
See publication draft (S8) and assessment report (S5) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.55 and NWHCM : 2017.395).
S. Howard (NLA), 2 February 2010. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 12 May 2019.

1999. Watching Brief.
Observation of laying of gas pipeline from Bacton to Yarmouth.
Details to come.
E. Rose (NLA), February 1999.

July 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The stretch of the Bacton to Great Yarmouth gas pipeline described above passes through an area of multi-period linear cropmark ditches visible on aerial photographs (S2)-(S4), centred at TG 4245 1713. These are a continuation of the more extensive cropmark site recorded immediately to the northwest (NHER 21837). As well as the watching brief described above, part of this length of the pipeline route was excavated (S5), Site 5S; additional information from S. Bates, NAU). In addition, a strip across the northern part of the cropmarks was field walked and metal-detected (NHER 34005). The results both of this work and the excavation indicate that although most of the ditches follow a similar pattern and orientation, several phases of activity are represented.

All of the mapped features were ditches and most were probably field boundaries or similar features. The earliest may date to the Bronze Age: the ditch visible as a cropmark between TG 4238 1728 and TG 4241 1710 may equate to an excavated ditch (G12) that has been tentatively dated to the Bronze Age. None of the mapped cropmarks appears to be associated with the Early Saxon features identified during the excavation. The ditch visible between TG 4224 1711 and TG 4237 1712 is aligned with a ditch of probable medieval date encountered during the excavation (ditch G15) and the two are presumably part of the same boundary. The slight bank evident on the north side of the excavated ditch may also be just visible as a cropmark but was not clear enough to warrant mapping. The cropmarks of several late post medieval to modern field boundaries are also visible, and two were encountered in the excavation trench (ditches G17 and G2). As these are depicted on historic maps, such as the parish Tithe Map (S6), they have not been mapped by the NMP, but it is worth noting that their slightly curvilinear outline may reflect a medieval origin. The other mapped ditches, which have no clear relationship with the excavated features, are also likely to be field boundaries; most probably date to the medieval to post medieval period. The ditch visible between TG 4231 1720 and TG 4244 1722, for example, lines up with a boundary in the adjacent field to the west that is depicted on the Tithe Map (S6). The ditch (visible in two segments) that forms the southern edge of the site is aligned almost parallel with recent agricultural marks and may be modern, as may the ditch visible between TG 4232 1710 and TG 4253 1714 which was not revealed in the excavation trench.

It should be noted that most of the cropmarks were mapped from the oblique photographs of the site taken in 1976 (S2)-(S3). Due to the very oblique angle of the shots, the distance of this field from the camera, and a lack of control points, rectification for this area was extremely poor. Not only this, the distance and angle meant that the cropmarks were faint and little detail could be made out.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 25 July 2006.

Monument Types

• DITCH (Unknown date)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Unknown date)
• DITCH (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• FINDSPOT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• DITCH (Early Saxon - 410 AD to 650 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Early Saxon - 410 AD to 650 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FIELD SYSTEM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• POT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• POT (Early Saxon - 411 AD to 650 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Repps with Bastwick (Parish Summary)