Record Details
| NHER Number: | 43381 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of undated ring ditch at Dowe Hill Farm |
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Summary
A ring ditch of unknown date is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. Like other ring ditches identified in this area, such as NHER 43380 143m to the east, it may mark the levelled remains of a Bronze Age round barrow. It is a more substantial feature than these other ring ditches, however, and appears to be joined to part of a field system of probable post Roman date (NHER 17673). It therefore might instead be an enclosure of some kind, contemporary with the field system.
Images - none
Location
Full description
March 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The ring ditch described below was previously recorded as part of NHER 17673.
An undated ring ditch is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 4986 1601. It could mark the site of a levelled round barrow, probably dating to the Bronze Age; this is the most likely interpretation for other ring ditches identified in the vicinity, e.g. NHER 27350 440m to the west and NHER 43380 143m to the east. The ring ditch described here, however, is more substantial than other nearby examples, a characteristic that may simply reflect differences in the overlying crops but could indicate a different use and/or date. It appears to be joined to part of a field system of probably post Roman (perhaps Saxon to medieval) date (NHER 17673) and could instead be a small enclosure of some type, contemporary with the field system.
The ring ditch is circular in plan and measures approximately 30.5m in diameter. A gap on its southeast side could be a genuine entrance.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 14 March 2006.
Monument Types
- RING DITCH (Unknown date)
- RING DITCH (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
- ROUND BARROW? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
- CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE? (Early Saxon to Medieval - 410 AD? to 1539 AD?)
- CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE? (Post Roman - 410 AD? to 1900 AD?)
- ENCLOSURE? (Early Saxon to Medieval - 410 AD? to 1539 AD?)
- ENCLOSURE? (Post Roman - 410 AD? to 1900 AD?)
- RING DITCH (Early Saxon to Medieval - 410 AD? to 1539 AD?)
- RING DITCH (Post Roman - 410 AD? to 1900 AD?)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| <S1> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1634 3041-2 09-JUL-1946 (NHER TG 5015B, TG 4915C). |
| <S2> | Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1977. NHER TG 4916A-B (NLA 55/AKW2-3) 01-AUG-1977. |
Related records - none
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