Record Details

NHER Number:43488
Type of record:Monument
Name:Possible mound north of Breydon Junction

Summary

A possible mound, encircled by a ditch, is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and depicted on Acle Tithe Map (1838). It may be a marsh mound of medieval or post medieval date, similar to the excavated mound visible 45m to its northeast (NHER 4322). Several mounds of this type have been identified on Halvergate Marshes. Although most are likely to date to the medieval or post medieval periods, their function is enigmatic: their interpretation as saltern mounds, as marsh farms, or simply as refuges for livestock have all been suggested.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 5040 0892
Map Sheet:TG50NW
Parish:GREAT YARMOUTH, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK

Full description

April 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A possible mound, or mounds, encircled by a ditch, is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), centred at TG 5041 0893. This may be one of several sites of this type found across Halvergate Marsh, a group which includes the more obvious mound visible 45m to the northeast of the site (NHER 4322). Excavation has suggested a medieval date for a number of these mounds (see (S4)), although they often remained in use in the post medieval period and a post medieval date for the construction of some of them cannot be ruled out. Their function remains enigmatic. Some, including NHER 4322, have been suggested as possible saltern sites but there is little evidence to support this. Some may represent the remains of marsh farms, while others could simply have been refuges for cattle or other livestock (S4). It should be noted that unlike NHER 4322 to the northeast, the archaeological origin or significance of the features mapped at this site is not certain. On the basis of the aerial photographic evidence alone, the ditches might be interpreted as drains and tracks (they connect to drains depicted on historic Ordnance Survey maps, for example (S5)) and the low ‘mound’ as simply a spread of material dredged from the surrounding dykes or the detritus from agricultural activity. Like NHER 4322, however, the western half of the site appears to have been mapped as a separate field on Acle Tithe Map (S6), suggesting that it too was still a distinctive feature in the mid 19th century. Recent aerial photographs indicate that the site has now been substantially levelled.

As visible on the aerial photographs the mound has an irregular curvilinear shape. It measures up to approximately 93m long (east to west) and 75m wide (north to south), excluding the outer ditch.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 7 April 2006.

Monument Types

  • DRAINAGE DITCH (Unknown date)
  • MOUND (Unknown date)
  • DRAINAGE DITCH (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • FARMSTEAD? (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • MOUND (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • SALTERN? (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

<S1>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1944. RAF 106G/LA/21 4006-7 04-JUL-1944 (NMR).
<S2>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1634 4034-5 09-JUL-1946 (NHER TG 5008A-B).
<S3>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1955. RAF 58/1674 (F22) 0331-2 04-MAR-1955 (NMR).
<S4>Monograph: Williamson, T.. 1997. The Norfolk Broads: A Landscape History.. pp 64-65.
<S5>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1902-1907. Ordnance Survey second edition 25" (1902-7) Sheet LXVI. 14. 25" to 1'.
<S6>Map: Lenny, I.. 1838. Acle Tithe Map. No scale.

Related records - none

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