Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

These cropmarks were previously recorded under NHER 11788.

April 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a possible Iron Age to Early Roman date farmstead are visible on aerial photographs in Hopton-on-Sea (S1-S3). The site consists of a broad-ditched trapezoidal enclosure, with a conjoined series of fields and enclosures. The site is centred on TG 5231 0024. These cropmarks were previously recorded under NHER 11788. Two circular ring ditches (NHER 43528) within the main enclosure may represent the remains of round houses. Although the site is also located within a Bronze Age round barrow cemetery (NHER 43526) and therefore it also possible that the ring ditches are the remains of Bronze Age barrows. The farmstead is located to the immediate east of an extensive field system of unknown definite date (NHER 43559). The alignment of some elements of the field system are similar to that of the farmstead and it’s associated fields, however the relationship between the two areas of cropmarks is not clear.

The main enclosure is centred on TG 5229 0027 and is slightly trapezoidal in shape, measuring approximately 37m by 43m. The southern side of the enclosure is more irregular than the other three sides. The ditch is 1-2m wide. The corners of the enclosure are slightly rounded and several potential entrance gaps are visible in the ditch. One is located in the centre of the eastern ditch and another in the southern. A second break in the ditch along the southern side of the enclosure is not considered to be an original entrance feature. The possible roundhouses (NHER 43528) are positioned centrally within the enclosure and are both 12m in diameter. This similarity in size and positioning within the enclosure ditches would suggest that they do represent round houses, although it must be noted that many of the surrounding round barrows also share these general dimensions (NHER 43526). Another ring ditch is located at TG 5231 0019, within the corner of the southern enclosure. However in this case the ring ditch the cropmarks reveal an internal mound (S3), indicating that it is a round barrow rather than a round house. See NHER 43528 for detailed discussion of these ring ditches.

Conjoined to this main enclosure are a series of enclosed fields and paddocks, in particular to the south where the ditches appear to form a ladder arrangement of enclosures, 150m long. The ditches of these southern enclosures are much narrower and are clearly distinguished from the main enclosure. Internal sub-divisions within this long enclosed strip divide the space into 30-40m wide plots. Double ditched features leading into and alongside these areas would suggest trackways, probably for the movement of stock into these enclosed areas. A series of trackway-like features lead off from the main enclosures to the east and west. A continuation of one of the eastern trackways may be visible on the other side of the Lowestoft Road at TG 5243 0023. This appears to form a slightly irregular trackway running broadly parallel to the ladder arrangement. To the north of the main domestic enclosure is a slightly larger enclosed area, measuring 55m by 45m.

Finds recorded under NHER 11788 from this general area included some early Roman material, dating to the mid to late first century AD, plus some later material dating to the second century AD. This would suggest that the farmstead either spans both the first to second centuries or that some of the material is associated with Roman activity of a different date on top. The morphology of the enclosure with its possible round houses would suggest an Iron Age date and it is possible that the early Roman date material would also suggest a farmstead of Late Iron Age date which continues into the Roman period. This site is located within an area of dense and complicated cropmark evidence, with many different phases of cropmarks overlying one another. To the immediate west of this site is an extensive field system (NHER 43559) that is on a similar alignment to the farmstead and its fields. The date of this system is unknown, although it is possible that some components of it are broadly contemporary. This farmstead itself appears to be overlain by or overlies the southwestern edge of a large field system (NHER 43495), which continues almost two kilometres to the north and is thought in part to represent a planned Roman field system. The date of this extensive area of fields is not known for certain, although it is assumed to date to middle to later Roman period. However it has been suggested that some parts of this system, including those in the area of this site, represent an earlier phase, possibly with late prehistoric origins.

The western part of the farmstead and associated enclosures and ditches are now under the route of the A12 and it is possible that the road construction has disturbed other nearby sub-surface elements of the site.
S. Massey (NMP), 18 April 2006.

January-February 2013. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site between Lowestoft Road and A12.
This work revealed a range of archaeologically significant features, the majority of which appear to have been associated with Roman-period activity. Several of the trenches excavated coincided with this group of cropmarks, revealing a number of corresponding sub-surface features. These features included ditches associated with the main enclosure and one of its internal ring-ditches (NHER 43528), although neither produced any dating evidence. Several of the other features associated with these cropmarks did however produce Roman pottery, confirming the suggestion that they represent a settlement of Iron Age or Roman date. The Roman pottery assemblage as a whole suggests that activity on the site may have been largely restricted to the earlier part of the 2nd century, with little in the way of earlier or later material present.
See report (S4) and NHER 62519 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 1 February 2018.

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• FARMSTEAD (Unknown date)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Unknown date)
• RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• SETTLEMENT (Unknown date)
• STOCK ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• TRACKWAY (Unknown date)
• ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• FARMSTEAD (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• FIELD BOUNDARY (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• SETTLEMENT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• STOCK ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

• SHINE
• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Hopton on Sea (Parish Summary)