Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

April 2002. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of extension to church and installation of soakaway and septic tank in churchyard to south.
The reduction of the extension footprint and the subsequent excavation of footing trenches exposed part of the church wall footings, providing further evidence that the nave had been constructed in two phases.
A number of burials were encountered, with four articulated skeletons identified, all of which were probably adult individuals. Further concentrations of human skeletal material were also noted but it wasn't possible to determine the number of individuals represent (or if these actually represented articulated burials). Grave cuts were only visible where they cut into the natural sand at the base of the trench.
The soakaway trench to the south of the extension exposed an articulated skeleton, a separate grave cut and a disarticulated skull. The density of the burial did though appear to be less than that seen in the area adjacent to the church. This was also the case with the larger trench excavated for the septic tank, with some human skeletal material present but no articulated skeletons identified and only one definite grave cut recorded.
A notable quantity of medieval pottery was recovered during the excavations for the extension, much of which appeared to be from a single jar of 13th- to 14th-century date. Other finds recovered from the deep graveyard soils included Late Saxon/early medieval, medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds, a coffin handle, a possible coffin ornament, a number of probable coffin nails, a piece of iron smithing slag, a small piece of copper alloy metal working debris and fragments of burnt flint.
See report (S1) for further information and NHER for details of other discoveries . The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 June 2021.

July 2020. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with drainage improvement works.
A total of ten graves were recorded during the excavation of a soakaway trench close to the south-east corner of the church. Skeletal remains representing a minimum of nine individuals were encountered, all but one of which were adults. The single child burial was unusual due to the presence of a deposit of ash and charcoal centred around the lower torso and upper legs of skeleton. Ash lined coffins have been noted elsewhere but the practice appears to have been rare in rural cemeteries and its purpose is uncertain. Fine copper alloy pins suggest that two of the adults had been buried with some form of head covering or face cloth. These, coupled with the presence of apparently in situ coffin nails in several of the graves and the ash-lined coffin suggest that one line of burials were probably of 15th- to 16th-century date. Several of the other burials did though appear to represent a later (potentially 17th- to 18th-century) phase of inhumation. One of these later burials appeared to have obliterated an earlier burial, with the disarticulated remains from the disturbed grave seemingly placed in a jumbled heap above the coffin. The human remains were recorded, lifted and then eventually carefully reburied within a slot excavated for the purpose at the base of the trench.
A narrow drainage pipe trench leading to the new soakaway revealed a spread of construction debris that contained frequent chalk and mortar pieces, along with pantile fragments and pieces of late post-medieval brick – suggesting this material was associated with the restoration work undertaken during the 1890s. A moderate amount of disarticulated and fragmentary human bone was also recovered from this trench. This was reburied along with other human remains in the base of the soakaway trench.
Other finds recovered during this work including two prehistoric worked flints of possible Bronze Age/Iron Age date, a single Iron Age pottery sherd, a fragment of glass that may be from a Roman vessel and small quantities of medieval and post-medieval pottery.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 21 June 2021.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC? to 42 AD?)
• FINDSPOT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
• FINDSPOT (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
• CHURCHYARD (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)
• EXTENDED INHUMATION (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• GRAVE (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• EXTENDED INHUMATION (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• GRAVE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

• METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Unknown date)
• SLAG (Unknown date)
• BURNT FLINT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC? to 42 AD?)
• CORE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC? to 42 AD?)
• FLAKE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC? to 42 AD?)
• POT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
• VESSEL? (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
• POT (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
• CAME (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• COFFIN FITTING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• COFFIN FITTING? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• PIN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records