Record Details

NHER Number:9587
Type of record:Monument
Name:Site of Bronze Age ring ditch

Summary

A ring ditch, probably the site of a Late Neolithic to Bronze Age barrow, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. The ring ditch is rather oval in shape, perhaps indicating that this is the site of a Neolithic oval barrow, rather than a round barrow, which would be more likely to be of Bronze Age date. The site lies in an area of dense prehistoric ceremonial/funerary activity, and was almost certainly sited in relation to Arminghall Henge (NHER 6100) 55m to the northwest.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 2404 0594
Map Sheet:TG20NW
Parish:BIXLEY, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Barrow southeast of henge across road (ring ditch) see (S1),
RAF aerial photographs1929 (S2),
(S3), Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club 1933.
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

Single ring ditch on Royal Aeronautical Society aerial photograph, 18 June 1929.
D. A. Edwards (NAU) 29 January 1980.

Recorded as not visible as a mound in 1935 by G. Clarke.
No sign in beet or in ploughed field 10 December 1975.
A. J. Lawson (NAU).

13 July 1993. NLA air photography (AP1).
Cropmark of ring ditch clearly visible on photographs taken of Arminghall complex.
To the northeast of this ring ditch is a small sub rectangular enclosure.
S. Massey (NLA), 7 February 2001.

June 2010. Norfolk NMP.
Of the cropmarks described above, only the ring ditch is still recorded under this number. The sub rectangular enclosure is now recorded as NHER 52332.
The ring ditch described above, probably the site of a Late Neolithic to Bronze Age barrow, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S4)-(S9), centred at TG 2404 0594. It is rather oval in shape, perhaps indicating that this is the site of a Neolithic oval barrow, rather than a round barrow, which would be more likely to be of Bronze Age date. The site lies in an area of dense prehistoric ceremonial/funerary activity, and was almost certainly sited in relation to Arminghall Henge (NHER 6100) 55m to the northwest.
All but the westernmost end of the ring ditch is visible. It measures approximately 22m long and 20m wide.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 29 June 2010.

Monument Types

  • RING DITCH (Unknown date)
  • OVAL BARROW? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • RING DITCH (Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 701 BC)
  • ROUND BARROW? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: TG2306 S; TG2405 ACW.
---Designation: [unknown]. Ancient Monuments Form. SAM Record. DNF225.
---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1993. TG2405/ADA, AGH; TG2306/T - V.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Bronze Age. Bixley (Armingham).
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Article in Serial: Clark, G. 1936. The Timber Monument at Arminghall and its Affinities. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. Vol II Pt 1 pp 1-51.
<S2>Article in Serial: Antiquity. Antiquity. Vol III, p 257. p 257.
<S3>Article in Serial: Antiquity. Antiquity. Vol VII.
<S4>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Crawford Collection. 1929. NHER TG 2406G (NMR TG 2406/3 CCC 1874) 18-JUN-1929.
<S5>Oblique Aerial Photograph: CUCAP. 1975. CUCAP (BUE27-8) 10-JUL-1975.
<S6>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1990. NHER TG 2306S (NLA 271/GCW1) 12-JUL-1990.
<S7>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1990. NHER TG 2405ACW (NLA 271/GCV15) 12-JUL-1990.
<S8>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1993. NHER TG 2405ADA (NLA 329/HGD23) 13-JUL-1993.
<S9>Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1996. OS/96248 241-2 22-JUL-1996 (NMR).

Related records - none

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