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Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	13357
Type of record:	Monument
Name:	Cropmark of probable Neolithic long barrow or elongated enclosure

Summary

An elongated oblong enclosure, probably representing the site of a Neolithic long barrow, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. It is comparable to other long barrow/elongated enclosure sites recorded elsewhere in Norfolk and the wider region. Linear ditches, also visible as cropmarks, which overlap the site are presumed to relate to later phases of activity, some perhaps associated with the enclosure and enclosure complex of postulated later prehistoric date visible to the north (NHER 36400 and 53521).

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TG 1271 0846
Map Sheet:	TG10NW
Parish:	MARLINGFORD, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Of the cropmarks described below, only the ‘ovoid enclosure’/possible long barrow still remains part of this record; the other cropmarks are now recorded separately as NHER 36400 (the ‘additional enclosure’) and NHER 53521 (the linear features).

Cropmark. NAU air photographs.
Cropmark of ovoid enclosure, slightly tapered towards the north, visible in cereal crop, also adjacent linear cropmark.
Possible interpretation as 'long barrow'.
See (S1) and (S2).
D. Edwards (NAU), 17 January 1980.

25 June 1996. NLA air photography.
Cropmarks visible although in places these are confusing to interpret due to geological noise masking them.
However, as well as the cropmarks previously recorded there does appear to be at least one additional enclosure and several linears showing as cropmarks.
H. Clare (NLA), 28 August 2001.

2 July 1996. NLA air photography.
Cropmarks of possible long barrow still visible.
S. Massey (NLA), 23 July 2001.

April 2010. Norfolk NMP.
Of the cropmarks described above, only the ‘ovoid enclosure’/possible long barrow still remains part of this record; the other cropmarks are now recorded separately as NHER 36400 (the ‘additional enclosure’) and NHER 53521 (the linear features).
The elongated oblong enclosure described above is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S3)-(S5), centred at TG 1271 0846. Its dimensions and plan are comparable with Neolithic long barrows or funerary enclosures ('mortuary enclosures') recorded elsewhere in Norfolk and in the wider region (see (S6), for example). Enclosures and linear features to its north and overlapping it (NHER 36400 and 53521) are presumed to represent later phases of activity. It is interesting to note that while some of these – in particular, those forming part of a possible Iron Age to Roman enclosure complex - appear to respect the barrow or enclosure, others appear to slight it. These latter may be of more recent origin, established after the Neolithic site had already been levelled.
The enclosure is broadly oblong or subrectangular in plan, and measures 31m long and 17m wide. Variations are evident in the width of the defining ditch, giving a 'pitted' or 'beaded' appearance to the outline; this could perhaps indicate recutting and reworking of the outer ditch, and/or the incorporation of pits into the monument. Numerous pit-like marks are also visible in the wider area but these have generally been dismissed as being of probable geological origin.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 27 April 2010.

Monument Types

ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
OVAL ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
SUBRECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
LONG BARROW (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
MORTUARY ENCLOSURE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
OVAL ENCLOSURE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
SUBRECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

SHINE

Sources and further reading

---	Aerial Photograph: TG 1208A-E,G,H.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. TG 1208M - P.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. TG 1208Q - X.
---	Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 10 NW 22.
---	Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---	Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>	Article in Monograph: Edwards, D.. 1978. The Air Photographs Collection of the Norfolk Archaeological Unit: Third Report. East Anglian Archaeology. No 8 pp 87-105. Pl XXIV; Fig 45.
<S2>	Illustration: Edwards, D.. 1978. Cropmarks - Area TG.
<S3>	Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1977. NHER TG 1208A-D (NLA 50/AJY21-3, 25) 28-JUL-1977.
<S4>	Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1983. NHER TG 1208E, G-H (NLA 135/ATB3, 5-6) 21-JUL-1983.
<S5>	Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. NHER TG 1208Q-U (NLA 363/HKT5-9) 25-JUN-1996.
<S6>	Article in Serial: Jones, D. 1998. Long barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. Vol 64 pp 83-114.