Record Details

NHER Number:5197
Type of record:Monument
Name:Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age settlement

Summary

Fieldwalking, evaluation and excavation as part of the Fenland Survey recovered evidence of a Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age settlement and flint working site. A large number of worked flints were found dating from the Mesolithic to the Beaker period. Other fieldwalking recovered fragments of Roman pottery and a metal detectorist found some post medieval objects. An undated trackway can be seen on aerial photographs. Finds include a polished axe fragment, reflaked and subsequently burnt. A Mesolithic-Late Prehistoric polished stone macehead was also found here.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TL 69 91
Map Sheet:TL69SE
Parish:FELTWELL, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

22 June 1975. Ordnance Survey air photography. Kettle Lane, Feltwell Common.
Positive cropmarks.
D. Voisey (NLA), 14 March 1995.

Pre 1978.
Finds of Neolithic flint knife.

1962.
Scatter of Roman pottery.

1973.
Two Neolithic flint knives and one leaf shaped arrowhead.
These discoveries are noted in (S8).

February 1985. Fenland fieldwalking. 24 contexts.
Neolithic and Beaker pottery, flint and pot boiler concentrations..
For full details of wares, flint types, etc. see (S1).

1989 to 1990. Fenland Evaluation Project.
Area of 100m x 200m subject to intensive fieldwalking. There was a probable Mesolithic component to the worked flint assemblage recovered, in addition to further material of a similar date to that found previously.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 8 November 2013.

1991. Stray Find.
Various worked flints found by [1] during farm work and more systematic collection.
Found during farm work at Context 23:
1 flint blade worked down both sides (Coll. No. 256). See copy of sketch (S2).
1 chopper-like piece.

Found in area of Context 18:
70 Neolithic worked flints in area roughly 70 yards in diameter, including:
59 scrapers.
1 bifacial chopper-like piece (Coll. No. 259). See copy of sketch in file (S2).
2 'saws'.
2 retouched blades.
1 discoidal core.
1 arrowhead of a Late Neolithic type (Coll. No. 258).
1 small greenstone axe (Coll. No. 241). Petrology Gp VII (N312), see (S3) (sketch on reverse).
An handwritten ammendment made to the file notes indicates that a microlith of Late Mesolithic type was also recovered at this location.

Found at TL 6909 9071 (Context 25):
1 flint 'slug knife' - presumably a plano-convex knife (Coll. No. 254). See copy of sketch in file (S4).
1 chunky arrowhead (Coll. No. 255).
W. Milligan (NCM), April 1991. Ammended by P. Watkins (HES), 8 November 2013.

Pre 1994. Fieldwalking.
Additional objects found by [1]. Found at TL 6915 9080 (Context 26):
23 scrapers.
3 retouched flakes. Long, narrow with extensive retouch/use marks on most of edge.
1 blade with snapped end (probably recent damage).

Found at Context 18:
1 Neolithic triangular arrowhead (Coll. No. 242). Greens British Oblique type.
42 scrapers including 1 side scraper, 1 end scraper (retouched as a side scraper).
1 denticulate flake.
7 retouched flakes.
2 'saws'.
5 flakes.
1 late medieval pottery sherd.
Found at TL 6920 9110 (Context 27):
1 retouched flake. Trapezoidal with shallow retouch on both edges. Distal end retouched to give straight cutting edge. Implement resembles a large chisel arrowhead, though thick butt would preclude hafting (Coll. No. 263).
Identified by P. Robins (NCM).

Several other objects found by [3] at this site were identified by P. Robins (NCM) between 1992 and 1994. These include:
1 Neolithic polished axehead fragment (Coll. No. 279). Had been reflaked and subsequently burnt. See copy of sketch (S5).
1 Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age polished edge knife (Coll. No. 312). See copy of sketch in file (S6).
1 Mesolithic or later pebble macehead with hour-glass perforation (Coll. No. 418). Found at TL 691 911. See copy of drawing (S7).

W. Milligan (NCM), Jan 1992. Ammended by P. Watkins (HES), 8 November 2013.

1992. Trial excavation.
Produced Beaker and Neolithic flint and pottery. Twenty one worked flints were recovered during the excavation all of them from ploughsoil. Combined with earlier fieldwalking, the lithics represent some form of settlement activity during the later Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age.
See report (S9) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S10).
J. Allen (NLA), 15 September 2000.

11 October 1999. Metal detecting.
Three post medieval metal finds.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 30 November 2000.

Monument Types

  • TRACKWAY (Unknown date)
  • BURNT MOUND (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Early Mesolithic to Late Iron Age - 10000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Late Prehistoric - 4000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC?)
  • LITHIC WORKING SITE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
  • SETTLEMENT (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Early Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 1501 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Undated)
  • COMB (Undated)
  • SAMPLE (Undated)
  • SAMPLE (Undated)
  • BLADE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • BLADE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • BURNT FLINT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • CHOPPER? (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • DENTICULATE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • SERRATED IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • MICROLITH (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • PEBBLE MACE (Early Mesolithic to Early Bronze Age - 10000 BC to 1501 BC?)
  • ARROWHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • AXEHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • BLADE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • CHOPPER? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • CORE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • KNIFE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LEAF ARROWHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • PLANO CONVEX KNIFE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • POLISHED AXEHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • POT (Late Prehistoric - 4000 BC to 42 AD)
  • POT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • SERRATED IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • TRIANGULAR ARROWHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • ARROWHEAD (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • FLAKE (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • PLANO CONVEX KNIFE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
  • POLISHED KNIFE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC?)
  • DEBITAGE (Early Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 1501 BC)
  • FLAKE (Early Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 1501 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Early Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 1501 BC)
  • POT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • ARROWHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • BARBED AND TANGED ARROWHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • POT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • TRANSVERSE ARROWHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FURNITURE FITTING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • SADDLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • STUD (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: OS 75-270-081.
---Photograph: FXN.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TL 69 SE 34.
---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 - Roman. Feltwell.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>Archive: Fenland Folders.
<S2>Illustration: ?Milligan, W. 1991. Sketches of undated prehistoric retouched flint blade and ?Neolithic bifacial chopper-like piece from Feltwell. Paper. 1:1.
<S3>Record Card: Council for British Archaeology Implement Petrology Card. N312.
<S4>Illustration: ?Milligan, W. 1991. Sketch of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age plano-convex flint knife from Feltwell.. Paper. 1:1.
<S5>Illustration: Robins, P. 1992. Sketch of Neolithic part polished flint axehead fragment from Feltwell.. Paper. 1:1.
<S6>Illustration: Robins, P. 1992. Sketch of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age polished flint edge knife from Feltwell.. Paper. 1:1.
<S7>Illustration: Robins, P. 1994. Drawing of a Mesolithic or later quartzite pebble macehead from Feltwell. Paper. 1:1.
<S8>Serial: 1973. Council for British Archaeology Group 7 Bulletin of Archaeological Discoveries for 1973. No 20. p 8.
<S9>Monograph: Crowson, A., Lane, T. and Reeve, J. (eds). 2000. Fenland Management Project Excavations 1991-1995. Lincolnshire Archaeology and Heritage Reports Series. No 3. pp 166, 178-182.
<S10>Article in Serial: Gurney, D. (ed.). 1993. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1992. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLI Pt IV pp 522-532. p 527.

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