Record Details

NHER Number:36480
Type of record:Monument
Name:Cropmark of ring ditch

Summary

A ring ditch, likely to be the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. It is the southernmost of a group of five ring ditches or circular enclosures situated on a moderate slope overlooking the confluence of Hagon Beck and an unnamed tributary (now a series of drains) to their south. They lie in an area notable for its evidence of prehistoric ceremonial and funerary activity, and the ring ditch described below almost certainly forms part of this landscape.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 2186 3581
Map Sheet:TG23NW
Parish:ROUGHTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

THE CROPMARKS DESCRIBED BELOW, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE RING DITCH 'AT TG 2190 3580' (CORRECTED TO TG 2186 3581), ARE NOW RECORDED AS NHER 38503 (LINEAR DITCHES), NHER 38501 (A SEMI-CIRCULAR HENGIFORM FEATURE) AND NHER 38500 (A RING DITCH). THE MAJORITY OF THE LINEAR AND RECTILINEAR DITCHES AND ENCLOSURES DESCRIBED BELOW CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF POST-MEDIEVAL FIELDS DEPICTED ON HISTORIC ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS AND CONSEQUENTLY HAVE NOT BEEN MAPPED.

28 June 1996. NLA air photography.
Ring ditch visible at NGR TG 2190 3580.
To the southeast of this is a linear feature, which appears to be part of a rectilinear enclosure.
A second ring ditch is located at TG 2178 3614.
At the centre of the site is a large semicircular feature (almost like half a henge). The ditch is wide and has rounded, buylbous ends.
The whole of the site is crossed by a network of rectilinear and linear elements which appear to make up a system of fields and co-joined enclosures. These are potentially Late Iron Age-Roman in date.
S. Massey (NLA), 9 October 2001.

March 2004, Norfolk NMP
The cropmarks described below, with the exception of the ring ditch 'at TG 2190 3580' (corrected to TG 2186 3581), are now recorded as NHER 38503 (linear ditches), NHER 38501 (a semi-circular hengiform feature) and NHER 38500 (a ring ditch). The majority of the linear and rectilinear ditches and enclosures described below conform to the pattern of post-medieval fields depicted on historic Ordnance Survey maps (S1-2) and consequently has not been mapped. NMP mapping has led to the alteration of the central grid reference of the site from TG 2190 3580 to TG 2186 3581.

The ring ditch described above is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S3), centred at TG 2186 3581. Given its location in an area of known prehistoric ceremonial and funerary activity, it seems most likely that the ring ditch represents the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow.

The ring ditch is slightly sub-circular in plan, and its north-east, south-west and east sides are slightly flattened suggesting that the ditch was originally excavated in segments. It measures 18m in diameter and has a narrow causeway on its north-west side. The ditch varies in width but appears to widen towards the causeway. A large pit, possibly a grave, is faintly visible within the ring ditch, towards its south-east side. The ring ditch appears to be respected by post-medieval field boundaries to its south and east (S2-3), suggesting that it still survived as an earthwork when these were established.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 16 March 2004

Monument Types

  • PIT (Unknown date)
  • RING DITCH (Unknown date)
  • GRAVE (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • PIT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • RING DITCH (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • SHINE

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. TG 2135H - L; TG 2136J.
<S1>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1902-7. Ordnance Survey second edition 25" (1902-7) Sheet XIX. 7.
<S2>Map: Ordnance Survey. 1902-7. Ordnance Survey second edition 25" (1902-7) Sheet XIX. 11.
<S3>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A.. 1996. NHER TG 2135H (NLA 365/JFM8) 28-JUN-1996.

Related records - none

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