Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

18 July 1996. NLA air photography.
An almost square enclosure with rounded corners and possible entrance in the south side. The enclosure is not on alignment with the nearby road alleged to be Roman (NHER 2796). It may be a Roman temporary camp or possibly a medieval enclosure. Additional enclosures or annexes on the same alignment are visible to the southwest.
To the immediate west is an enigmatic series of north to south aligned linear features. These may be a geological phenomenon, but certainly appear as excavated ditches. They run, parallel, in a relatively straight line (there are four to five features) and then appear to curve to the west and end. They also appear to be truncated by the alleged Roman road. Their age and purpose are unknown.
See (S1).
M. Brennand (NLA), 3 December 2001.

2003. Norfolk NMP.
Cropmarks of the Roman road, enclosures, fields and multiple-ditch boundary of potential prehistoric date were mapped from aerial photographs to aid the planned fieldwork by NAHRG. See secondary file for cropmark plot.
The trial trenching and geophysical survey undertaken between 2003 and 2005 confirmed the line of the Roman road (NHER 2796) and that the linear features pre-date it. This work, previously recorded here, is now recorded under NHER 62129.
S. Massey (NMP), March 2003. Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 12 May 2017.

August 2012.
An assessment of the aerial photographs for the area of Coltishall Airfield to the west of this site revealed further field boundaries to the west following a similar alignment to the enclosures and fields recorded under this number. These were recorded under NHER 57991 and were interpreted as representing part of an extensive co-axial field system of possible Bronze Age to Iron Age or Roman date to the immediate northwest. This field system has previously been recorded as being of Roman date, however it must be noted that it exhibits many similarities with the plan of the Nova Scotia Farm co-axial field system at Ormesby which has been proven by excavation to have its origins in the Middle Bronze Age (NHER 12828), although it is not clear how much of it is of this date. Some components may be Iron Age in date. It seems likely that the enclosure and fields recorded under this number and the co-axial fields (NHER 57991) are of a comparable date. Given the lack of Roman material recovered within the excavated part of the enclosure (Area B) (NHER 62129), the presence of prehistoric flints in this area (S2) (NHER 62129), and the fact that the Roman road (NHER 2796) cuts across the enclosure and fields, a pre-Roman date must also be assumed for these cropmarks.
No further components of the prehistoric multiple-ditched boundary were identified on the aerial photographs to the west, where it appears to curve around to the west towards the northern part of the airfield. Although this may be due to the land use not being conducive to cropmark formation.
S. Horlock (HES), 30 August 2012.

December 2014. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of site of proposed cemetery extension at TG27612400.
A single north-to-south aligned ditch was recorded which was almost certainly associated with the westernmost of the parallel cropmarks thought to represent a prehistoric multiple-ditched boundary. Unfortunately, no dating evidence was recovered from the excavated feature, although the leached, sterile nature of its fills would be consistent with a prehistoric date.
See report (S3) and NHER 68468 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 August 2024.

August 2024. Aerial Imagery Interpretation.
Recent aerial imagery from 2019 (S4) shows the possible prehistoric multi-ditched boundary to continue into the field to the north of the cemetery, with these cropmarks being traceable to at least the centre of this field. Four parallel features can be seen, with no apparent continuation of the westernmost of the ditches mapped to the south – despite an associated ditch having been identified in the area immediately to the south of the cemetery in 2014 (see above). The cropmarks appear to be turning slightly to the west at the point where they become imperceptible.
This record has now been extended slightly to the north [1].
P. Watkins (HES), 24 August 2024.

Monument Types

• LINEAR FEATURE (Unknown date)
• PIT (Unknown date)
• RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• BOUNDARY DITCH (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC to 42 AD?)
• FIELD SYSTEM (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC to 42 AD?)
• MULTIPLE DITCH SYSTEM (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC to 42 AD?)
• PIT (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC to 42 AD?)
• RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2350 BC to 42 AD?)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Scottow (Parish Summary)