Record Details

NHER Number:39012
Type of record:Monument
Name:Cropmark of ring ditch, possibly the remains of a Bronze Age barrow

Summary

A ring ditch, probably the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. It is the smaller of two such features to be identified at this location; the other, NHER 36490, lies approximately 45m to the north. Further ring ditches have been recorded in the surrounding area, e.g. NHER 39001 and 39019. In the absence of any other evidence the date and function of all these features remains uncertain. They are plausible as the sites of Bronze Age round barrows, perhaps loosely associated in a dispersed group, occupying the watershed between Mundesley Beck and Brandfield Beck. At the same time, however, they are surrounded by the cropmarks of several field systems, the most extensive of which, NHER 38961, may date to the Iron Age to Romano-British period, and therefore the possibility that at least some of the ring ditches are round houses cannot be ruled out.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 2688 3635
Map Sheet:TG23NE
Parish:SOUTHREPPS, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

December 2004. Norfolk NMP.
The ring ditch described below was previously recorded as NHER 36490.

A ring ditch is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (S1-2), centred at TG 2688 3635. It is probable that most of the ring ditches identified in this area are the remains of Bronze Age round barrows. The proximity, however, of a field system, NHER 38961, at least parts of which are likely to date to the Iron Age and/or Romano-British period, means that some might be round houses. The ring ditch described here, which is relatively small compared to the site to its north (NHER 36490) for example, could equally be a round house rather than a round barrow.

The ring ditch is sub-circular in plan and measures approximately 13.5m long and 12m wide. It is defined by a substantial ditch (relative to NHER 36490 to its north), and appears to have a causeway on its north-east side. Other breaks in its circuit are as likely to be caused by the cropmark being masked as by the presence of entrances. It should be noted that due to a lack of suitable control points, rectification of the oblique aerial photographs for this area was poor.
(S1-2)
S. Tremlett (NMP), 3 December 2004.

Monument Types

  • RING DITCH (Unknown date)
  • RING DITCH (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • ROUND BARROW? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • RING DITCH (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)
  • ROUND HOUSE (DOMESTIC)? (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 409 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • SHINE

Sources and further reading

<S1>Vertical Aerial Photograph: BKS. 1988. BKS 2373-4 03-SEP-1988 (NCC 4567-8).
<S2>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. NHER TG 2636A-C (NLA 365/JFK1-3) 28-JUN-1996.

Related records - none

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