Record Details
| NHER Number: | 5761 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Late Saxon to medieval pits and early medieval ditch. |
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Summary
This plot of land, once partially occupied by the Thetford Patent Pulp Manufacturing Company (see NHER 51706) was scheduled in 1967 as part of the Late Saxon town. However, excavations in 1978 and 1995 indicate that Late Saxon occupation did not extend this far east and this area may have remained largely meadowland until the post medieval period. Monitoring of the excavation of five test pits in 1978 recorded a single medieval cooking pot rim, unstratified human bone fragments, a small quantity of animal bone, and a possible wooden stake. Investigation of a larger area in 1995 recorded four to five Late Saxon pits, two linear features and several small pits assigned an 11th to 12th century date, and a small group of 12th to 14th century pits. The majority of these features were located to the west of the excavated areas, towards Mill Lane, and it is likely that they represent the easternmost extent of the Late Saxon and medieval settlement recorded west of Mill Lane, at NHER 1022.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TL 8706 8264 |
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| Map Sheet: | TL88SE |
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| Parish: | THETFORD, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Plot on east side of Mill Lane, 61m (200ft) north of 'Nunthorpe' House, Thetford.
This area was scheduled as part of the Saxon town in 1967.
See (S1) for further details.
12 September 1978. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of the excavation of five trial holes for a possible extension to Thetford moulded products Ltd recorded a medieval cooking pot rim (test hole 2), human bones (test hole 3), animal bone (test hole 4), and a possible wooden stake within a peat layer (test hole 4). The human skeletal remains in test hole 3 were recovered from the spoil and it is uncertain whether they were derived from in situ burials or from a layer incorporating previously disturbed remains. The lack of pottery, animal bone and oyster shell at the site compared to other excavated areas of the town led the excavators to conclude that the area was too marshy in Saxo-Norman times for occupation.
See (S2) for further details.
E. Rose (NAU).
Updated H. Hamilton (NLA), 27 August 2008.
1995. Excavation.
Excavation of three areas revealed only a small number of archaeological features. Four to five pits were dated to the Late Saxon period. Several small pits and two linear features were assigned an 11th to 12th century date, and a small group of pits were dated to the 12th to 14th century. The majority of these features were located to the west of the excavated areas, towards Mill Lane, and it is likely that they represent the easternmost extent of the Late Saxon and medieval settlement recorded west of Mill Lane, at NHER 1022. It has been suggested that this area may have remained largely meadowland until the post medieval period.
Finds recovered from the features east of Mill Lane have not been identified within the publication of these excavations, and the nature of the features has not been discussed in detail.
See (S3) and (S4) for further details. See (S6) for short summary.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 27 August 2008.
Monument Types
- PIT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
- DITCH (Medieval to 12th Century - 1066 AD to 1199 AD)
- PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- PIT (Medieval to 12th Century - 1066 AD to 1199 AD)
Associated Finds
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Unknown date)
- HUMAN REMAINS (Unknown date)
- UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Undated)
- POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.. 1989. NHER TL 8782AG-AK (NLA 223/SLIDE) 15-JUN-1989. |
| --- | Designation: [unknown]. Ancient Monuments Form. SAM Record. DNF275. |
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| --- | Slide: Various. Slide. |
| <S1> | Designation: English Heritage. Scheduling Report. |
| <S2> | Unpublished Document: Rogerson, A.. 1978. Scheduled area 297. Thetford Moulded Products Extension.. |
| <S3> | Monograph: Wallis, H. 2004. Excavations at Mill Lane, Thetford, 1995. East Anglian Archaeology. No 108. |
| <S4> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1995. Unravelling town's secrets. 22 April. |
| <S5> | Unpublished Contractor Report: Penn, K. 1996. Proposed development at Bury Road, Thetford. The Archaeological Implications. A Report for WS Atkins Environment. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 857. |
| <S6> | Article in Serial: Nenk, B. S., Margeson, S. and Hurley, M. 1996. Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1995. Medieval Archaeology. Vol XL pp 234-318. p 274. |
Related records
| 1022 | Related to: Site of St Etheldreda's Church and Saxon occupation site, part of Scheduled Saxon town area (Monument) |
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