Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

1995. Circular earthwork noted on RAF air photograph.
D. Voisey (NLA).

September 1995. On Litcham Common, 50m from southeast boundary bank. 250m southwest of Bridge Farm.
Circular ditch about 32.5m diameter to inner lip of 2 to 3m wide ditch which is about 0.3m deep. Slight (0.3m high) inner bank is noted for up to 5m on north flank and also on southeast. The northeast segment is shallower and less distinct nearest the path.
Uneven interior has slight (0.2m) uneven rise near to centre, but not totally convincing as mound remnant.
B. Cushion/D.Voisey (NLA), 14 September 1995.

September 1995. Site visit with Raz Woolacott of Norfolk County Council Conservation Team to discuss short term management.
He is in the process of scrub and birch clearance in the vicinity and intends to strip the top layer of organic material to encourage regeneration of heather.
They have agreed to leave a 5m surrounding belt of land, as well as the central ring undisturbed except for birch and scrub clearance.
B. Cushion (NLA), September 1995.

Area of grid reference visited on several occasions by E. Rose (NLA) including when clearance taking place; could see no sign of earthworks as described. Is the location correct?
E. Rose (NLA), 1 December 1997.

19 July 1996. NLA air photography.
The slight circular earthwork visible amongst scrub vegetation, almost encroached by trees.
S. Massey (NLA), 26 May 2001.

February 2004. Site scheduled.
Scheduling Description:
The monument includes the remains of a disc barrow located on fairly flat ground on Litcham Common, 250m south west of Bridge Farm, and situated on former heathland in the Good Sands upland region of north west Norfolk.
The barrow is visible as a circular, flat platform, measuring about 30m in diameter, encircled by a ditch. A slightly raised sub-circular mound, approximately 3m in diameter and standing up to 0.15m in height, is situated slightly off-centre on the platform. The partly infilled ditch is marked by a hollow 3m in width and up to 0.2m deep with an inner bank, standing up to 0.10m high, visible alongside the northern portion of the ditch for a distance of 7m.
The telegraph pole is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.
Information from (S1) and (S2).

October 2004.
Site under bracken, bramble and birch trees, making identification difficult. Work is being undertaken by the Litcham Common Management Committee under the guidance of Norfolk County Council Countryside Section. This will include strimming of bracken and bramble, and possibly felling of birch when perimeter of barrow is visible. Care will be taken during any operations to avoid damaging the site.
H. Paterson (A&E), 12 November 2004.3

May 2024. Wendling Beck and Fransham Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project.
A Bronze Age disc barrow (see above) is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and recent (2017) visualised lidar data (S3-S6). As the lidar survey was flown relatively recently, it is likely that the feature still survives as an earthwork. The earthworks of the ring ditch are clearly visible on the visualised lidar data (S6). The sections of internal bank and the sub circular mound discussed above (see above) are also visible as low earthworks on S6.
J. Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 09 May 2024.

Monument Types

• CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• DISC BARROW (Early Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 1501 BC)
• MOUND (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

• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Litcham (Parish Summary)