Record Details
| NHER Number: | 18128 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of possible enclosure of unknown date |
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Summary
Part of a possible rectilinear enclosure is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. Its date is unknown. It lies within two larger areas of cropmarks: NHER 50726, a fragmentary field system of possible Iron Age to Roman date, and NHER 50823, a more disparate group of cropmarks of unknown and post medieval date. It shares some characteristics with both; for example, its orientation is similar to that of the Iron Age to Roman field boundaries, but only its southeastern side seems to entirely fit that pattern. The enclosure also appears to be cut by Stonehouse Road to its south, and is therefore presumably earlier than this thoroughfare, which is depicted on Faden’s Map of Norfolk (1797). At the same time, the identification of the cropmarks as an enclosure is not entirely certain, as there is no clearly defined ditch circuit, rather a group of overlapping linear and rectilinear ditches. Some of these could even be relatively modern drains or similarly mundane features.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 2997 1538 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG21NE |
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| Parish: | SALHOUSE, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
15 September 1981. NAU aerial photography.
Positive cropmarks.
Rectangular enclosure - with possible entrance on southeast side.
See (S1).
D. Edwards (NAU), 5 May 1982.
February 2008. Norfolk NMP.
The possible enclosure described above is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 2998 1538. Its date is uncertain, although a Roman date has previously been suggested. The southeastern side, at least, appears to form part of a fragmentary field system of possible Iron Age and/or Roman date (NHER 50726). The other elements are less easy to assign to any particular phase, and consequently have been grouped with other cropmarks of unknown and post medieval date (NHER 50823). They appear to be cut by Stonehouse Road, which is depicted on Faden’s Map of Norfolk (S3), suggesting that they are 18th century or earlier. Whether these features really do define an enclosure is also in doubt, as they are more a group of overlapping ditches than an enclosure as such. The fact that the site appears to sit on the edge of a palaeochannel (visible as a cropmark on the aerial photographs but not mapped by the NMP) could be significant, whether the cropmarks are ancient or of more recent origin.
The postulated enclosure is broadly trapezoidal in plan. It measures approximately 44m long and 34.5m wide. There is no clear evidence of a definite entrance.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 11 February 2008.
Monument Types
- DITCHED ENCLOSURE? (Unknown date)
- TRAPEZOIDAL ENCLOSURE? (Unknown date)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| <S1> | Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1981. NHER TG 2915A-C (NLA 121/ARQ13-5) 15-SEP-1981. |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1990. OS/90224 149-50 31-JUL-1990 (NMR). |
| <S3> | Publication: Faden, W. and Barringer, J. C. 1989. Faden's Map of Norfolk in 1797. |
Related records
| 50726 | Part of: Site of possible Iron Age to Roman period field system (Monument) |
| 50823 | Part of: Site of undated and probably post medieval field boundaries and other cropmarks (Monument) |
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