Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

29 March 1965. RAF (restricted) Air Photography.
See (S1).
Soilmarks.
Linear feature, interpreted by Ordnance Survey Archaeological Officers as being probable Roman Road (from Saham Toney to Venta Icenorum).
Documentation for this in file with copies of further aerial photographs.
See file sheet for discussion of full route.
D. Edwards (NAU) 18 November 1983.

1986, 1989.
Missing sections infilled by fieldwalking and aerial photography.
Full details in file.

18 July 1996. NLA air photography.
2 linear parallel cropmarks visible on projected line of Roman road, from TG 1129 0318 to TG 1192 0324.
M. Brennand (NLA), 3 December 2001.

September-October 2010. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey (Field 1).
The road is visible as a broken linear anomaly approximately 55m long.
See report (S24) and NHER 55897 for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 18 August 2011.

March 2011. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a section of the Roman road (NHER 19725) to the south of Hethersett are clearly visible on aerial photographs (S2-S5). The road can be seen as an intermittent bank feature, measuring up to approximately 13m in width, between TG 1363 0333 and TG 1509 0336. This and further sections to the east of this have been recorded under the parent record NHER 52027 and NHER 52024.
E. Bales (NMP), 28 March 2011.

July 2011. Norfolk NMP.
It should be noted that in addition to the aerial photographic sources already cited in the entry above (S2)-(S5), the length of Roman road visible as cropmarks and soilmarks between TG 1363 0333 (Elm Farm, Wymondham) and TG 1509 0336 (south of Park Farm, Hethersett) is also clearly visible on (S6)-(S7), and also on selected frames from RAF run (S8). Of the latter, only the photocopies held in the Secondary File and Norfolk Air Photo Library (S9) could be consulted, and the extent to which they have been deliberately ‘marked up’ to show the route is unclear.
To the west, the course of the road falling within Ordnance Survey quarter sheet TG10SW has been mapped by the NMP as two distinct sections. The easternmost, at Carpenter’s Farm, Wymondham, is visible between TG 1339 0331 and TG 1312 0331. It is visible as an earthwork and soilmark on aerial photographs (S10)-(S11); the line is also faintly visible on recent LiDAR imagery (S12) indicating that it probably still survives as an earthwork (or at least did until relatively recently). This section is notable for the apparent traces of two substantial ditches lying parallel to the road but set some way back from it. These contrast with the more closely spaced flanking ditches further to the west (see below) but similar features are perhaps apparent closer to Caistor St Edmund (NHER 52026). Although nothing is clear enough to warrant mapping, there are perhaps slight traces on the photographs of the road continuing into the gardens to the east. To the west the line is followed by a field boundary as far as Downham Grove.
To the west a much longer section of road is visible between TG 1190 0326 (south of Kidd’s Moor, Wymondham) and TG 0994 0304 (west of Barnham Broom Road, Wymondham). This is visible as earthworks, soilmarks and cropmarks on aerial photographs (S13)-(S22), and in places is also visible as a faint shadow on LiDAR imagery (S23), again suggesting that parts may still survive as slight earthworks. This section is notable not only for its length and relative coherence, but also for the fact that substantial parts (particularly between TG 1019 0306 and TG 1091 0314) were still earthworks in 1946 (see (S13)-(S14)). Cut through by modern drains, until recently parts of the ditches flanking the road appear to have still been in use as drainage ditches. To the east Google Earth imagery (S22) shows hints of a continuation towards Downham Grove. To the west the line of the road continues into Ordnance Survey quarter sheet TG00SE.
See too parent record NHER 52027.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 7 July 2011.

September 2012. Norfolk NMP.
The Roman road described above has been mapped as it is visible on aerial photographs for 1.7km between TG 0829 0269 and TG 0994 0304 (S25-S32).
In places the road has been mapped somewhat schematically and is more patchy in appearance than it has been depicted, with a possible central ditch or worn area in places around TG 0919 0294.
It has also been mapped as it appears as a slight earthwork in 1946 (S25), and as a cropmark in 2006 (S31) at TG 0943 0297.
A 98m possible extension to the road has also been mapped from TG 0895 0297 to TG 0886 0297.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 26 September 2012.

October-November 2016. Excavation.
Excavation of trench to rear of 61 Norwich Common (TG 1340 0332), in the area where slight (unmapped) possible traces of the road had been noted within gardens (see above).
This excavation revealed two broad areas of very compact grey brown silty sand that were thought to represent surviving traces of the Roman road. No finds were recovered from this material and there was no evidence for any other surviving features associated with the road. It is though recorded that there was evidence for significant recent disturbance at this location.
See report (S33) and NHER 64624 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 February 2021.

February-March 2019. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site to east of Carpenter's Farm (TG 1308 0332), where the soilmarks/earthworks associated with the line of the road are flanked by a pair of parallel cropmarks that potentially represent roadside ditches.
This survey identified a weak, intermittent, east-to-west aligned linear anomaly that appears to correspond with the line of the road. There was however no evidence for surviving sub-surface remains associated with parallel cropmarks.
See report (S34) and NHER 64625 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 February 2021.

February-March 2019. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site immediately south of Norwich Common (Area 6).
This survey identified a pair of parallel, fragmentary linear anomalies at TG 1371 0333 that clearly correspond with the recorded line of a Roman road. These anomalies appear to lie at the margins of the faint soilmark that marks the position of the road here (which is still visible on recent aerial images of the site).
See report (S35) and NHER 64629 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 13 February 2021.

June 2019. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site to east of Carpenter's Farm (TG 1308 0332).
This phase of work saw the excavation of three trenches across the line of the road and its associated cropmarks.
Although little of the road survived at the western edge of the site it was better preserved elsewhere, being associated with a broad, shallow, undulating feature containing firm silty clay deposits. A single ditch that didn’t appear to continue into adjacent trenches was though the only feature identified that could potentially be associated with the cropmarks thought to represent roadside ditches.
Interestingly, despite the evidence for the truncation of the road deposits, an initial contour survey of the site indicated that the road line is still associated with a slight rise in ground level.
See NHER 64625 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 February 2021.

Monument Types

• ROAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Finds

• POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Protected Status

• SHINE
• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Hethersett (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Ketteringham (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Wicklewood (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Wymondham (Parish Summary)