Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

May 2002. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed development area.
See report (S1), which includes an aerial photographic assessment of the site (S2).
P. Watkins (HES), 26 May 2015.

June 2003. Systematic Fieldwalking and Metal-detecting Survey.
Field survey of southern portion of large proposed development area (Phase 2).
This work recovered Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age worked flints, a Late Bronze Age copper alloy axehead, and post-medieval pottery, tile, brick, glass and metalwork.
The flint finds were concentrated in the western part of the site. The assemblage consisted of 1127 worked flints and 131 burnt flints. 79 flint tools were identified, 80% of which were recovered from the concentration in the west of the site. Four thumbnail scrapers and a barbed and tanged arrowhead could be dated to the Beaker period. 45 scrapers were assigned a wider date range of the Neolithic to Bronze Age along with other tools including knives, borers and utilised flakes. 120 cores and 9 hard hammers used to work the flint were also recovered indicating that flint-working took place in this area while the presence of burnt flint indicates more varied activities and possible settlement. Amongst the flakes and debitage were a small quantity of large, heavy, worn flakes which may be of Palaeolithic date.
Metal-detecting on the site yielded primarily post-medieval objects, but a Late Bronze Age socketed axehead was recovered from the east of the survey area along with several undiagnostic bronze fragments. The find was located only 10m west of the area where a Late Bronze Age hoard had been recovered in 1980 (NHER 16398) and is likely an outlier of this deposit, dispersed by ploughing. The other bronze fragments recovered from the eastern half of the field may indicate metalworking activity in the area.
See report (S3) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S4).
See NHER 37646 for details of the results of the field survey undertaken in the northern part of the proposed development area (Phase 1).
J. Allen (NLA). Updated by H. Hamilton (NLA), 03 September 2008.

October to November 2003. Trial Trenching.
44 trial trenches were excavated within this field prior to the construction of new housing.
Despite the density of prehistoric material recorded during fieldwalking very few features were identified.
Two small irregular pits were located towards the centre of the investigation area. One of these contained charcoal and burnt flints and may represent tree clearance. Several similar pits were recorded in the field immediately north (NHER 37646), and some of these appear to correspond with possible pit clusters identified from aerial photographs (see S2).
Segments of an undated ditch were recorded in the two easternmost trenches, and a similar feature which may represent a continuation of the ditch was excavated in the field immediately north (NHER 37646). This undated ditch runs parallel with a later field boundary on the south-eastern edge of the site and may be of relatively recent date.
See report (S5) for further details.
Previously recorded under NHER 39796.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 03 September 2008.

October-November 2005. Excavation.
Metal detecting in the vicinity of the Bronze Age hoard (NHER 16398) (Excavation Area 2) recovered five copper alloy objects, three within the spoil from topsoil stripping and two during excavation. These were identified as two axe heads, a fragment of an axe, a scabbard chape, and a small piece of slag. These likely formed part of the Late Bronze Age hoard recovered in 1980 (NHER 16398), which appears to have been disturbed by ploughing. One of the axes appears to be a failed casting while the other is small and very worn, and the scabbard chape is also damaged. It has been suggested that they may have formed a founder's hoard of scrap metal to be collected for reuse.
A colluvial layer was identified in the extreme west of the excavated area, indicating that a stream may once have run through the area. A post hole of similar morphology to the Early Iron Age features identified to the north (NHER 37646) was cut into this layer, indicating that the stream had likely dried up by the Early Iron Age. However, it may have been present when the Bronze Age hoard was deposited.
Environmental samples were taken across the site, but these generally contained very low densities of material, indicating that it likely derived from wind-blown detritus. A sample from the post hole in this area was particularly charcoal-rich and it has been suggested that this material may have derived from small deposits of fuel or hearth waste.
Two undated parallel north-south ditches were also identified.
See published article (S6) for further information on the Bronze Age hoard, including details of all the earlier discoveries (NHER 16398). See also interim report (S7), assessment report (S8), archive report (S9) and publication draft (S10).
Previously recorded under NHER 39796. See NHER 37646 for details of Excavation Area 1.
J. Allen (NLA), 30 March 2007. Updated H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 September 2008.

Monument Types

• DITCH (Unknown date)
• PIT (Unknown date)
• FINDSPOT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FINDSPOT (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• LITHIC WORKING SITE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
• FINDSPOT (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• POST HOLE (Early Iron Age - 800 BC? to 401 BC?)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

• BURNT FLINT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• BORER (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• CORE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• DEBITAGE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• END SCRAPER (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• FLAKE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• HAMMERSTONE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• KNIFE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• SCRAPER (TOOL) (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• SIDE SCRAPER (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• RETOUCHED FLAKE (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)
• BARBED AND TANGED ARROWHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• BORER (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• END SCRAPER (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• KNIFE (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• SCRAPER (TOOL) (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• SIDE SCRAPER (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• THUMB NAIL SCRAPER (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
• HOARD (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• SCABBARD (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• SLAG (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• SOCKETED AXEHEAD (Late Bronze Age - 1000 BC to 701 BC)
• BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BUCKLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BUTTON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BUTTON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• HARNESS FITTING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• SPOON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• THIMBLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Bawburgh (Parish Summary)