Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

THE LINEARS AND POSSIBLE CURSUS DESCRIBED BELOW ARE NOW RECORDED AS PART OF NHER 44897 and 44900.

August 2003.
Cropmarks of ring ditches, linears and possible cursus.
See (S1).
D. Gurney (NLA), 26 August 2003.

On CD on digital storage shelf and R: Associated Files.

July 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The linears and possible cursus described above are now recorded as part of NHER 44897 and 44900.

The ring ditches described above are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), centred at TG 4402 1614. The northernmost ring ditch (visible at TG 4402 1616) may also be visible as a light-coloured soil- or cropmark on an aerial photograph taken in 1944 (S3), suggesting the presence of a mound or bank. This feature could instead be the post medieval or modern pit (not mapped) visible slightly to the southeast (at TG 4407 1613). (Unfortunately the mark is visible on an unrectifiable part of the photograph so its position in relation to the mapped cropmarks could not be checked digitally.) Although no direct dating evidence has been recovered from the site, the ring ditches seem most likely to represent the remains of Bronze Age round barrows or similar funerary monuments. This interpretation is suggested not only by their morphology (for example, they are larger than most round houses), but also by their relationship with the surrounding topography and archaeology. They occupy a north-facing slope, overlooking a shallow valley (now dry), on the opposing side of which is another ring ditch (NHER 44897), with another further to its northwest (NHER 44895). Both are probably Bronze Age and are skirted by a trackway of probable later prehistoric date (part of NHER 32062), which is itself aligned with the trackway which passes just to the southeast of the ring ditches described here (NHER 44897). In this case the trackway is, for the most part, depicted on historic maps and thus of post medieval date, but its alignment both to the northwest and southeast (see NHER 44898) and its relationship with the ring ditches suggests it could have much earlier origins. At the same time, the interpretation of undated ring ditches must always be treated with a degree of caution, as a variety of different dates and functions are possible. In this case the cropmarks of the ring ditches have a very dark, crisp appearance, which could reflect a more modern origin, perhaps even as recent as World War Two; they could be the remains of searchlight emplacements, for example.

The ring ditches are roughly circular in plan. The northernmost measures approximately 28m in diameter (24.5m internally), the southernmost 23.5m. Breaks in the circuit of the southernmost ring ditch could be the product of the cropmark being masked or the presence of genuine gaps. The northernmost ring ditch could have a small pit at its centre, perhaps representing a grave or similar deposit, or this could merely be a geological mark. Part of an inner ditch may also be visible on its west side.

It should be noted that the oblique digital photograph of the site (S1) was used for mapping but could not be rectified properly due to a lack of suitable control points. This may have had an adverse effect on the accuracy of the mapping.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 31 July 2006.

Monument Types

• BANK (EARTHWORK)? (Unknown date)
• MOUND? (Unknown date)
• PIT? (Unknown date)
• RING DITCH (Unknown date)
• BANK (EARTHWORK)? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• GRAVE? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• MOUND? (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• PIT? (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

• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Rollesby (Parish Summary)