Record Details
| NHER Number: | 26768 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Post medieval shellfish pits |
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Summary
A series of rectilinear pits can be seen on aerial photographs of this area. These were recorded by the Norfolk Rapid Coastal Survey as rectilinear pits lined with timber or concrete. They were originally used for the storage of oysters, mussels and other shellfish.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TF 7993 4446 |
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| Map Sheet: | TF74SE |
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| Parish: | BRANCASTER, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
January 2001. NMP.
A group of rectilinear pits is visible as an earthwork at TF 798 444 - TF 799 444 on 1946 aerial photographs (S1). The pits range from 2.5 - 6m long, although a longer pit (about 25m) is visible at TF 799 444 (running east to west). Most of these pits can also be seen on 1972 aerial photographs (S2), with the exception of the long linear pit. This longer pit is now located below the high water mark and can no longer be seen and is presumably no longer used. These pits are marked on the 1906 map (S3) and are labelled as 'mussel pits'. Whether they date to the post medieval period or not is unclear, as they do not appear on earlier maps. These pits form part of the shellfish industry in this area, and are similar to those recorded as NHER 26767
A. Hunt (NMP), 29 January 2001.
May-November 2004. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey.
Inter-tidal survey (Environmental Zone 8), Context 820:
Two timber lined shellfish pits, one concrete lined shellfish pit and an associated timber sluice were recorded to the north of a modern sea defence bank. They were sited on the southern edge of Brancaster Staithe saltmarsh between TF 79882 44461 and TF79940 44481.
See assessment report (S4) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.421).
J. Allen (NLA), 15 April 2005. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2019.
Monument Types
- PIT (Post Medieval to 21st Century - 1540 AD to 2100 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| <S1> | Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK 1571 Frm 3018 7-JUN-1946. |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1972. OS/72033 103-104 22-MAR-1972. |
| <S3> | Map: Ordnance Survey. 1906. OS 2nd Edition 25" 1906 Sheet 2014. |
| <S4> | Unpublished Contractor Report: Robertson, D., Crawley, P., Barker, A., and Whitmore, S. 2005. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey. Assessment Report and Updated Project Design. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 1045. |
Related records - none
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