Iron Age ditched enclosure 270m north east of Warham Camp

Reasons for Designation

A distinctive group of square ditched enclosures between 0.25ha and 1ha in area has been recorded in north and west Norfolk. All are situated on relatively high ground and, most, if not all, have a single entrance. Their distribution is similar to that of the Iron Age forts in the county and those which have been investigated have produced evidence for a date in the Late Iron Age (2nd century BC - 1st century AD). Although the limited excavations on sites of this type have not, as yet, provided conclusive evidence for their function, it is thought that they probably had a religious or ceremonial purpose, since excavated examples of a class of similar later Iron Age enclosures in central and western Europe and in Southern England have been found to contain ritual structures or to have been used for burials. The ditched enclosure 270m north east of Warham Camp is of particular interest because of its close association with the nearby Iron Age fort. The buried ditches and features in the subsoil of the interior will retain archaeological information relating to its construction and use to add to the evidence recovered by the limited excavations on the site and to increase understanding of this particular group of monuments.

Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a rectangular ditched enclosure located on the northern end of a spur of glaciated chalk above the valley of the River Stiffkey which runs 280m to the west. It lies 270m north east of the circular Iron Age earthwork enclosure known as Warham Camp, which is the subject of a separate scheduling. The enclosure, which has internal dimensions of approximately 70m north-south by 67m east-west, with an entrance on the east side, is defined by a ditch which has become completely infilled, although it survives as a buried feature beneath the ploughsoil and forms a cropmark (these are areas of differential crop growth over buried archaeological deposits), which has been recorded on aerial photographs. A description published in 1810 refers to entrenchments on the site, known as The Buroughs, showing that it was then at least partly visible. Limited excavations carried out in 1959 have demonstrated that the ditch is `V' shaped in section and between 1.7m and 2m deep measured from the present surface of the ploughsoil. On the west and north sides of the enclosure and around the north east corner it is approximately 2m wide, and on the south side and the east side south of the entrance it is approximately 5.8m wide. According to the evidence recorded in excavation, the wider part of the ditch is the result of a recutting, never completed, after the original ditch had become partly infilled. The enclosure is dated to some time between the end of the 3rd century BC and the mid-1st century AD by fragments of Late Iron Age and Romano-British pottery recovered during the excavation.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 10 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

30533

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Davies, J, Proc Prehist Soc in Where Eagles Dare: the Iron Age of Norfolk, Vol. 62, (1996), 77f
Gregory, T, Gurney, G, East Anglian Archaeol in Excavations at Thornham, Warham, Wighton & Caistor, Norfolk, Vol. 30, (1986)

End of official list entry

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