Norvic Archaeology

SWIMMING WITH THE FROGS...Earlier this year archaeological work was carried out at a new glamping site at Haveringland, which includes the earthwork remains of a medieval moated site. The design of the development is for minimal impact, with archaeological trenchwork mitigating the area for an outdoor natural swimming pond - check out their progress at https://www.facebook.com/moatisland/

More illustration work, this time medieval copper-alloy finds from Beeston Common near Sheringham: a particularly fine pilgrim badge of St Barbara (holding a book and palm leaf next to her tower prison), alongside a decorative mount and belt buckle.

Recent illustration work includes a selection of late medieval copper-alloy finds from a site off Chimney Street, immediately adjacent to the still impressively deep town ditch of Castle Acre. The loop is part of a purse hanger, inlaid with niello, top right is the end off a wooden knife handle above one of two identical casket fittings.

Caistor Roman Town Family Fun Day! Norvic Archaeology will be at the Caistor family fun day tomorrow - with a mystery burial activity for kids to investigate. Delve deeper into Roman history on a tour of the site. Listen to a storyteller, or dress up as a Roman solider and go to training school. Sun 16: 1100-1600 Visit the website for more info: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/…/c aistor-family-fun-day

They think its all over... The trenches are now filled in but the Caistor Roman Project's investigations of the temple field near Venta Icenorum continue, with processing of the many finds that have been carefully unearthed (to get involved http://www.caistorromanproject.org/about/ 4589753534_) The tessellated floor was truly excellent, along with massively deep Roman wall footings, a multiple gravelled surface by the east entrance to the precinct (which appears to pre-date the temenos wall) and a deep ditch for a later Roman enclosure which contained rubble from the building. Thanks to all who got involved or visited - we came, we saw, we ate a lot of cake.

There will be a second day of guided tours of the Caistor Roman Project dig site this coming Saturday at 11am, 2pm & 3pm. Visitors should park at the Caistor Hall Hotel as there is no parking at the site itself. For directions see: http://www.caistorromanproject.org/. This image shows painted wall plaster collected from the surface of the tesselated floor (!), along with a bone gaming counter and Roman pottery sherds.

'I FOUND A FLOOR!' (the words of Glen, one of our UEA student volunteers at the Caistor Roman Project summer excavation). Despite later robber trenches the Roman building near the temple still has much of a tessellated floor in place, with fragments of painted wall plaster still resting above it. Better still it appeared just in time for the 150+ visitors on our day of site tours yesterday. I have a feeling the CRP may look to host another tour at the end of the week! The project blog can be found at : https://caistorromanproject2018.wordpress .com/.

There will be guided tours of the Caistor Roman Project dig site at 11am, 2pm & 3pm this Sunday 26th August. Visitors should park at the Caistor Hall Hotel as there is no parking at the site itself. For directions see: http://www.caistorromanproject.org/. This image shows a tiny chalk tessera, like those known to have been used in the floor of the temple.

This weekend was the start of the much anticipated Caistor Roman Project Summer Excavation, investigating the Scheduled Ancient Monument of the extra-mural temple enclosure of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund. This year’s excavation blog can be viewed at https://caistorromanproject2018.wordpress .com/. Special consent has allowed for the investigation of a possible eastern gateway, a large Roman building close to the temple and a possible pre-Roman enclosure ditch. So far discoveries include plenty of tesserae and roof tiles, along with the top of a Roman wall and the work is only just beginning!

"LAVA BREAD"...a test-pit weekend (with BBQ!) in July at Tasburgh with the Norwich YAC branch, hosted by FOIL produced this fragment of Late Saxon/medieval Lava-stone Quern. Such pieces are commonly found in Late Saxon to early medieval deposits across East Anglia, they are usually classified as Rhenish lava stone. A few pieces can be seen in the walls of the local round towered church of St Mary's.

THE DAILY GRIND...This is the upper half (upside down here to show the grinding surface) of a quarter fragment of beehive shaped rotary hand quern - found during monitoring work near the Roman fort of Branodunum on the north Norfolk coast. It most likely dates to the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period. This one is made from a type of Greensand stone found in the area of Wessex, which would have added a decidedly gritty texture to the flour.

Castle Acre Priory (aka the ruins of Dungarth!) A scorching week of hand digging test-pits around the Prior's Lodge and cellar of this amazing Cluniac Priory (one of several Norfolk locations for the TV show Knightmare) - ironically to evaluate possible new positions for new drains and soakaways. Sustained by ice-cream's from the English Heritage gift shop we persevered with the iron hard ground, discovering pottery, glazed floor tile fragments and a few new blisters.

The dry weather is currently showing some astounding parchmarks at the Caistor Roman Town (Venta Icenorum), as taken recently by Mike Page (www.mike-page.co.uk) and shared by the University of Nottingham - worth a visit to wander the roads which should be visible at ground level too!

Eight test-pits were dug with school children and local volunteers/families during the second half of May at Burnham Norton on land close to the Carmelite Friary, as part of as part of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust's 'Imagined Land' community project http://www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/burnhamno rton. The most amazing find of the project is a form of highly decorated mount or strap-end made of copper-alloy with traces of gold gilding. The Zoomorphic design appears to incorporate the two silver rivets as the eyes of an animal face and currently a 9th century date is suggested based on the style. This is a high-status Late Saxon period object of excellent workmanship and a rare find indeed. For a full summary of the test-pitting visit https://sites.google.com/…/imaginedland project2018test-pitt…

Works earlier in the year to create a new ramped access in the south-east corner of the Garth at Norwich Cathedral involved the breaching of the 14th century sill in Bay 15. Several fragmentary pieces of reused Romanesque voussoirs were collected from within the medieval fabric - some of which with a zig-zag design have been able to be pieced together to form amazing new evidence for the form of the Norman arches of the original cloister arcade!
Photo courtesy of R.Harris.

BRONZE AGE BONUS! An excavation at Whissonsett earlier this month uncovered Late Saxon and medieval features,as expected from the results of last years evaluation work. However, we also stumbled across a charcoal rich feature just clipped by a new soakaway trench edge, which was stuffed full of hand decorated Beaker pottery sherds - this style of pottery dates from c. 2450BC. An extension to the trench allowed the whole shallow feature to be excavated - with several hundred sherds recovered (representing multiple vessels), along with numerous flint scrapers, a flint arrowhead and large volumes of fired clay fragments. Many of the pot sherds bear the finger marks and nail impressions of the makers used as part of the decoration.

TWO KILNS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! Norvic Archaeology has been supporting the Caistor Roman Project (https://www.facebook.com/caistorromanpro ject/) over the last two weeks during trial trenching over two magnetic anomalies (revealed by magnetometer survey) on land north of the walled Roman town of Venta Icenorum. Both features are clay lined kilns/ovens of probable late 2nd to 3rd century date. One has been left preserved undisturbed while the other has been partially investigat...ed - revealing a complex story of modification and reuse, before both the kiln and fire-pit were infilled with large quantities of smashed household pottery. Could the owners of this workshop have closed-up once the area was shut off from the town by the construction of the defensive walls? To get involved in this years summer excavation get in touch with the project: http://www.caistorromanproject.org/get-in volved/4589753536
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"Interpreting the Burnham Norton Friary Site". This Saturday NHARG organised a day of guest speakers to tackle this subject as part of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust's 'Imagined Land' community project (http://www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/burnhamn orton). This included a presentation of the recent Magenetometry Survey carried out by Dr David Bescoby and work by Norvic Archaeology on the precinct wall (given by yours truly)- which suggest the site of a lost eastern Gatehouse and other former buildings from the main precinct. Wellies and brollies were in full force for the afternoon tour, which included a splash in the ?Holy Spring. Looking forward to better weather for our community test-pits in May!