Earsham Quarry, Norfolk: Area 1

Between the 17th of May and the 25th of June 2021, Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) carried out an archaeological excavation at Earsham Quarry in Norfolk (TM 31862 89070). The stipulated excavation area, covering 1.97ha, was machine stripped to investigate archaeological remains previously recorded in an earlier phase of work at the site. The excavation revealed a multi-phased series of remains, mostly of prehistoric date.
Low-level Mesolithic and Neolithic activity of a probable transient, episodic nature was evidenced by a small assemblage of residually deposited struck flints. In the south of the excavated area, an isolated urned cremation burial of Early Bronze Age date was identified. This represented the earliest archaeological feature recorded and the only evidence of funerary activity from the site.
Part of a possible later Bronze Age ditched field system was uncovered, which consisted of four partially exposed enclosures. Surrounding the ditches that formed this field system were the remains of Middle to Late Iron Age peripheral settlement activity. This included pit and post hole clusters, substantial storage pits, along with beamslot and post-built structures, mostly centred on the higher ground in the north-west of the site.
A large quantity of pottery and fired clay was recovered from these Middle to Late Iron Age features, including two loomweights indicative of small-scale textile production. Due to the acidity of the soils, preservation of organic remains was particularly poor, with the limited ecofactual assemblages restricting the conclusions that could be drawn about the economic and environmental aspects of this phase of activity at the site.
The remains of a post-medieval pond were also identified, along with two field boundary ditches illustrated on 19th-century maps of the area.