Archaeological Informative Trenching Report: Land South of 14 and 15 Pasture Close, Hillington, Norfolk

The trial trenching was undertaken over two days between 20th-21st October 2025 and entailed the excavation of two 30m x 1.8m trenches (Figure 2). The fieldwork was undertaken by a team of experienced field archaeologists, who acted strictly in accordance with the contents of the WSI (AAL 2025), and adhered to national and local guidelines regarding agreed best practice for archaeological monitoring and recording projects. The evaluation trenches were accurately located using a survey grade GPS receiving RTK corrections. A mechanical excavator was fitted with a 1.8m wide toothless ditching bucket that remove topsoil, subsoil and underlying non-archaeological deposits in spits no greater than 100mm in thickness. The process was repeated until the first archaeologically significant or natural horizon was exposed. All further excavation was then be by hand. Machine excavation was monitored at all times by an experienced field archaeologist. In the event of positive results the appropriate sample of archaeological features and deposits revealed was manually excavated in order to provide sufficient information to allow the Norfolk Historic Environment Team to formulate a strategy to manage the archaeological resource. A full written record of the archaeological deposits was made on standard Allen Archaeology Limited context recording sheets. Archaeological deposits were drawn to scale, in plan and section at an appropriate scale (usually 1:20 or 1:50), with Ordnance Datum heights being displayed on each class of drawing. Full colour photography formed an integral part of the recording strategy, and all archive photographs incorporated scales, a directional arrow and an identification board where appropriate. Additional working shots of the site were also taken to complement the record. Finds collected during the fieldwork were bagged and labelled with the appropriate deposit context number, and processed at the offices of Allen Archaeology Limited before being sent for assessment by appropriate specialist (AAL 2025). The survey comprised of two 30m long trenches where ditches (and one pit) of probable Late Saxon-medieval date were uncovered. Only two of the ditches contained dating evidence and the pottery was found with abrasions suggesting that the ditches were likely positioned some distance away from the settlement and domestic activities and are therefore likely part of a wider field system. Considering their proximity to the largely undated site (300m to the east) with unstratified Saxon pottery, it is possible these sites could be of contemporary date.