Monument record LCS 182 - Site of possible Iron Age to Roman saltern mound or ‘Red Hill’

January 2015. Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Beauty National Mapping Programme.
The site of a possible saltern mound or ‘Red Hill’, usually thought to date to the Iron Age to Roman period, is visible as a pinkish white soilmark on aerial photographs; the reddish colour is visible on (S1), but a (usually pale) mark is also visible on a number of other aerial photographs, including (S2)-(S3). Reddish marks of this type can derive from mounds of briquetage waste from the salt-making process, although they can instead indicate the presence of some kind of kiln (S4). ‘Red Hills’ are a feature of the Essex and south Suffolk coastline, and the location of this site, just above the 5m contour line and overlooking a former estuary, is a likely location for such a site (S5). Another salt-making site has been identified from fieldwalking evidence a little over 1km to the east (LCS 134). It should be noted, however, that fieldwalking at the site did not recover any evidence of saltmaking or other industrial processes (LCS Misc, MSF21549), casting doubt on its interpretation as a saltern. The mark may equate to the ring ditch previously recorded at the site (LCS 036) but not otherwise identified by the NMP survey.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 23rd January 2015.