Monument record HNV 036 - Neolithic pits and undated ditches at Pillbox Farm, Mill Lane, Hengrave

2017: Norvic Archaeology undertook a Strip, Map and Sample Excavation.
The excavation revealed several shallow archaeological features and a continuation of a linear ditch of uncertain date previously recorded just to the west, along with a large cess-tank pit which formerly served the demolished property known as Denbet. A cluster of three prehistoric pits containing burnt flints and charcoal stained deposits in the form of buried hearth waste was investigated, with a small number of burnt and unburnt worked flints also retrieved from their fills. Most significantly, C14 dates established for one of the pits places the activity to 2992BC +/- 24 years, within the middle Neolithic date range (3,200 to 2,800 BC). This is a period when the landscape was dominated by the adjacent cursus monument. A small assemblage of just 11 worked flints were collected, evidence for prehistoric activity of primarily Neolithic date. Unlike the previous assemblage from the house excavation, no evidence attributable to Late Mesolithic to Early Neolithic bladelet technology was collected. Other noteworthy finds include a late 16th to early 17th century jetton, a 17th century Rose farthing and a trading token of Wilson’s Confectioner and Bakers dated to 1839 and bearing the city of Norwich arms. (S1)