Monument record STN 170 - Ridges, of unknown but possible post medieval or modern date

December 2017. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
Ridges reminiscent of ridge and furrow are visible as earthworks on imagery from a lidar survey flown in 2015 (S1). Their date is uncertain, but a post medieval to modern date seems probable as they share their orientation with boundaries depicted on historical Ordnance Survey maps (such as S2). The ridges also share their orientation with the possible warren boundary to their north (SHER STN 188). They may be the vestiges of former cultivation of the heathland, either for arable agriculture or to grow forage crops for rabbits. However, given their potentially 19th or early 20th century date, they are perhaps more likely to be ridges for earlier blocks of forestry plantation, pre-dating the plantations visible on 1940s aerial photographs (which have a different orientation). Other areas of ridging have been identified nearby (SHER STN 168 and STN169). In 1998, the southern edge of the site was covered by a Rapid Earthwork Identification Survey (S3), but the ridges were not noted, perhaps because too small an area was covered, or perhaps because the earthworks were too slight to be readily identified.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 11th December 2017.