Late Neolithic or Bronze Age Henge type monument and D shaped enclosure 300m west of Twins Farm

Summary

The site of a henge or henge-like monument, and a sub-trapezoidal or D-shaped ditched enclosure, both possibly dating from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Ages.

Reasons for Designation

The Late Neolithic or Bronze Age Henge type monument and D shaped enclosure 300m west of Twins Farm is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: the henge or henge-like monument and D-shaped enclosure are visible as a clearly defined group of crop marks on aerial photography;

* Period: as examples of the small number of monument types dating to the prehistoric period, they are highly representative of the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age periods;

* Rarity: the proximity of the possible henge or henge-like feature and D-shaped enclosure is unusual. These rare monument types offer valuable insights into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in this country;

* Documentation: the cropmark remains of the site have been recorded from aerial photography interpretation since 1929, and the site was researched and mapped during the National Mapping Programme (NMP) project in 2010;

* Diversity: the close proximity and relationship between the henge-like monument and D-shaped enclosure and nearby barrow cemeteries provides evidence of the continuity in use of the site as a ritual focus into the Early Bronze Age, adding chronological depth to the monument;

* Potential: for the buried deposits which retain considerable potential to provide evidence relating to social organisation and demographics, cultural associations, human development, disease, diet, and death rituals. Buried environmental evidence can also inform us about the landscape in which the henge and enclosure were constructed;

* Group value: they form part of a wider group of ceremonial and funerary monuments focused on the confluence of the Rivers Tas and Yare, including the scheduled barrow cemeteries north of Markshall Farm and east of Harford Farm, and a scheduled henge at Arminghall, located 900m to the north-east.

History

The Late Neolithic or Bronze Age Henge type monument and D shaped enclosure 300m west of Twins Farm comprises a round henge or henge-like monument (NHER 9582), and a sub-trapezoidal or D-shaped ditched enclosure (NHER 9583), both possibly dating from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Ages.

Henges are a type of Neolithic monument generally found in downland landscapes and river valleys, often close to springs and watercourses, and their physical associations with water may have had a symbolic resonance. They were built from about 3,000 BC but most date to the late Neolithic (2,800-2,000 BC). Henges are circular monuments usually consisting of an earthwork bank and internal ditch, although the type was named after Stonehenge, which has an external ditch enclosing a bank. Henges vary considerably in size (up to 110m in diameter) and usually have one or two entrances. A few, however, are larger; irregular in shape and may have several entrances. Finds and deposits from the ditches and interiors of henges provide important evidence for the chronological development of the sites, the types of activity that occurred within them and the nature of the environment in which they were constructed. They may have contained a variety of features including timber or stone circles, post or stone alignments, pits, burials or central mounds, although some of these features may be the result of later reuse or adaption. They are interpreted as places where communities who lived rather mobile lives gathered periodically for meetings and ceremonies of various kinds. A number of henges were reused in later periods, sometimes maintaining a ceremonial or ritual use, or adapted to new uses. Henges occur throughout England and most are now identified by aerial survey, having been levelled by ploughing.

The D-shaped enclosure around 8m south-west of the henge-like monument is of uncertain date and function; it is probably of similar date given the apparent relationship between the two monuments. The henge is likely to be the earliest element of the wider cropmark complex, with a round barrow cemetery developing around the confluence of the Rivers Yare and Tas in the Bronze Age. It is possible that the henge was still visible as a monument and retained some significance at that time and was possibly the reason for the cemetery’s location. The cropmarks of the henge and D-shaped enclosure sit within a wider complex of rectilinear enclosures and a possible trackway; these cropmarks extend beyond the scheduled area. The phasing of the enclosure cropmarks is uncertain but from their form they are likely to be of Iron Age or Romano-British date relating to fields and possible settlement activity. Some of the enclosure ditch cropmarks cut across the henge, suggesting that the henge may have been largely or completely levelled by the Iron Age to Roman period. The enclosure ditches appear to mostly respect the position of the ring ditch cropmarks, indicating that at least some of the round barrows may still have been present as earthworks when the enclosures were laid out.

Cropmarks at Markshall were recorded by aerial photography (AP) in 1929 by Gilbert Insall and H Frederick Low. In 1934 Roy Rainbird Clarke published ‘Notes on the archaeology of Markshall’, including a map showing ‘Principal crop-markings inserted from air-photographs, 1928–1933’. The site was scheduled in 1950 as ‘Sites discovered by air photography at Markshall’, and the scheduling description records that a ‘circular and D shaped crop mark appear in [an] air photo’ around 750m south of Old Lakenham. Further aerial photographs of the area were taken by J K St Joseph in the 1950s and 1960s. The site was researched and mapped during the National Mapping Programme (NMP) project in 2010. As part of that research Bales et al. (2010, 56) suggested the site is aligned on the axis of Arminghall Henge (HER 6100 / NHLE 1003985), which lies around 900m to the north-east, and another double ring-ditch beyond the henge. Research carried out as part of this assessment has demonstrated the cropmarks are still visible on aerial photographs taken on 13 August 2024, and therefore the below ground archaeological deposits are shown to survive.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: The Late Neolithic or Bronze Age Henge type monument and D shaped enclosure 300m west of Twins Farm comprises a round feature, possibly a henge or henge-like monument (NHER 9582), and a sub-trapezoidal or D-shaped ditched enclosure (NHER 9583), both possibly dating from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. The site is centred at TG 23243 05348 and lies between Old Lakenham and the A47 at the confluence of the Rivers Yare and Tas, on terraced sands and gravels at 5m AOD.

DESCRIPTION: The circular feature centred at TG 2327 0536 possibly represents the remains of a henge or henge-like monument of Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age date. It comprises the cropmark and soilmark remains of two concentric ring-ditches with three pits or grave cuts at their centre. The outer ring-ditch has a diameter of approximately 43m and encloses an area of around 0.14ha. The inner ring-ditch has an approximate diameter of 20m and encloses around 0.03ha. In 2010 the National Mapping Programme (NMP) recorded the site as having an internal penannular feature around 12m across (recorded as a bank) in the centre of the two ring-ditches. A bank was also recorded between the outer and inner ring-ditches. No earthworks relating to these features were observed on 1m resolution lidar data in 2025. Like other suspected henge sites in Norfolk, this site occupies a relatively low-lying position close to a river confluence (that of the Yare and the Tas) at 5m AOD.

The sub-trapezoidal or D-shaped ditched enclosure centred at TG 2322 0533 lies around 8m south-west of the henge or henge-like monument. It measures around 57m from east to west and up to 47m from north to south. It is wider at the eastern end where it appears to have a straight facade facing the barrow. There are possible causeways towards the western ends of its northern and southern ditches. The enclosure is crossed by elements of a field system including boundary ditches, one of which runs parallel with the eastern side. Given the apparent relationship between the two features, it is likely the D-shaped enclosure is of similar date to the henge or henge-like monument. If this supposition is correct, some sort of ceremonial and/or funerary function (for example as a mortuary enclosure) seems probable. A proliferation of ditches overlying and surrounding the site (NHER 53475) may be contemporary with the enclosure, but most appear to post-date it.

The spatial relationship between the henge or henge-like feature and D-shaped enclosure is unusual. An association with Arminghall Henge (NHLE 1003985), 900m to the north-east, and with prehistoric funerary monuments in the surrounding area, demonstrates the importance of the landscape to the communities living there at this time.

The pattern of ditches within and around the henge and D-shaped enclosure suggests at least two phases of field boundaries. Excavations carried out as part of the A47 project around 150m to the south in 1991 (Ashwin and Bates 2000, 192) investigated several ditches on an east-west alignment and one orientated north-north-west to south-south-east, all heavily truncated by the plough. The former proved to be medieval to post-medieval in date, while the latter, which shares the alignment of the ditch crossing the scheduled area could not be phased. 

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: The scheduled area is marked on the attached map and covers the full extent of the henge and D shaped enclosure; it also includes a 5m buffer zone where possible, which is considered necessary for the support and preservation of the monument. The cropmarks of the henge and D-shaped enclosure sit within a wider complex of rectilinear enclosures and a possible trackway; these cropmarks extend beyond the scheduled area.

EXCLUSIONS: The scheduling excludes any fencing, transmission poles and road and track surfaces, though the ground beneath them is included.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

NF 245

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Clarke, R, Notes on the archaeology of Markshall in Norfolk Archaeology, Vol. 25, (1934), 354–67
Ashwin, T, Bates, S, Excavations on the Norwich Southern Bypass, 1989–91. Part I: excavations at Bixley, Caistor St Edmund, Trowse, Cringleford and Little Melton in East Anglian Archaeology, (2000), 91

Websites
Norfolk Heritage Explorer, ‘NHER Number 9582, Possible Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age henge monument’, accessed 20 October 2025 from https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF9582-Possible-Late-Neolithic-or-Early-Bronze-Age-henge-monument&Index=2&RecordCount=1&SessionID=92d30d39-3e8b-4fc5-9762-daa6d76932c7
Norfolk Heritage Explorer, ‘NHER Number 9583, Site of D-shaped enclosure of probable Neolithic to Bronze Age date’, accessed 20 October 2025 from https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF9583-Site-of-D-shaped-enclosure-of-probable-Neolithic-to-Bronze-Age-date&Index=2&RecordCount=1&SessionID=bcd3b51b-242d-46c9-b4a3-d6670e75a001

Other
Bales, E, Cattermole, A and Horlock, S, The Archaeology of Norwich ‘Growth Point’ and Environs: results of the Norwich Growth Point National Mapping Programme (NMP) Project. English Heritage Research Report 115/2010 (2010)

End of official list entry

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