Post-medieval field boundary at New Moor Farm, Tillingham Road (EHER 81086)

A geophysical survey in 2022 detected a weak linear anomaly corresponding to a post-medieval field boundary shown on historic maps.

December 2022. Geophysical survey. Running NE-SW in Area 2, a weak linear anomaly was identified which exhibits a positive signal, with discrete areas of strong magnetic signal in the centre. This corresponds to a field boundary visible in historical maps of the survey area, and therefore represents historical land divisions of the survey area. <1> September-October 2024. Trial trenching. A post-medieval field boundary ditch running north to south divided the southern field, visible on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map. This was identified within Trenches 40 and 72 (ditch 283). In Trench 72, material dredged out of the ditch during cleaning had been spread across the area to the west of the ditch (layer 285). A large drain ran parallel to this ditch – also visible as a crop mark – running through Trenches 68 (ditch 261) and 74 (ditch 120). Crushed shell had been used to create a permeable layer within the drain, which became increasingly shallow and narrow as it extended northwards, becoming a shell filled field drain in Trenches 51 and 56. <2>