Earthwork remains of undated possible salt production site, north-east of Old Hall Marsh Farm, Old Hall Marshes (EHER 16707)

The earthwork remains of 'U-shaped' enclosures, curvilinear enclosures, a long bank (possible trackway), and an amorphous hollow which are possibly associated with salt production. They are recorded in an aerial photograph from 1953 and on Google Earth imagery and some of the features are transcribed in the NMP cropmark plot. A red hill which is situated within this complex is recorded in EHER 11556 and may be associated.

Various earthwork features, visible on early RAF vertical photography, which are possibly associated with salt production. The area has subsequently been converted to arable farming. <1> <2> 1999. Field survey. The field was included in a survey of Old Hall Marshes and source <1> is reproduced in this report. The survey identified two main features of interest: 43, a large hollow and 44, a long low bank. It describes each as follows. 43: a large amorphous hollow, 50m by 25m by 0.8m deep, tapering to the north-east. 44: a long low bank, 8.0m wide by 0.4m high a, with a terminus at its western end and very slight ditches on either side, 3.6m wide by 0.2m deep. It is visible on aerial photographs, leading from a creek on the eastern boundary of the field, apparently cutting through a second bank, with a third running south-east from it towards the eastern boundary of the field. These banks apparently separate areas of ploughed land from marshland and are probably counter walls, constructed to stop flooding of reclaimed land. On later aerial photographs, when the whole area had been reclaimed and ploughed, only the main bank remained visible. <3> Google Earth imagery from 2000-2024 depicts the earthworks. The images show a series of up to five 'U-shaped' enclosures in this field, on an approximate east-west alignment (with their open sides to the north), which can be best seen on the image from July 2014. These may be associated with the salt-working process, perhaps situated along the edge of a former creek. A red hill is visible to the centre-north of the field and is recorded in EHER 11556. At the east end, the sequence is interrupted by a possible double-ditched trackway (no.44 in <3>) aligned north-east to south-west and which appears to terminate with a tapered end just beyond the line of the 'U-shaped' enclosures. The second and third banks described by source <3> correspond to the east-west aligned portions of the 'U-shaped' enclosures described here; note the alternative interpretation of their function. In the north-west corner of the field are two curvilinear ('bean-shaped') enclosures, the westernmost of which mimics the shape of the field and is subdivided into narrow linear strips. The red hill (EHER 11556) appears to be situated within the easternmost curvilinear enclosure. The second U-shaped enclosure may be bound to the north by the easternmost curvilinear enclosure, forming a distinctly square shape in some images. The curvilinear enclosures are not depicted on the cropmark plot but can be seen on the RAF vertical from 1953 (<1>). The southern half of the field appears to be empty apart from an irregular depression in the south-east quadrant (no.43 in <3>). The entire field is bisected by a modern trackway aligned roughly north-east to south-west. <4> Note: This record should be considered alongside EHER 11556 for a red hill within this earthwork complex which may be associated with the possible salt production site recorded here.