Monument record KSS 032 - World War II scaffolding beach defences

World War II beach defences, visible from 1941 along the beach of Kessingland parish (part of a system along most of the coast). The defences comprise a continuous line of scaffolding and was intended to prevent landings along the beach (S1-3). Some of the structure has since been eroded away.
see backlog for further details.

A detailed gradiometer survey was conducted over a site on Kessingland Beach, covering 2.9ha with the with the aim of establishing the presence and nature of detectable archaeological features associated with the World War II coastal defences on the beach. This second phase of survey continued on from a gradiometer survey carried out in March 2017 by Wessex Archaeology; this was conducted directly south of the site. The survey demonstrated a number of anomalies associated with known World War II coastal defences at Kessingland Beach (SHER No. KSS 032). The survey has confirmed their location and suggested that they extend to the north-east and south-west, beyond the survey extents. A concentration of increased magnetic response was identified to the north of the line of scaffolding. This possibly relates to unrecorded World War II coastal defences as the anomalies indicate buried metal. These anomalies taper towards the sea as they extend north. There was no evidence of coastal defences in the northernmost 190m of the survey area. In addition, anomalies interpreted as evidence of flotsam consisting of likely ferrous material washed up on to the beach have also been identified (S4).