Plans to build a new £1.65m recycling centre could be delayed, because experts say there may be Anglo-Saxon remains buried beneath the site.
They want to carry out exploratory digs if Norfolk County Council goes ahead with its plan for the replacement recycling centre for Sheringham.
And if they find significant archaeological remains, it could hold up the project.
John Percival, the council's own historic environment senior officer, said: "The proposed development site is located within a landscape where various features related to charcoal and iron production, of Anglo‐Saxon and medieval date, have been found.
"There is potential for previously unidentified heritage assets with archaeological interest to be present within the current application site and that their significance would be affected by the proposed development."
Mr Percival said that, if planning permission is granted, then a condition for a programme of archaeological work should be included.
He said that should involve digging trial trenches to establish what could lie beneath the soil and what more might need to be done.
That could lead to further excavations or a requirement for specific monitoring during the construction of the new recycling centre, to ensure archaeological material is not damaged.
The mooted new recycling centre would replace the current site on Holt Road in East Beckham, which has been earmarked for closure - along with the Mayton Wood Recycling Centre near Coltishall.
The land it would be built on, if permission is granted, is opposite the existing centre and accessed from the A148 Holt Road.
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Norfolk County Council said it would feature a one-way system, which should cut queues, and has space for a 'reuse' shop.
Norfolk county councillor Judy Oliver, who represents Sheringham division, previously said the centre would be "of huge benefit to the residents of Sheringham and Beeston Regis and the surrounding areas".
A decision over permission to build the centre will be made by the county council's planning committee in due course.
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