Monument record MDO1973 - Prehistoric field system on Well Bottom Down, Piddletrenthide

<1> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 322-4 (Monograph). SDO136.

Group (35): WELL BOTTOM DOWN (Piddletrenthide and adjacent areas in Charminster, Piddlehinton and Nether Cerne (Dorset I). Map on p. 323). 'Celtic' fields are traceable over 800 acres within the area Bushy Eweleaze, Forston (SY 673957) and Cowdon Hill (670974), both in Charminster parish; College Down (687992) in Piddletrenthide parish; and Coombe Bottom (705970) in Piddlehinton parish. Most of these remains are very slight, but 190 acres of fields, though very incomplete and almost all affected by later ploughing, were surveyed on Well Bottom Down, Piddletrenthide, an adjacent area to the S.W. in Charminster, and another to the W., in Nether Cerne, containing a Romano-British settlement (Nether Cerne (5), at SY 682985). There is a small D-shaped enclosure, (a), 300 yds. N. of this, at 68179875. To the S., the group was contiguous with 'Celtic' field Group (36), about 700967. The fields lie between 350 ft. and 650 ft. O.D. on the N.-S. Chalk ridge between rivers Cerne and Piddle, the spurs E. and W. of it and the re-entrants separating them. Gravel, clay and sand lie over the Chalk in the area of 'Celtic' fields N. and W. of settlement Nether Cerne (5). (fn. 1) There are many small quarries in this area and 1,300 yds. S., in Charminster, about 684975. Some quarries are cut into and along lynchet faces. From: 'Celtic' Field Groups', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3: Central (1970), pp. 318-346. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=127889 Date accessed: 06 May 2014.
Settlement Nether Cerne (5), showing occupation remains in a disturbed area of some 3 acres in and S.W. of the enclosure described under this number in Dorset I, lies at least in part on older 'Celtic' fields. The enclosure is a field with a ditch dug along two of its sides, 50 yds. and 40 yds. long; the N.W. side is a lynchet and any S.W. side has been destroyed. 'New Forest' beaker fragments were found amongst sherds in rabbit scrapes here. Samian ware was found amongst other pottery 100 yds. S.W. of it (Dorset Procs., 74 (1952), 91: (ii) to (iv)). Enclosure (a) here shown, has a slightly sloping interior of 75 ft. by 50 ft., but its bank is much spread. A 'Celtic' field lynchet, itself much disturbed by later ploughing, appears to spring from the enclosure bank on the N., suggesting a contemporary relationship. The lynchet below the enclosure, 7 ft. high, has been disturbed. Over a mile S.S.E., two destroyed earthworks lie in close but indeterminable relationship to 'Celtic' fields. These are the rectangular enclosure Piddlehinton (24) and, 1,000 yds. N.W. of it, in the N.W. corner of the same parish, at 68959705, an ovoid feature, (b), visible only on air photographs (CPE/UK 1974: 1370 and Cambridge University Collection, oblique AND 8). This lay on almost flat ground rising gently W. above 400 ft. O.D. About 160 ft. long and 120 ft. broad, aligned N.-S., the feature is defined by a narrow ditch (or two concentric ditches).
The fields as a whole are on gentle slopes, facing all directions, lynchets being up to 8 ft. high. An exposed lynchet section S.W. of Nether Cerne (5) showed the positive element, almost 6 ft. high, to consist entirely of sandy, clayey ploughsoil with abundant flints. The few surviving complete fields suggest proportions from square to 2:1 and sizes from ⅓ acre to 1 acre. The apparent long fields W. of (a) were produced by the overploughing of cross-lynchets N. to S. leaving traces of broad-rig earlier than the present enclosure pattern. In the area S.S.W. of this there was abundant narrow-rig.
Air photographs: CPE/UK 1974: 1369–72; 3370–2; Cambridge University Collections, obliques, AND 9 and ANF 51.

Record last edited

Dec 5 2014 3:41PM