Monument record MDO2812 - Prehistoric field system on Seldon Hill, Up Cerne

Linear and curvilinear banked and ditched features associated with an extensive Iron Age/Romano-British field system are visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs on Seldon Hill and Sheephouse Bottom and up onto Wether Hill. The features comprise a series of irregular enclosures, lynchets and possibly associated trackways covering an approximate area of around 1057m by 850m. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project.

Centred ST 645034. An extensive field system with field banks and lynchets forming small rectilinear enclosures of 'Celtic' type averaging 100m by 40m (.04 ha). These are poorly defined in the N part of the system at Bazon Hill, but fairly pronounced in the area of Barn Bottom and Sheephouse Bottom.

There is one possible settlement area on the south side of the spur represented by an oval feature 80ft by 60ft. In the vicinity of Barn Bottom there are scattered remains of 'Celtic' fields covering about 45 acres. <3>

In the vicinity of Sheephouse Bottom there are two small plots, "A" centred at ST 64640294 and "B" centred at ST 64650279, which show superimposed Medieval strip lynchets. The lynchets are parallel, regularly spaced and average 0.5m high. The whole system is almost entirely under rough pasture. <4>

ST 650025. 'Celtic' fields on Seldon Hill and adjacent slopes to the north and south. The principal remains on Seldon Hill cover an area exceeding 70 acres. The fields have been defaced by ploughing on the summit, by multiple hollow-ways up the end of the spur and by strip fields in Wancombe Bottom
(ST 60 SE 21), and Sheephouse Bottom.

The 'Celtic' fields which formerly extended from Seldon Hill in the S to Bazon Hill in the N are now almost entirely erased by ploughing although some lynchets and banks are visible on Aps (b) as spread soil and cropmarks. The strip lynchets at Sheephouse Bottom have also been destroyed.

The possible settlement (4), presumably identified from Aps (a) cannot be located on the ground, which is largely arable, or on OS Aps (b).

The published 1:2500 detail of field systems has been deleted on ST 6402, 6403 and 6502. (5) nja 76

Linear and curvilinear banked and ditched features associated with an extensive Iron Age/Romano-British field system are visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs on Seldon Hill and Sheephouse Bottom and up onto Wether Hill <6-8>. The features comprise a series of irregular enclosures, lynchets and possibly associated trackways covering an approximate area of around 1057m by 850m. In places there are potentially later lynchets/field boundaries of potentially medieval date; two areas of likely later features are recorded separately under MDO2813 and MDO43087.

The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project. They are still variously visible as earthworks and cropmarks on Google Earth imagery.

Ordnance Survey, OS/74/088/138-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18863.

Ordnance Survey, OS/74/088/150-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18864.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 87 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(8) CELTIC FIELD-SYSTEM, on the N. and E. sides of Seldon Hill and on the E. side of Wancombe Hill, ½ to ¾ m. W. of the church.'

<2> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 FP 1050-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17031.

<3> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, RCHM Ms File (unpublished revision of Dorset 1) (Unpublished document). SDO17382.

<4> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 19-SEP-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<4.1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 FP 1050-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17031.

<5> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1962 (Map). SWX1540.

(ST 647028) Field System (NR)

<6> Attrill, N J, Field Investigators Comments NJA, F2 NJA 29-SEP-76 (Unpublished document). SDO14743.

<7> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RS 4376-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17032.

<8> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RS 4377-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17062.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 199167 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 23 2022 11:31AM