Monument record MDO32034 - Enclosure east of Preston Farm, former Tarrant Rushton airfield, Tarrant Rushton

An irregularly circular enclosure with a diameter of about 120m, visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs dated 2005. The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

A curvilinear later prehistoric ditched curvilinear enclosure, measuring about 120m across, was recorded as cropmarks on 2015 Historic England oblique aerial photographs. It is also recorded on 2005 Google Earth vertical aerial photographs. There are parts of ditched boundaries around the enclosure suggesting it may have been part of a wider system. It is centred at ST 9454 0505. <1>

An irregularly circular enclosure with a diameter of c120m, located immediately east of Preston Farm. The site lies within the area of the former Tarrant Rushton airfield, and is visible most clearly as a cropmark on aerial photography dated 2005. The inferred western-most part of the enclosure is obscured by a farm track (part of the original airfield perimeter track) and by modern land-use; and the eastern-most part was previously overlain by the former main 01-19 (north-south) runway, which was removed in the later 20th century as part of re-instatement works following closure of the airfield. Parts of the cropmark suggest a discontinuous or causewayed ditch, although this appearance could be deceptive, resulting from land remediation works.

The feature was digitally plotted from additional aerial photographs during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project <3-5>. The enclosure sits at the southern end of a series of ditched features visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs, thought likely to represent a small settlement and/or field system of later prehistoric date. These features are recorded separately under MDO44405 but may be related.

<1> Winton, Helen, RCHME/EH/HE Aerial Photographers comment HW (Verbal communication). SDO18745.

<1.1> 23-APR-2015, 29563_001-009 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19250.

<1.2> Google Earth, 01-JAN-2005, Google Earth 2005 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18557.

<2> GetMapping, 2005, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO12563.

<3> Google Earth, 01-JAN-2005, Google Earth 2005 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18557.

<4> National Monuments Record, 13-JUL-1995, NMR 15315/60 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18559.

<5> Historic England Archive, 23-APR-2015, HEA 29563/001 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18563.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1622747 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 25 2023 10:12AM