Monument record MDO38522 - Undated field system, Sliding Hill, Bettiscombe

An undated field system on Sliding Hill is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s. These are located within a wider area of medieval enclosure and may be contemporary in date although some of the straighter linears are morphologically similar to Late Iron Age or Romano-British field systems and may indicate a prehistoric origin. The site was digitally plotted during the Marshwood Vale NMP.

A series of rectilinear ditch and bank field boundaries on Sliding Hill are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s (1). These are located within a wider area of medieval enclosure and some of the boundaries are aligned with this, suggesting a possible contemporary date. There are some shorter straighter linears within this system, however, that are morphologically similar to Late Iron Age or Romano-British field systems, which may indicate a prehistoric origin, although this is not certain. A small rectilinear enclosure about 11m by 13m is visible at ST 40445 100539. The field system may also incorporate natural drainage features. The site is still largely visible on the latest Google Earth imagery (2) though now under low scrub and woodland. The site was digitally plotted during the Marshwood Vale NMP.

<1> Royal Air Force, 11 APR 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RS 4333-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO14760.

<2> Google Earth, 2006, Google Earth vertical photograph (Aerial Photograph). SDO14562.

Record last edited

Jul 26 2019 9:46AM