Monument record MDO40987 - Possible Iron Age or Romano-British field system, Grange Farm, Holt

Ditched linear and curvilinear features in fields to the north of Grange Farm are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The features may be field boundaries and enclosures associated with a late prehistoric field system of potentially Iron Age or Romano-British date. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Ditched linear and curvilinear features in fields to the north of Grange Farm are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (1 and 2).

The features comprise a curvilinear double-ditched feature 62m by 73.5m at its widest extent, that may be part of a sub-circular enclosure. Some small irregular sub-circular features associated with this may be pits. To the east, west and north of this possible enclosure are additional narrow rectilinear ditches that form partial irregular and rectilinear enclosures. The features occupy the southern half of two irregular historic enclosures recorded on the OS 1st Edition map, and whose curvilinear boundaries indicate a possible medieval origin (3). The features do not particularly respect the historic boundary alignment, although some features run broadly perpendicular and parallel to the eastern boundary of the easternmost field (1 and 3). A broad curving bank (MDO40988) is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (4); this feature closely respects the northern edge of several ditched linears visible as cropmarks in 1995 (1). The banked linear may be a historic field boundary of possible medieval origin but the juxtaposition of this feature with the possible field system is interesting, suggesting they were either contemporary or that both may have been intervisible at some point in time.

The features may be field boundaries and enclosures associated with a late prehistoric field system of potentially Iron Age or Romano-British date.

The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 24-JUL-95, OS/95633 V 209-10 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15987.

<2> Dorset County Council, XX-XXX-2009, Dorset CC Vertical Digital Photo Tile (Aerial Photograph). SDO13314.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1864, 1886, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch one (Map). SDO10239.

<4> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RP 3103-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15953.

Record last edited

May 17 2018 9:36AM