Monument record MDO5042 - Enclosure east of Launceston Farm, Tarrant Launceston

A sub-circular ditched enclosure 180m in diameter is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The feature comprises a number of uneven ditched segments and a posible entrance to the north. The feature has been speculated to be a possible settlement enclosure of possible Iron Age/RB date, or alternatively a Neolithic causewayed enclosure - on the basis of the possible causewayed entrances between the ditch segments. The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Tarrant Launceston 15. Subcircular enclosure, area 3ha. [Plans of comparable sites]. <2-3>

The curvilinear enclosure is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs taken in 2006 <4> which show a number of probable causeways between the irregular ditch sections that define the curvilinear enclosure, suggesting that the site is possibly a Neolithic causewayed enclosure.

The later prehistoric settlement site is visible as soilmarks and cropmarks on aerial photographs, including <4>. The oval enclosure is centred at ST 9481 0950 and comprises an arrangement of short sinuous ditches and pits which combine to form a single circuit defining an oval enclosure. The enclosure measures 183m long by 172m at its widest points and is orientated roughly WSW / ENE. It sits between the 70m and 80m contours on the south-western slope of a chalk spur overlooking the Tarrant Valley. TL15's morphology and topographic setting argue strongly for the site¿s re-interpretation as a Neolithic causewayed enclosure (for example, see Robin Hoods Ball SU 14 NW 3 / UID: 218882). The site is visible as a soilmark on aerial photographs taken in 1946 , which indicates that the site has been ploughed for at least 60 years and that any sub-surface features may therefore be severely truncated. <5>

A sub-circular ditched enclosure 180m in diameter is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs <6-7>. The feature comprises a number of uneven ditched segments and a possible entrance to the north. The feature has been speculated to be a possible settlement enclosure of possible Iron Age/RB date, or alternatively a Neolithic causewayed enclosure - on the basis of the possible causewayed entrances between the ditch segments. The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 106 (Monograph). SDO99.

'(15) Enclosure (948095), probably Iron Age or Romano-British, lies 500 yds. E. of Launceston Farm on the S.W. slope of a Chalk spur, between 250 ft. and 275 ft. above O.D., over-looking the Tarrant valley. The site, revealed by a soil-mark on air photographs (C.U.A.P., ANC 75, AGY 90), is an almost circular enclosure, about 500 ft. in diameter, defined by a narrow ditch. There are traces of an entrance on the N. side, and of a ditch running N.W. in a curve for some 500 ft. from just E. of the entrance. Faint traces of a ditched feature are found inside the enclosure, and there is evidence of a smaller angular enclosure attached to the exterior on the S.E.'

<2> Bowen, H C, 1990, The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke, 92 (Monograph). SWX800.

<3> Bowen, H C, 1991, The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke: Inventory, 24 (Monograph). SDO14864.

<3.1> Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography, CUCAP ANC 75 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20038.

<3.2> Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography, CUCAP AQY 90 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20039.

<3.3> National Monuments Record, NMR VAP ST 9510/1/2591 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20042.

<4> National Monuments Record, 02-JUN-2006, NMR ST 9409/20 NMR 24258/03 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20041.

<5> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<5.1> Royal Air Force, 18-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1845 4057-58 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20040.

<6> National Monuments Record, 13-MAR-1982, NMR 2110/1113 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18854.

<7> National Monuments Record, 02-JUN-2006, NMR 24222/16 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18855.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF00259 (Index). SDO14738.

English Heritage: Tarrant Launceston 15 and environs aerial photograph survey and analysis. Material still held by aerial survey. Date of Survey and analysis: July - October 2008.CD-ROM stored in M:\Specialist Master Collection\Other Collections\Not For Portfolio\Reports\Archaeology Reports

<9> Historic England, Historic England Archive, MD002384 (Index). SDO14738.

EH: Tarrant Launceston 15 and environs aerial photograph survey and analysis. Material still held by aerial survey. The area comprises 10.5km² and is bounded by ST 930 080 (SW corner) and ST 965 110 (NE corner).

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209410 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 8 2023 12:12PM