Monument record MDO7710 - Late Prehistoric battery bank, South Heath, East Stoke

Fragments of a linear bank and associated ditch are visible on aerial photographs of South Heath, East Stoke. It is considered probable this could be the remains of a Late Prehistoric defensive battery bank or dyke. Gravel quarrying and modern plantation activity in this area have destroyed parts of the earthwork, which now survives as two individual sections of varying lengths. This earthwork forms part of a group of similar monuments (MDO7706-10) which extend discontinuously for a distance of approximately 5.5km along a natural ridge between Stoke Heath and Jubilee Plantation.

Fragments of a linear bank and associated ditch are visible on aerial photographs of South Heath, East Stoke (1). It is considered probable this could be the remains of a Late Prehistoric defensive battery bank or dyke. Gravel quarrying and modern plantation activity in this area have destroyed parts of the earthwork, which now survives as two individual sections of varying lengths. Total length of this feature is approximately 582m. This earthwork forms part of a group of similar monuments (MDO7706-10) which extend discontinuously for a distance of approximately 5.5km along a natural ridge between Stoke Heath (NGR 84432 89408) and Jubilee Plantation (NGR 88940 87469). This feature was plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project. It is not clearly visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial images available to the project.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 518 (Monograph). SDO150.

<1> Royal Air Force, 21-JAN-1945, RAF 106G/LA/105 1040-41 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13190.

Record last edited

Sep 10 2024 9:53AM