Monument record MWX837 - Iron Age to medieval field system, Handfast Point, Studland

Earthwork remains of Iron Age or Romano British and Medieval field systems. Two field boundaries which may be associated with the field system are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1925 to the east of Studland Wood.

Iron Age/Romano British `Celtic fields, some crossed by strip fields, lay over about 34 acres, west and south of Handfast Point, but formerly continued in all directions. Lynchets are up to 4ft high and the inner sides of `Celtic fields lie on the cliff edge in the area of St. Lucas Leap. <1>

Two field boundaries which may be associated with the field system described in <1> are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1925 <3> to the east of Studland Wood. The boundaries are formed of linear banks, aligned south west-north east and north west-south east. They measure up to 1442 m in length. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

Fragments of the Iron Age/Roman field system described are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs of 2011 <2>. This feature was recorded from EH Reconnaissance aerial photographs of 2011.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3 (Monograph). SDO150.

<1.1> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 3305 4300-2 (Aerial Photograph). SWX3372.

<2> 03-OCT-2011, NMR 27313_021-025 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20477.

<3> Crawford, O G S, 30-JUN-1925, SZ 0482/1 CCC 8675/809 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12798.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457521 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:39PM