Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Shallow earthworks are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. They are interpreted as elements of a field system created on land reclaimed from the Wantsum Channel from the 11th century onwards. They appear to predate the late post-medieval field layout shown on historic Ordnance Survey mapping.

Monument Types

• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FIELD SYSTEM (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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Shallow earthworks of a system of earthwork boundary features are visible on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs [1]. Examination of modern aerial photographs does not show conclusively whether these features remain as earthworks [2].

The earthworks consist of a series of interlinked ditches and flanking banks, covering an area of 160m (NE-SW) x 120m (NW-SE), demarking at least 2 enclosures. The earthworks are dissected by a ditches belonging to the current field layout. A further ditch lies 150m to the north, demarking 3 sides of an enclosure measuring 55m (NE-SW) x 40m (NW-SE).

The features appear to derive from field systems created from land reclaimed from the Wantsum Channel between the 11th and 18th centuries. Although their exact date is unclear, they probably predate the current field layout, itself of probable late post-medieval date, as they are cut by it and have a significantly different alignment.

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [3].

<2> Google Earth (Graphic material). SWX15704.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<3> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources and further reading