Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A group of four shallow circular earthworks, interpreted as a hay stack stances, is visible on 1940s aerial photographs. Examination of recent aerial photographs suggests they have since been plough-levelled.

Monument Types

• STACK STAND (Unknown date)

Full description

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A group of four shallow circular earthworks is visible on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs [1]. Three of the mounds lie in a line, spaced at intervals of c.75m, along the eastern edge of a field; the fourth lies 100m to the west. All measure c.6m in diameter. They are interpreted as a hay stack stances, mounds for the drying and storage of hay in the damp environment of a riverside meadow. Examination of recent aerial photographs suggests they have since been plough-levelled [2]. Similar features have been recorded across the floor of the Stour Valley between Upstreet and the coast, see Related Monuments. They appear to represent an integral part of the medieval or post-medieval farming landscape in this area.

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

<2> Google Earth, viewed on 03/06/2010 (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2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document).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South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document).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

Related records