Scheduled Monument: Section of Battery Bank on Stokeford Heath (SM28336)

Summary of Monument Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Reasons for Designation The Battery Bank, of which this monument forms a part, is made up of a series of linear earthworks which extend discontinuously over a total distance of approximately 5.5km. The earthworks are aligned along the plateau dividing the rivers Piddle and Frome. Although not firmly dated, the monument is likely to be of Romano-British or Dark Age date; and given the wide gaps in its alignment, demarcation is perhaps a more likely interpretation for the bank, than stock control or defence. The name `Battery Bank' is likely to be a misnomer, relating to the Napoleonic period when the bank may have had a role in military training exercises. As a well preserved monument representing Dark Age or earlier land division, the Battery Bank is a comparatively unusual survival, and consequently all surviving sections are considered to be of national importance. This section survives particularly well, its location illustrating clearly the topographic setting into which the monument was placed. Boggy ground at the east end of the monument should ensure the preservation of waterlogged deposits. History Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Details The monument includes a section of the linear boundary known as the Battery Bank, situated on Stokeford Heath, a plateau overlooking the Frome Valley to the south and the Piddle Valley to the north. The earthwork forms part of a group of similar monuments which extend (discontinuously) for a distance of 5.5km along the natural ridge separating these valleys. The earthwork includes a linear bank, aligned broadly east-west, composed of earth, sand and turf, with maximum dimensions of 230m in length, 6m in width and approximately 0.45m in height. To the north of the bank is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. To the east and at intermittent central points, the ditch is visible as an earthwork 4m-5m in width and approximately 0.3m-0.4m deep. Elsewhere, the ditch has become infilled but will survive as a buried feature.

Record last edited

Jul 21 2014 12:24PM