Monument record MDO40491 - Late prehistoric settlement and field system, Wimborne St Giles

A complex of contemporary enclosures integrated around a trackway is visible as cropmarks on air photographs. The complex is located on a spur some 600 metres north of Manor House, Wimborne St Giles, overlooking the River Allen. A scatter of pits is almost entirely confined to two enclosures within the southern half of the complex. The trackway runs northwest-southeast through the complex. A linear feature runs at right angles to this across the complex, apparently cutting some ditched features, while other enclosures seem to respect it. Dating is uncertain, but the features are considered to be part of a late prehistoric field system and possible settlement, probably of Iron Age or Romano-British date. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

SU 029129. A complex of contemporary enclosures integrated around a track is visible on air photographs on a spur 600m N of Manor House. A scatter of pits is almost entirely confined to two enclosures in S half of the complex. The road extends NW through the settlement. <3-4> (SU 029128) A rapid examination of air photography <5.1> suggests the presence of a number of rectilinear enclosures with associated trackways and apparent pits which do not relate to modern features and may represent a small Iron Age / Romano British settlement. <5> Ditched rectilinear enclosures, pits and trackways to the north of Manor House, Wimborne St Giles, are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. <1-2, 6-7> The features comprise a series of rectilinear enclosures either side of a southeast to northwest aligned trackway. An east to west aligned trackway running across the northwest end of the enclosures may be part of this group, as some of the ditched linears appear to respect this feature, although it is possible that it is a later trackway that cuts earlier features. There is a loose concentration of pits within the central area, largely contained within one enclosure but with a few strays into adjacent enclosures to the southeast and northeast. There are also some larger irregular cropmarks across the group that may be archaeological features but may alternatively be geological in origin. The features are considered to be part of a late prehistoric field system and possible settlement, probably of Iron Age or Romano-British date. The central southeast to northwest aligned trackway extends into the field to the northwest. This is adjoined to a double-ditched trackway (MDO40492) feeding in from the northeast, although it is not certain that these are contemporary with each other; the latter may be later in date, possibly of medieval or post medieval origin. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Record last edited

Nov 14 2022 3:52PM