Monument record MDO45693 - Iron Age/Romano-British enclosure, Sixpenny Handley

A rectangular enclosure and linear ditches visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs, previously interpreted as a possible Neolithic mortuary enclosure. Iron Age and Romano British finds have been recovered from the general area. Geophysical survey and subsequent excavation indicated that the enclosure was more extensive than previously thought and probably part of a wider complex of settlement with associated field system and larger linear features interpreted as ranch boundaries.

ST 96991402. Sharply rectangular, incomplete enclosure, area 0.1 ha., visible on air photographs. <1-2> A probable sub-rectangular enclosure, three sides of which are visible as cropmarks. Orientated roughly northeast-southwest, the southwest-facing side is open, and it is uncertain if the enclosure was ever complete. The site is immediately adjacent to ring ditch/enclosure ST 91 SE140 and linear ditched feature ST 91 SE 139. In Barrett et al (1991), a site described as a possible mortuary enclosure on one map and as a "?long mortuary enclosure" on another is located in approximately the same place as this sub-rectangular enclosure. Unfortunately, the alleged mortuary enclosure is nowhere described nor illustrated, and the aforementioned maps are of insufficient scale to be sure, but they may be referring to this particular site. A ring ditch, an adjacent rectangular enclosure and a number of linear ditches, visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The site has previously been interpreted as a possible Neolithic mortuary enclosure. Iron Age and Romano British finds have been recovered from the general area. A magnetometer survey, carried out in 1996, showed that the enclosure is more extensive than previously thought and appears to be related to a cluster of pits and ditches, located south west of the ring ditch. These are thought to represent a settlement enclosure, probably of Iron Age or Romano British date, with the enclosure itself a related field system. The survey also revealed a linear ditch, running north east-south west and lying a short distance west of the ring ditch. This is interpreted as a ranch boundary. A second ditch runs south from the first and abuts a second complex of pits and ditches, also thought to be associated with a settlement site. Neither site has been dated, so it is currently impossible to know whether they are two, chronologically separate settlements or one extensive, long-lived site. A number of lynchets were also noted, following the contours of the hill and apparently overlying at least one of the possible settlement sites. <3> A ring ditch, an adjacent rectangular enclosure and a number of linear ditches, visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The site has previously been interpreted as a possible Neolithic mortuary enclosure. Iron Age and Romano British finds have been recovered from the general area. A magnetometer survey, carried out in 1996, showed that the enclosure is more extensive than previously thought and appears to be related to a cluster of pits and ditches, located south west of the ring ditch. These are thought to represent a settlement enclosure, probably of Iron Age or Romano British date, with the enclosure itself a related field system. The survey also revealed a linear ditch, running north east-south west and lying a short distance west of the ring ditch. This is interpreted as a ranch boundary. A second ditch runs south from the first and abuts a second complex of pits and ditches, also thought to be associated with a settlement site. Neither site has been dated, so it is currently impossible to know whether they are two, chronologically separate settlements or one extensive, long-lived site. A number of lynchets were also noted, following the contours of the hill and apparently overlying at least one of the possible settlement sites. <4>

Record last edited

Feb 23 2023 12:19PM