Monument record MDO5042 - Enclosure east of Launceston Farm, Tarrant Launceston

A sub-circular ditched enclosure 180m in diameter is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The feature comprises a number of uneven ditched segments and a posible entrance to the north. The feature has been speculated to be a possible settlement enclosure of possible Iron Age/RB date, or alternatively a Neolithic causewayed enclosure - on the basis of the possible causewayed entrances between the ditch segments. The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Tarrant Launceston 15. Subcircular enclosure, area 3ha. [Plans of comparable sites]. <2-3> The curvilinear enclosure is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs taken in 2006 <4> which show a number of probable causeways between the irregular ditch sections that define the curvilinear enclosure, suggesting that the site is possibly a Neolithic causewayed enclosure. The later prehistoric settlement site is visible as soilmarks and cropmarks on aerial photographs, including <4>. The oval enclosure is centred at ST 9481 0950 and comprises an arrangement of short sinuous ditches and pits which combine to form a single circuit defining an oval enclosure. The enclosure measures 183m long by 172m at its widest points and is orientated roughly WSW / ENE. It sits between the 70m and 80m contours on the south-western slope of a chalk spur overlooking the Tarrant Valley. TL15's morphology and topographic setting argue strongly for the site¿s re-interpretation as a Neolithic causewayed enclosure (for example, see Robin Hoods Ball SU 14 NW 3 / UID: 218882). The site is visible as a soilmark on aerial photographs taken in 1946 , which indicates that the site has been ploughed for at least 60 years and that any sub-surface features may therefore be severely truncated. <5> A sub-circular ditched enclosure 180m in diameter is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs <6-7>. The feature comprises a number of uneven ditched segments and a possible entrance to the north. The feature has been speculated to be a possible settlement enclosure of possible Iron Age/RB date, or alternatively a Neolithic causewayed enclosure - on the basis of the possible causewayed entrances between the ditch segments. The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Record last edited

Aug 8 2023 12:12PM