Monument record MDO753 - Ridge and furrow, Alton Lane, Cerne Abbas

Ridge and furrow earthworks have been identified in a field to the north of Simsay Fields. They comprise a series of regularly-spaced N-S aligned ridges. The are reverse S shaped in plan and are more prominent in the north, petering out towards Alton Lane. The eastern most of the banks is more substantial than the others and may represent a hedge bank. In 1998 an evaluation in advance of housing development at Simsay Fields sampled one of the banks which was shown to be approximately 5 metres wide at the base and protected a buried soil at its base. The bank comprised stony material, very flinty and contained a few sherds of 13th and 14th century pottery.

Ridge and furrow earthworks have been identified in a field to the north of Simsay Fields. They comprise a series of ridges aligned approximately north-south and regualarly spaced approximately 20 metres apart. They are reverse S shaped in plan and are more prominent in the north, petering out towards Alton Lane. The eastern most of the banks is more substantial than the others and may represent a hedge bank. In 1998 and evaluation in advance of housing development at Simsay Fields sampled one of the banks which was shown to measure approximatley 5m wide at the base and protected a buried soil at its base. The bank comprised stony material, very flinty and contained a few sherds of 13th and 14th century pottery. {1} Further evaluation of the site in 2004 suggested that the ridges and channels on the site may have had a seasonal drainage function, or possibly have been an orchard. Maps of eighteenth-century date show an orchard on this site. {2}

Record last edited

Jul 24 2014 4:00PM