Monument record MWX570 - Worgret Dykes, Worgret Heath/Wareham Common, Arne

Linear earthworks comprising banks and ditches present on Worgret Heath and Wareham Common.

Linear earthworks comprising banks and ditches present on Worgret Heath and Wareham Common. These consist of two alignments which meet at a central point. Each has a pair of banks 7 to 12 metres wide and 0.2 to 0.4 metres high which flank a pair of ditches 4 to 5 metres wide. These are now visible as a single depression between the banks. The southern earthwork has been disturbed by sand and gravel extraction and truncated by road. Scheduled. Two large ditches found on the NE-SW alignment of the scheduled dyke were revealed in a trench excavated in advance of pipeline construction. The ditches ran parallel to each other with a 2.5m gap between them. The northern/western most ditch was 4.5m wide, 1.98m deep with a v-shaped profile. Substantial amounts of modern building material, iron wire and bronze objects were found at its top. The second ditch formed the SE side of the monument and was 5.5m wide and 1.52m deep with moderate to steeply sloping sides. There was no dating evidence from the ditches and no associated banks. A further, narrow linear cut was also excavated, any connection with the scheduled dyke could not be established. <2> The only surviving parts of these earthworks are as follows: SY 89638704- SY 89758707. A ditch with a bank on either wide, 120 metres long and 16.0 metres wide overall. Obscured by dense undergrowth; it is straight and not curving as formerly depicted on OS 25". SY 89708717 - SY 89838717. A scarp 120 metres long and up to 1.0 metres high, now incorporated in a landscaped garden. SY 89798715 - SY 89848715 and SY 89848716 - SY 89878716. Two single banks now in dense woodland, which were formerly part of the south and north banks of the earthwork respectively. SY 90128725 - SY 90188733. Two ditches with a central bank, 100 metres in length. All these extant portions are as described on OS 495. 1:2500 plans by Author. 2. have been revised at 1:2500 on M.S.D.s. The R.C.H.M. cast doubt upon the authenticity of the earthworks shown on the OS. 25" 1936, at SY 87808717. It is unlikely that they were gravel workings (see 1952 plan) although they had been virtually destroyed by gravel digging before the time of their investigation. <5> SY 900872. Earthworks on Worgret Heath and Wareham Common. Scheduled. (6) The double ditch with bank between at SY89148728, between `F' and `J' on the 1952 plan, is now partly levelled. See sketch survey at 1:1250. <7>

Record last edited

May 17 2024 11:48AM