Berry Castle

List Entry Summary

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Location

The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Asset Groupings

This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument

Romano-British enclosure called Berry Castle, 460m west of Queen Dart Cross.

Reasons for Designation

The Romano-British enclosure called Berry Castle is an unusual monument. The ditch survives as a largely buried feature and the banks are also clearly visible. The rectangular shape with distinctive ‘playing card’ corners suggests a strong Roman influence regarding its construction, whilst it does not appear to conform precisely to any specific Roman monument class. It is a defensive structure, possibly a defended farm or small scale settlement. Despite some cutting of the southern ditch by the road it survives well and will contain important archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, function, development, use, date and landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 5 November 2015. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a Romano-British enclosure situated on a ridge between the valleys of the Little Dart River and a tributary to it. The enclosure survives as a rectangular enclosure with rounded corners measuring up to 26m long by 19m wide internally, defined by a rampart, wide ditch and counterscarp bank. There is a causewayed entrance on the eastern side and the southern ditch has been partially cut by a road.

Selected Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:- 35599

National Grid Reference: SS 83449 17061

Map

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This copy shows the entry on 22-Apr-2018 at 03:46:53.