Reasons for Designation
Cross dykes are substantial linear earthworks typically between 0.2km and 1km
long and comprising one or more ditches arranged beside and parallel to one or
more banks. They generally occur in upland situations, running across ridges
and spurs. They are recognised as earthworks or as cropmarks on aerial
photographs, or as combinations of both. The evidence of excavation and
analogy with associated monuments demonstrates that their construction spans
the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although they may have been re-used
later. Current information favours the view that they were used as territorial
boundary markers, probably demarcating land allotment within communities,
although they may also have been used as trackways, cattle droveways or
defensive earthworks. Cross dykes are one of the few monument types which
illustrate how land was divided up in the prehistoric period. They are of
considerable importance for any analysis of settlement and land use in the
Bronze Age. Very few have survived to the present day and hence all well-
preserved examples are considered to be of national importance.
Details
The monument includes a cross dyke running across the crest of a ridge of the
Sussex Downs.
The cross dyke has two sections, the most southerly consisting of a north-
south orientated ditch 28m long, 3.6m wide and 0.5m deep flanked on each
side by banks 3.75m wide, surviving to a height of 0.15m above the surface of
the surrounding ground. At its northern end, the ditch ends in a well-defined,
rounded terminal, whilst to the south, aerial photographs show that it
continues beyond the surviving earthworks as a buried feature, although these
levelled remains are not included in the scheduling at present.
Ten metres to the north, the northern section of the dyke, orientated NNW-SSE,
consists of an 18m length of ditch 3.8m wide and 0.5m deep. The southern end
has no obvious terminal and the northern end fades out at the point where the
ground falls away to form the northern slope of the ridge.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24383
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
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.
End of official list entry
