Reasons for Designation
Springfield style enclosures are roughly circular hilltop or spur enclosures
originally bounded by a defensive circuit of ramparts and ditches and
dating to the Middle and Later Bronze Age. They are generally characterized
by a single ditch and a simple internal bank or box rampart. They are
relatively small in scale, all being under 1 hectare in size. The interior of
the enclosures contain archaeological remains including postholes, pits and
burials. Evidence from excavated sites suggests that the life span of the
enclosures may have been characterized by more than one phase of use but that
the occupation period was continuous. They were therefore used over a period
of 200-300 years during the 10th to 8th centuries BC. Springfield enclosures
are rare and restricted in their distribution to eastern England with
excavated examples in Kent, Essex, and Sussex. The majority have been
ploughed flat with only the below ground remains surviving.
Despite partial disturbance in the form of three trenches, the below ground
remains at Ferriers Farm are well-preserved and the site will retain
archaeological and environmental information relating to the occupation of the
site during the Late Bronze Age and to the landscape in which its inhabitants
lived.
Details
The monument is situated on the crest of a south-east facing hill sloping
down to the River Stour 190m south-west of Hill Farm. The monument comprises
a circular cropmark 26.5m in diameter with a ditch c.3m wide and an entrance
c.4.5m in width to the south-east. Although the ditch is not visible at
ground level, it is clearly visible as a cropmark and on aerial photographs.
The site was partially disturbed in December 1991 when three trenches were cut
into the monument. The ditch, however, was not disturbed and a few sherds of
Late Bronze Age pottery were recovered. The site is considered to have been a
Springfield Lyons type settlement site from the Late Bronze Age.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20677
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals 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
