Circular cropmark at Ferriers Farm, 190m south-west of Hill Farm

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.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

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
Information from Essex County Council, ()

Other
SMR No. 9399, Information from SMR (9399),

End of official list entry

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