Reasons for Designation
Small enclosed settlements dating from the Middle Bronze Age are often
associated with earlier field systems and are known on some sites to have
replaced earlier unenclosed settlements. Enclosures of both sub-rectangular
and curvilinear plan are known; the sites are wholly or partly surrounded by a
ditch, bank or palisade, or by a combination or succession of all three. Where
excavated, sites have usually been found to contain a small group of domestic
buildings sufficient for a single or extended family group, although a few
larger enclosures are known. Evidence of a succession of buildings has been
found on some sites. The buildings are usually circular in plan but occasional
rectangular structures are known. Both types of building would have provided a
combination of living accommodation and storage or working areas. Storage pits
have been recorded inside buildings on some sites but are generally rarely
present. In addition to pottery and worked flint, large quantities of burnt
stone and metal working debris have been found in some enclosures.
Although the precise figure is not known, many small enclosed settlements are
located on the chalk downland of southern England. As a class they are
integral to understanding Bronze Age settlement and land use strategies, while
their often close proximity to the numerous burial monuments in the area will
provide insights into the relationship between secular and ceremonial activity
during the Middle Bronze Age.
A small number of small enclosed settlements survive on downland as visible
earthworks; the majority, however, occur in areas of more intensive
cultivation and survive in buried form, visible only from the air as soil
marks and crop marks. All examples with visible earthworks, and those in
buried form which retain significant surviving remains, are considered to be
of national importance.
Details
The monument includes the eastern of two rectangular enclosures of possible
Bronze Age date on Great Litchfield Down. The enclosure lies on the crest of a
ridge running south west from Ladle Hill, c.100m away from the western
enclosure.
The enclosure has dimensions of c.36m (south west to north east) by c.33m. The
banks of the enclosure are not clearly defined, surviving as low mounds
between 1.5m and 2m wide and up to 0.3m high. A band of darker soil
representing an infilled ditch surrounds the enclosure, increasing its overall
dimensions to c.42m by c.36m. There is an entrance c.5m wide in the south
eastern side.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
25621
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
