Reasons for Designation
The north Oxfordshire Grim's Ditch is a series of discrete linear earthworks
of Iron Age date which together make up at least one segmented circuit,
situated between the valleys of the Rivers Evenlode, Glyme and Windrush in an
area of the eastern Cotswolds. In recent years evidence for an outer
concentric circuit has come to light, largely from the study of cropmarks
visible on aerial photographs. The area enclosed by the inner circuit is 12 sq
km and the outer circuit encloses between 60 and 70 sq km. The earthworks
which define this area were only built in open country leaving apparent gaps
in the areas previously forested.
Where visible, the Grim's Ditch always includes a rampart of dumped earth and
stone, a berm and outer ditch and, in places, a narrow palisade trench beyond.
It is believed that, together, these components served to enclose and divide
an area of land and provide control over access through the open country which
existed between heavily forested areas.
The ditch is Iron Age in date and provides evidence of how the landscape was
managed and divided in the period immediately prior to the Roman Conquest. The
high concentration of sites representing Iron Age ritual and agricultural
activity which occur within the area defined by the ditch confirms the view
that it served to define an area which was of particular significance to its
builders.
All sections surviving as visible earthworks, and sections identified by
aerial photography which are integral to a general understanding of the nature
and extent of Grim's Ditch, will normally merit statutory protection.
Details
The monument includes a 900m long section of the north Oxfordshire Grim's
Ditch running from a point 200m north of Grim's Dyke Farm north into Hark
Wood. The ditch crosses a narrow valley known as Slape Bottom where a stream
passes through a narrow gap in the bank.
This section of Grim's Ditch has a bank, berm, ditch and palisade trench.
The rampart bank is built of earth and stone and measures c.8m wide and stands
up to 1.5m high. Beyond this, to the east, lies a 1.5m wide berm and a 6.5m
wide ditch, open in places to a depth of 0.7m. This ditch has become infilled
over the years and is used as a track where it runs north of Slape Bottom.
Originally it would have been open to a depth of c.1.5m.
It is known from excavations on other sections that a palisade trench 0.5m
wide and 0.2m deep lies c.3.5m east of the outer ditch edge. This will survive
buried below the modern ground level.
Excluded from the scheduling are all post and wire fences which cross the
monument, the foot bridge and the surface of the track near the northern end
of the section, although the ground beneath all of the above is included in
the scheduling.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21851
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
