Reasons for Designation
Earthen enclosures provide evidence of land use and agricultural practices in
the prehistoric and Romano-British period, although later examples are also
known. They were constructed as stock pens or as protected areas for crop
growing and were sometimes subdivided to provide temporary accommodation for
stock, farmers or herdsmen. The size and form of enclosures may vary
considerably depending on their particular function.
Their variation in form, longevity and their relationship to other monument
classes, including extensive field systems, provide information on the
diversity and social organisation and farming practices through the period of
their use.
Twelve examples are recorded in the Avebury area, which acted as a focus for
ceremonial and ritual activity during at least the Neolithic and Early Bronze
Age periods. Later the area was settled mostly by agricultural communities,
with the area intensively farmed through to the medieval period and beyond.
The enclosures in the Avebury area are central to understanding the character
of this development. All surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
Details
The monument includes a roughly square earthwork enclosure situated 950m SSE
of Manor Farm. The enclosure is situated near the bottom of a small east-west
aligned dry valley on the edge of the chalk escarpment and overlooks the West
Kennet Avenue to the west.
Although the earthworks of the enclosure have been levelled by cultivation,
earlier records and aerial photographs show that it originally had an earthen
bank 4m wide and at least 0.7m high, enclosing an area roughly 75m square.
Beyond the bank lies a 4m wide ditch which has become infilled over the years
but is known to survive as a buried feature. A counter-scarp bank, now
levelled, measures 2.5m in width and stood at least 0.6m high. A series of
small internal earthworks and the original entrance are also known to have
been located in the south west corner of the main enclosure.
The site was partly excavated by Sir Richard Colt-Hoare in the early 1800s.
This revealed evidence for the construction of the earthworks.
Excluded from the scheduling is the post and wire fence which runs roughly
east-west across the enclosure although the land beneath is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21897
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
