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 three separate lengths of linear earthwork situated
east of Callow Hill Roman villa. The earthworks formed internal land divisions
within the north Oxfordshire Grim's Ditch system which was built in several
phases. Part excavation of the earthwork nearest to the villa has provided a
pre-Roman Iron Age date for its construction.
Two of the three earthworks run principally north-south while the third and
shortest length is aligned roughly NNE-SSW.
The westernmost of the two roughly parallel lengths originally ran south for a
total distance of c.860m from a point immediately west of Callow Hill Brake to
a point just north of Wootton Wood. The north end lies on the slope of a well
defined valley running east-west probably wooded in the Iron Age. At the south
end, the final 214m turns slightly south east. The earthwork was originally
continuous, today however a 60m long section has been levelled at Starveall
Farm, breaking the earthwork into two sections. This earthwork had deliberate
terminals marking both north and south ends. Although the monument has been
partly levelled as a result of cultivation, it remains visible at ground level
for much of its length as a low bank 8m wide and varying in height from 0.3m
in the south to nearly 1m in the north. To the east of the bank lies a ditch
which is largely infilled but which can clearly be seen on aerial photographs.
This ditch varies slightly in width but is 21m across at its widest point.
Although, at the southern end, 150m of the bank is no longer visible at ground
level, it is known from aerial photographs to survive as a partly levelled
feature buried below the present ploughsoil.
The eastern earthwork consists of a rampart bank which lies c.300m east of the
first, with its north end lying in Callow Hill Brake on the same valley slope.
It runs south in a gentle curve to the south west for a distance of 1,196m to
a point where it passes 8m south of the end of the first section, creating an
access gap between the areas divided by two earthworks.
The final section is only c.100m long and appears never to have been any more
extensive. It consists of a partly levelled rampart measuring 8m across and
now standing c.0.3m high. To the north west there is a 10m wide ditch which is
no longer visible at ground level but which survives buried below the modern
ground level as an-infilled feature clearly visible on aerial photographs.
All three sections lie close to the later Roman villa enclosure of Callow Hill
which is the subject of a separate scheduling.
Excluded from the scheduling are all post and wire fence boundaries which
cross the monument and the road surface although the land beneath these
features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
28127
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
