Cropmark enclosures 500m south east of Ivy Farm

Reasons for Designation

Enclosures are a diverse group within which examples may variously provide evidence of settlement, land use or agricultural practices for any stage beween the prehistoric and post-medieval periods. Some examples are known from part excavation to have had a particular purpose and belonged to a specific period; many, however, remain poorly understood. Within the context of enclosures generally, except in upland areas, earthwork examples are comparatively rare, the majority being known from crop or soil marks recorded on aerial photographs. On the chalk downlands of Wessex enclosures were often constructed between the late prehistoric and medieval periods as settlements, stock pens or as protected areas for crop growing. They 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. The enclosures 500m south east of Ivy Farm are most likely to date from the later Iron Age or Romano-British period and are two of a number which lie within the wider environs of Danebury hillfort, a landscape which has been intensively studied. Enclosures of this type may represent a level of settlement associated with, but of a lower status to, that represented by hillforts. They will contain archaeological deposits clarifying this relationship by providing information about their construction, use and associated economy and environment.

Details

The monument includes the buried remains of two irregular settlement enclosures and associated linear features lying on level ground 500m south east of Ivy Farm. The enclosures, which are aligned approximately north-south, are no longer visible on the ground and the details of their form have been derived from cropmarks visible on aerial photographs. The southern enclosure is of simple form, sub-rectangular with rounded corners, c.100m (north west-south east) by 70m and encloses an area of 0.74ha. The northern enclosure appears to be built onto the southern example. It is aligned in a similar direction, is irregular in shape, measures a maximum of 80m (north west-south east) by 65m and encloses an area of 0.49ha. There is a gap c.20m wide on the southern corner of this enclosure which may represent an original entrance. Linear features immediately adjacent to and parallel with the longest sides of the two enclosures are included within the scheduling. An additional linear feature, visible on aerial photographs to the north west of the northern enclosure, has no proven association with the enclosures and is not included in the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 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:

26793

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Palmer, R, Danebury an Iron Age Hillfort in Hampshire: Vol 3, (1984)

End of official list entry

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