Section of Battery Bank on South Heath

Reasons for Designation

The Battery Bank, of which this monument forms a part, is made up of a series of linear earthworks which extend discontinuously over a total distance of approximately 5.5km. The earthworks are aligned along the plateau dividing the rivers Piddle and Frome. Although not firmly dated, the monument is likely to be of Romano-British or Dark Age date; and given the wide gaps in its alignment, demarcation is perhaps a more likely interpretation for the bank, than stock control or defence. The name `Battery Bank' is likely to be a misnomer, relating to the Napoleonic period when the bank may have had a role in military training exercises. As a well preserved monument representing Dark Age or earlier land division, the Battery Bank is a comparatively unusual survival, and consequently all surviving sections are considered to be of national importance. This section survives well and its location clearly illustrates the topographic setting into which the monument was placed.

Details

The monument includes a section of the linear boundary known as the Battery Bank, situated on South Heath, a plateau overlooking the Frome Valley to the south and the Piddle Valley to the north. The earthwork includes a linear bank, aligned south east by north west, composed of earth, sand and turf, with maximum dimensions of 680m in length, 8m in width and approximately 0.75m-1m in height. The bank is now divided by three gaps situated towards the north western and south eastern ends. These vary in width from 20m-25m and are likely to represent later interruptions. To the north of the bank is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch is visible as an earthwork 5m-6m wide and approximately 0.4m deep at the eastern and western ends. Elsewhere, the ditch has become infilled, but will survive as a buried feature.

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:

29059

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Comp with Bokerley Dyke/Coombe Ditch, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Uncertain rel with Worgret Heath gp, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Gaps in bank unlikely to be original, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Forms part of 'Battery Bank', RCHME, National Monuments Record,
RCHME, National Monuments Record,
RCHME, National Monuments Record,
RCHME, National Monuments Record,

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