Reasons for Designation
Cross dykes are substantial linear earthworks typically between 0.2km and 1km
long and comprising one or more ditches arranged beside and parallel to one or
more banks. They generally occur in upland situations, running across ridges
and spurs. They are recognised as earthworks or as cropmarks on aerial
photographs, or as combinations of both. The evidence of excavation and
analogy with associated monuments demonstrates that their construction spans
the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although they may have been re-used
later. Current information favours the view that they were used as territorial
boundary markers, probably demarcating land allotment within communities,
although they may also have been used as trackways, cattle droveways or
defensive earthworks. Cross dykes are one of the few monument types which
illustrate how land was divided up in the prehistoric period. They are of
considerable importance for any analysis of settlement and land use in the
Bronze Age. Very few have survived to the present day and hence all well-
preserved examples are considered to be of national importance.
Details
The monument includes a cross dyke, 1km south west of Broughton House, curving
across a north east facing spur. It is one of four similar sites situated on
the edge of the plateau, possibly associated with the broadly contemporary
settlement and fields at Ringmoor 1.5km to the south. These other sites are
the subject of separate schedulings.
The dyke has a bank approximately 10m wide and up to 1.8m high, with, on its
southern side, a ditch 9m wide and up to 1.5m deep. The bank and ditch is most
substantial on the crest of the spur becoming slighter down the slopes on each
side. The line of the earthwork kinks towards its eastern end where a gap in
the bank and a causeway across the ditch suggests an entrance which is
possibly not orignal. The parish boundary between Okeford Ftizpaine and
Shillingstone passes through this gap.
Celtic fields have been identified on both sides of the dyke and the Royal
Commission on the Historical Monuments of England recorded that one of the
lynchets is crossed by its bank and cut by its ditch. These fields, no longer
clearly visible on the surface, are not well understood and are not included
in the scheduling.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath
these features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31066
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
