Reasons for Designation
The most complete and extensive survival of chalk downland archaeological
remains in central southern England occurs on Salisbury Plain, particularly in
those areas lying within the Salisbury Plain Training Area. These remains
represent one of the few extant archaeological "landscapes" in Britain and are
considered to be of special significance because they differ in character from
those in other areas with comparable levels of preservation. Individual sites
on Salisbury Plain are seen as being additionally important because the
evidence of their direct association with each other survives so well.
Enclosures provide important evidence of land use and agricultural practices
in the prehistoric/Romano-British period. The enclosures in the Salisbury
Plain Training Area belong to one of the most important and best preserved
fossil landscapes in southern Britain. The presence of these remains and their
relationship with extensive field systems and settlement complexes are of
critical importance to understanding the character and development of downland
agriculture.
Details
The monument includes an area of enclosed Iron Age settlement situated on a
broad flat-topped ridge on Coombe Down and comprises two, adjacent, large
sub-circular ditched enclosures, the southernmost of which contains a further,
smaller, sub-rectangular enclosure. They form part of a group of six such
settlements that all lie within 2km of each other, two of which are the
subject of separate schedulings. Although no longer visible on the surface,
the enclosures are visible on aerial photographs and will survive as
buried features.
The northern enclosure has a level interior with a maximum diameter of 150m,
surrounding which is a ditch. Excavation by the University of Reading has
shown this to be 3.5m wide and 1.7m deep. The second enclosure is adjacent,
to the south east, and is slightly larger with a maximum internal diameter of
180m. Excavation has shown the surrounding ditch of this enclosure to be 4m
wide and 2.5m deep. Lying within this enclosure, and slightly off centre is a
much smaller sub-rectangular enclosure. This has an internal diameter of
approximately 30m and is surrounded by a ditch 2.5m wide and 1.8m deep. There
is a gap in the ditch circuit on the east side that probably represents an
entrance. Where they face each other, the two larger enclosures also have
gaps in their ditch circuits.
Pottery recovered during the University of Reading excavations show that the
smallest enclosure is also the earliest and dates from the Early Iron Age,
although a large pit found just inside this enclosure also contained Early
Iron Age pottery and may represent a brief period of unenclosed settlement.
The two larger enclosures were constructed at the end of the Early Iron Age
and continued in use during the Middle Iron Age.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31194
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
