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 roughly north east-south west aligned cross dyke
constructed across the northern slopes of a chalk spur which projects to the
north west from the main ridge of the Sussex Downs. The 74m long earthwork has
a ditch up to about 3m wide and 0.3m deep, flanked to the north west by a low
bank up to about 4m wide and 0.4m high. The earthworks have been partly
disturbed by the long term use of a bridleway, which crosses the monument at
its south western end. The earthworks fade out at each end as the ground falls
away.
The modern fence which crosses the monument is excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath it is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31217
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
