Earthwork enclosure in Great Ridge wood, 350m north east of Point Pond

Reasons for Designation

Enclosures provide evidence of land use, agricultural practices and habitation from the prehistoric period onwards. They were constructed as stock pens, as protected areas for crop growing or for settlement and their size and function may vary considerably depending on their particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and their relationship to other monument classes, including field systems and linear boundary earthworks, provide information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices throughout the period of their use. Enclosures are central to understanding the development of the rural landscape and as such all well preserved examples are considered worthy of protection. Despite the northern part of the enclosure in Great Ridge wood having been levelled, probably by cultivation, the remainder of the enclosure survives well and will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landsape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes an earthwork enclosure located within Great Ridge wood to the north east of Chicklade. It is one of several enclosures located in the extensive woodland which occupies a clay outcrop in the gently undulating south Wiltshire chalkland. The enclosure is approximately circular and defines an area of 1.4ha. It survives partly as an earthwork and partly as a buried feature. The overall diameter is 140m from east to west and 146m from north to south. The southern part of the enclosure is formed by a ditch with a maximum width of 5m and a maximum depth of 0.9m, either side of which is a bank up to 4m wide and 0.45m high. The inner face of the counterscarp bank has been revetted with flint nodules. There are now no visible earthworks in the northern part of the enclosure, although the ditch 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:

26850

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.