Timber circle 430m north east of Stoke Fields Farm

Reasons for Designation

Timber circles are the remains of large communal buildings used as meeting places or ceremonial centres during the Late Neolithic period (2000-1800 BC). They are generally round or oval in plan and constructed using two or more concentric rings of substantial timber uprights which were either free- standing or acted as roof supports. Each ring may contain between 6 and 60 individual posts, the number being related to the diameter of the ring. Entrances were provided through the posthole rings and are generally marked by wider than average postholes either side of the gap. Associated features can include additional postholes within and outside the circle, floor surfaces and grave pits. Finds from the postholes and the interiors of the timber circles provide important evidence on the chronological development of these sites, the activities carried out within them and the type of environment in which they were constructed. Timber circles survive as arrangements of postholes, buried features best seen from the air, and consequently sites are generally identified from aerial photography as discrete monuments or as components of henges and henge enclosures. Examples in England are found widely scattered around central and southern counties, with a small number recorded in Wales and Scotland. Dorset and Wiltshire provide the focus of distribution for those associated with henges and henge enclosures, while discrete examples are extremely rare. Less than 50 examples of timber circles have been identified. In view of their rarity and importance as one of the few types of identified Neolithic structures all examples are identified to be nationally important.

The timber circle at East Stoke is a unique example of this type of monument in Nottinghamshire. The clarity of the crop mark shown on the aerial photograph is a direct reflection of the good level of survival.

Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a timber circle situated 430m north east of Stoke Fields Farm. The site is visible from aerial photographs and shows as a sub-circular enclosure defined by two concentric rings of pits. The inner circle is made up of approximately 62 pits and measures up to 73m in diameter. It is difficult to determine the number of posts comprising the outer circle but it measures approximately 90m in diameter. An interruption in both circles of pits to the south of the monument is defined by two larger pits either side and is interpreted as an entrance. Another entrance is apparent in the north east segment of the circle. Several other pits within and beyond the circle to the east are an integral part of the monument.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

29909

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: RCHME National Mapping Programme Plot Source Date: Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
St Joseph JK, EF 60-61,

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