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.
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.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29909
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
