Ashtead Common, Leatherhead, Surrey : An Earthwork Enclosure
Author(s): David McOmish, Sarah Newsome
At the request of Richard Massey, Ancient Monuments Inspector for Surrey, an earthwork survey of an enclosure on Ashtead Common, Surrey was undertaken in late April 2006. The enclosure lies at the heart of an area that includes a well known Roman villa and tileworks, and is currently the subject of much new and intensive research. The enclosure itself is trapezoidal in outline and consists of a substantial ditch, flanked by less pronounced internal and external banks. The EH survey has shown that the enclosure has witnessed a number of episodes of activity - the ditch has been recut on at least one occasion, and the bank, particularly on the west, re-built. Internally, there are a number of irregular platforms and scarps, reminiscent of field boundaries and paddocks, as well as indications of a more recent enclosure and hollowed area, probably for stock management in the medieval or post-medieval periods. Although, the enclosure occupies a ridge-top location typical of many prehistoric sites, its form and extent would argue for a later, possibly Roman or medieval construction date.
- Report Number:
- 37/2007
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 11
- Keywords:
- Prehistoric Survey Enclosure
