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Summary

A group of four earthwork mounds from probable 18th-19th landscaping works are present at the intersection of the B3180 and B3179, at Four Firs, Woodbury Common. The mounds have also been interpreted as representing possible prehistoric barrows. They are visible as earthwork mounds with outer ditches arranged within a circular ditched enclosure on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2016.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1018052: Four bowl barrows at Four Firs on Woodbury Common
• SHINE: Earthworks of ridge and furrow cultivation of post medieval date or later, earthworks and trenches of World War II activity on Woodbury Common and four prehistoric barrows or 18th/19th century landscaping features at Four Firs

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))
• MOUND (XVIII to Late 20th Century - 1701 AD to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1996, OS/96568, OS/96568 040-41 08-MAY-1996 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356242.

An outer ditch which may form part of an encircling ditch of the four earthwork mounds is visible within the northeast quadrant.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A group of four earthwork mounds are depicted at the intersection of the B3180 and B3179, at Four Firs, Woodbury Common. The earthworks were not clearly visible on aerial photographs or digital images made available to the survey, although a quadrant of an outer ditch to the northeast was visible as an earthwork ditch on aerial photographs of 1996. The northwestern mound appears to be truncated by a later quarry. The mounds have been previously recorded as probable prehistoric barrows, although it seems more likely they are the result of 18th-19th landscaping works, particularly given their arrangement and the presence of an outer ditch which appears to encircle the four earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 2015, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV357601.

The four mounds and possible outer ditch segments are depicted.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR SY0386 Bluesky International DTM 24-APR-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

Earthworks of four mounds with outer ditches are visible.

Sims, R., 2020, East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment (Interpretation). SDV363914.

Earthworks of four circular mounds, circa 13m in diameter, with outer ditches are visible on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2016. The four mounds are partly encircled by sections of an outer ditched enclosure, circa 80m in diameter. They are probably the result of 18th-19th century landscaping

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356242	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1996. OS/96568. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/96568 040-41 08-MAY-1996. [Mapped feature: #71790 ]
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV357601	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2015. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
SDV359714	Cartographic: Bluesky International. 2016. LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects. Not applicable. Digital. LIDAR SY0386 Bluesky International DTM 24-APR-2016.
SDV363914	Interpretation: Sims, R.. 2020. East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment. Digital.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV8340 - East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment

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