See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Double ditched sub-oval enclosure of prehistoric or Romano-British date shown on aerial imagery taken from 1949 onwards, to the north-west of Forches Cross, Newton Abbot.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Prehistoric sub-rectangular, double ditched enclosure north west of Forches Cross

Other References/Statuses

• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1031394
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX87SW/8

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• OVAL ENCLOSURE (Early Bronze Age to Roman - 2200 BC to 409 AD (Between))

Full description

Griffiths, D., 13/07/1983, Enclosure (Worksheet). SDV341578.

The SMR sheet for this number describes a double-ditched enclosure at SX84007333 seen on aerial photographs of 1949. This is marked on the overlay of SX87SW. An aerial photograph of 1958, however, shows a double-ditched rectangular enclosure further south in the same field at SX84067328, which is possibly the same one. A field visit on24th June 1983 found slight traces of a bank where the 1958 photograph shows the enclosure to be. The site was partly under a cereal crop and partly under potatoes, but no surface finds were made.

Royal Air Force, 1949, RAF/58/271, RAF/58/271 V 5173-5174 28-JUN-1949 (Aerial Photograph). SDV361873.

Cropmarks of levelled ditches are visible.

Hunting Aero Surveys, 1958, HAS/UK/58/938/PT.I, 162 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341584.

Mitchell, M., 1979, Ball Clay Survey of South Devon (Archive - Survey). SDV341500.

Visited 29/6/1979. Cropmark site. Incomplete, seen on one side of the field boundary only. Double ditched rectangular enclosure. Field under barley, therefore not able to investigate further. Other details: Worksheet 5 (number 17).

Unknown, 1983, Untitled Source (Unattributed Sites and Monuments Register Entry). SDV341577.

Double-ditched rectangular enclosure, similar to those photographed by Dr St. Joseph near Exeter. Cut by field boundary with nothing on other side.

Devon County Council, 1989, DAP 6704, DAP 6704/08 07-JUN-1989 (LU) (Aerial Photograph). SDV361874.

Cropmarks of levelled ditches are visible.

Griffith, F. M., 1989, DAP/LU, 7-8 hardcopy (Aerial Photograph). SDV341575.

Cropmark clearly visible.

Adam, N., J. + Cox, P. W. + Chandler, J., 2001, Stover Ball Clay Works ROMPS, Teigngrace, Devon: Archaeological Assessment, 7 (Report - Assessment). SDV341497.

Other details: Site 1.

Hughes, S., 2010, New Gas Main at Forches Cross, Teigngrace: Results of an Archaeological Watching Brief. (Report - Watching Brief). SDV347656.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during groundworks associated with the construction of a new gas main, which extended alongside the A392 road over four arable fields from Forches Cross to Stover School. A possible settlement enclosure is recorded to the south-west, but the topsoil strip was not of sufficient quality to enable recognition of archaeological features, and scanning of the exposed surface did not reveal any artefact concentrations. Two receptor pits revealed two small undated pits or postholes immediately below the topsoil, but the nature of their fills suggests a relatively recent date. Other details: Plans, photographs.

Dean, R., 2015, An Archaeological Gradiometer Survey: Land to the Northwest of Forches Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV358153.

This report was commissioned by SLR Consulting Ltd on behalf of Devon County Council Engineering Design Group as part of a forthcoming application. The magnetic contrast across the area was sufficient to be able to differentiate between anomalies representing possible archaeological features and background magnetic responses.

Three anomaly groups represent a Prehistoric double-ditched enclosure. A further three groups within the enclosure may
represent sub-circular features.

Google, 2017, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 02-OCT-2011 ACCESSED 02-OCT-2018 (Aerial Photograph). SDV360456.

Cropmarks of levelled ditches are visible.

Google, 2017, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM XX-XXX-1999 ACCESSED 01-OCT-2018 (Aerial Photograph). SDV360456.

Cropmarks of levelled ditches and banks are visible.

Historic England, 2018, HEA 33541, HEA 33541/002 19-JUL-2018 (Aerial Photograph). SDV362915.

Cropmarks of ditches are visible.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2018-2019, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (AI&M) (Interpretation). SDV361305.

Cropmarks which have formed over levelled ditches, circa 6m wide, are visible on aerial imagery taken from 1949 onwards, on gentle northeast facing slope to the northwest of Forches Cross, Newton Abbot. The cropmarks comprise segments of ditch which form an oval enclosure, circa 95m long by 72m wide, with ditches of a partial outer enclosure visible to the east, south and west and spaced circa 15m from the inner enclosure. Aerial imagery taken in 1999 show pale cropmarks visible within the inside edge of the inner circuit ditch and is interpreted as possible evidence of a levelled bank, although these are not visible on other available aerial imagery. The character and form of the cropmark enclosure supports a prehistoric or Romano-British date.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV341497	Report - Assessment: Adam, N., J. + Cox, P. W. + Chandler, J.. 2001. Stover Ball Clay Works ROMPS, Teigngrace, Devon: Archaeological Assessment. AC Archaeology Report. 0201/1/1. A4 Stapled + Digital. 7.
SDV341500	Archive - Survey: Mitchell, M.. 1979. Ball Clay Survey of South Devon. Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology Survey of the Ball Clay Industry of . Mixed Archive Material.
SDV341575	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1989. DAP/LU. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 7-8 hardcopy.
SDV341577	Unattributed Sites and Monuments Register Entry: Unknown. 1983.
SDV341578	Worksheet: Griffiths, D.. 13/07/1983. Enclosure. Worksheet + Digital.
SDV341584	Aerial Photograph: Hunting Aero Surveys. 1958. HAS/UK/58/938/PT.I. Hunting Aero Surveys Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 162.
SDV347656	Report - Watching Brief: Hughes, S.. 2010. New Gas Main at Forches Cross, Teigngrace: Results of an Archaeological Watching Brief.. AC Archaeology Report. ACD99/2/0. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV358153	Report - Geophysical Survey: Dean, R.. 2015. An Archaeological Gradiometer Survey: Land to the Northwest of Forches Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon. Substrata. 150323. Digital.
SDV360456	Aerial Photograph: Google. 2017. Google Earth Pro. Various. Digital. EARTH.GOOGLE.COM XX-XXX-1999 ACCESSED 01-OCT-2018.
SDV361305	Interpretation: Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R.. 2018-2019. The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (AI&M). Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV361873	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1949. RAF/58/271. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/58/271 V 5173-5174 28-JUN-1949.
SDV361874	Aerial Photograph: Devon County Council. 1989. DAP 6704. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DAP 6704/08 07-JUN-1989 (LU). [Mapped feature: #113953 ]
SDV362915	Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 2018. HEA 33541. Historic England Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Digital). HEA 33541/002 19-JUL-2018.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4418 - Archaeological Assessment of Stover Ball Clay Works Romps, Teigngrace, Devon
• EDV5220 - Watching Brief on a New Gas Main at Forches Cross, Teigngrace
• EDV7515 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey (Ref: ACD1748)
• EDV6731 - Gradiometer Survey: Land to the northwest of Forches Cross (Ref: 150323)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.