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| Name: | Castle Croft / Rats Castle, Ninefield : Undated oval earthwork |
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| HER Ref: | MES4689 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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Designations
- SHINE: Castle Croft. Earthworks of an undated enclosure, south-west of Little Standard Hill Farm
Summary
Undated earthwork, possibly Roman period
Monument Types
- EARTHWORK (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- MOAT? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
- MOTTE? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
- POUND? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
Description
(TQ68101158) Castle Croft (NAT) Earthwork (NR).[1]
An earthwork comprising a convex platform raised above the surrounding ground and enclosed within a fairly deep but narrow trench. Possibly a dry island for stock when the area is flooded, but "a more reasonable explanation" is that it was a "crannog or marsh village". Known locally as Rat's Castle.[2]
The name Rat's Castle acquired because it was traditionally the refuge for water rats. Possibly a cattle refuge in times of flood.[3]
Castle Croft,an oval area, under permanent pasture, c 90.0m NE-SW by c 64.0m transversely, raised about 1.5m above the surrounding drained flood plain. It is steep-sided and almost completely encircled by a hedge in such a manner as to form a revetment. It appears to form an integral part of the system of fields reclaimed from marshland, and as such is almost certainly contemeporary. As suggested, it is probably a cattle refuge formed by the sculpturing of a natural rise. The interior is featureless.[4]
Roman tile has been recovered from the make up of the earthwork and a quantity of Roman coins found by metal detectorists on the mound. These finds suggest the site may be Romano-British possibly related to a quayside settlement [5]
A topographical survey was undertaken at Castle Croft [6]
This large geophysical survey has revealed many features underlying the present pasture. Areas that indicate settlement are over-cut by field boundaries present on the estate plan of 1635 AD (ESRO.ASH.4373) which are visible on the magnetometer results where they have been removed in recent times. This implies that the settlement features pre-date 1635 AD. There are no recorded settlements on these fields and the presence of Roman coins from the Croft and building material in the burrows of rabbits would suggest occupation during the date range 43 – 410 AD. The close proximity of a portside settlement of the Classis Britannica on Kitchenham Farm, Ashburnham only 1km to the north-west of Castle Croft suggests that the two sites may have co-existed during the same time period or may even have been under the same administration.
Certain archaeological sites may follow particular patterns but there are no guarantees that all sites will duplicate other known and dated sites (Gaffney and Gater 2011, 181). The term ‘Castle Croft’ is a name associated with the medieval period (Cornwell et al 2007) and a few sherds of medieval and post-medieval pottery have been found during our investigations. These may be the result of ‘manuring’. Unless trial excavations are undertaken the dates/dates of the features identified on this geophysical study must remain speculative.[7]
This earthwork comprises an oval platform raised about 1.5m above the surrounding flood-plain. It is steep-sided and almost completely encircled by a hedge so as to form a revetment. The interior is featureless. It appears to form an intergral part of the system of fields reclaimed from the marshland and was probably a cattle refuge formed by the sculpturing of a natural rise. The site is known locally as Rat's Castle because it was traditionally the refuge for water rats. [8]
Sources
| <1> | Correspondence: 1952. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigators Comment. OS 6" 1961 (prov). |
| <2> | Collection: Victoria History of the Counties of England:. Sussex vol 1 (1905) pg 479.. |
| <3> | Article in serial: Article in serial. Oral: W C Woodhouse 8.7.52 Bexhill Mus Association.. |
| <4> | Correspondence: 1952. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigators Comment. F1 NKB 07-APR-72. |
| <5> | Verbal communication: Pers. Comm. (verbal). HAARG (2009). |
| <6> | Serial: Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group. HAARG 2012 Worthing Contour Survey (2012) Skilton, P. |
| <7> | Serial: Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group. 2015 Castle Croft Magnetometer survey (2015) Cornwell, K; Cornwell, L;. |
| <8> | Report: Dr. A. G. Woodcock. 1980. East Sussex - Its Archaeological Heritage: Medieval Moated Sites. (30) Ninfield. |
Associated Events
- Castle Croft, Ninfield : Resitivity and Contour Survey
- Field observation on TQ 61 SE 4
- CASTLE CROFT / RATS CASTLE, PEVENSEY LEVELS : Topographical Survey
- CASTLE CROFT / RATS CASTLE, PEVENSEY LEVELS : Geophysical Survey
- Medieval Moated Sites, East Sussex : Archaeological Survey
Associated Monuments - none recorded
Associated Finds - none recorded
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