More information : A large area of peat cutting, of probable post medieval date, is visible on aerial photographs as numerous small pits and irregular earthworks covering an area of approximately 24 hectares on Horsen Hill, Exmoor. The earthworks are centred on SS 7926 3556 and are of a variety of shapes and sizes, from square pits measuring 7 metres across, to less regularly shaped, curved pits up to 65 metres across. Due to the vast number of pits visible on aerial photographs, only a representative sample has been transcribed, indicating distribution and form. Peat cutting is known to have continued on Exmoor until very recently, and may continue in places. In places the peat cuttings are overlain by post medieval field boundaries, suggesting that they predate the enclosure of the land around Horsen Hill (1-2). |