More information : (TL 334 399). In November 1992, RCHME carried out an analytical earthwork survey of Therfield Heath as a training project for new staff (1). This rather curious monument, previously wrongly located and described under NMR reference TL 34 SW 19, consists of an oval depression, measuring 10.5m x 9.0m and up to 1m deep, formed by the partial intercutting of two separate features; the overall result resembles a figure of eight, oriented NE-SW. The hollows are cut into a very low mound, roughly 15m in diameter. The feature was excavated by J Beldam in 1856, producing a wide range of pottery (1a). It has been alleged to be a pond barrow (1b).
Hollow (a) is roughly circular (6 x 7m) with a flat bottom and traces of a bank on the N side. This may be a disused bunker of Royston golf course and therefore of relatively modern origin.
Hollow (b) abuts the SW side of (a), is deeper and more oval in plan (9m NW-SE x 4.5m). The floor of the hollow is irregular, the SE half being somewhat deeper than the rest.
Both the dimensions and the orientation of (b) suggest that this was the feature excavated by Joseph Beldam in 1856 (1a). The finds from this excavation cover a broad spectrum from possible Romano-British pottery to clay pipes and do little to suggest a function for the hollow. Beldam's conclusion that this was a pit dwelling of the 'ancient Britons' is clearly erroneous. However it is significant that Beldam stated that 'nothing was discovered...of a sepulchral character'.
Interpretation of the 'figure of eight' as a barrow (1b) seems unlikely although there is some confusion between this feature and a possible second monument, described as a pond or disc barrow (see TL 33 NW 10). Seeing that both monument have been placed in the same general area, the correct identification is of some importance, since the area is scheduled under its guise as a pond barrow (Herts.97b). There are two possibilities, namely that the 'figure of 8' has previously been identified as a barrow, or that a barrow once existed nearby, but has subsequently been destroyed. Both are equally tenable.
Beldam's description of the hollow as being 'flanked on the north-east by a truncated mound' might favour the existence of a second monument. However, all that can be said with certainty is that neither the field observations nor the excavation record support the identification of the 'figure of eight' as a barrow. A more plausible explanation might be a surface quarry for flint or chalk, an activity attested elsewhere on the Heath (TL 34 SW 62). The exact date is open to question, but the clay pipes and 16th century pottery recovered by Beldam may suggest a terminus ante quem. The presence of possible prehistoric pottery may simply be a residual deposit.
Alternatively, the mound may have been a beacon site; 17th century county maps show a beacon on Therfield heath, the area near the Hopscotch (TL 33 NW 1) at TL 332 397 subsequently becoming known as Beacon Hill.
For further details, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plans at 1:500 and 1:2500 scales, held in Archive. (1) |