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| HER Number: | MDV102723 |
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| Name: | Possible minefields on the foreshore at Broadsands |
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Summary
A group of craters is visible as a rough grid of circular earthwork pits on aerial photographs taken in 1945, adjacent to several parallel linear earthwork ditches. They are interpreted as part of the Second World War U.S. Army military training area, associated with exercises undertaken on the foreshore to prepare for Operation Overlord. The earthworks are not visible on later aerial photographs and probably been levelled by water action since.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SS 467 325 |
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| Map Sheet: | SS43SE |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Braunton |
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| Civil Parish | Heanton Punchardon |
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| District | North Devon |
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Protected Status: none recorded
Other References/Statuses: none recorded
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- BOMB CRATER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- MINEFIELD (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/LA/221, NMR RAF/106G/LA/221 5031-5032 15-APR-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349986.
Two groups of earthworks are visible, a grid of pits and several parallel ditches.
Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011-2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.
Two groups of earthworks are visible on the foreshore at Broadsands on aerial photographs taken in 1945. A group of circular pits, just over 1 metre in diameter and in a rough grid of four by six rows, is immediately to the west of a six parallel linear ditches, each approximately a metre in width. The exact cause or function of the ditches is uncertain, but the pits are likely to be the result of exploded mines, possibly from early Second World War anti-invasion defences but more likely to be associated with U.S. Army training activities for Operation Overlord. The earthworks are not visible on later available aerial photographs, presumably having been levelled by natural processes.
Sources / Further Reading
| SDV349018 | Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011-2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital. |
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| | Linked documents:1 |
| SDV349986 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/LA/221. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/LA/221 5031-5032 15-APR-1945. [Mapped features: #62219 ; #62220 ] |
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Associated Monuments
| MDV102705 | Part of: Military training area between Broadsands and Crow Point, Braunton Burrows. (Monument) |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project (Ref: ACD383/2/1)
| Date Last Edited: | Mar 1 2023 1:53PM |
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