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Summary

Curvilinear cropmark banks and a ditch are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946, with additional banks and ditches visible as subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013. They are interpreted as field boundaries of probable medieval date, that may have formed part of a strip field system, and that passed out of use by the mid-19th century.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• MORPH: DE.121.57.1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Early Medieval to XIX - 1066 AD to 1840 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

The banks and ditch do not correspond to any depicted field boundaries.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1793, NMR RAF/CPE/UK/1793 3012-3013 12-OCT-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349050.

Cornwall County Council, 2002, Cornwall National Mapping Programme (Archive - Survey). SDV350748.

An ordered, rectilinear linear system, 'field' size on average 90m by 20m. Visible as cropmark banks and ditch on aerial photographs and transcribed from aerial photographs taken in 1946. Interpreted as the remains of field boundaries of medieval or later date.

Knight, S., 2012, Backlog Input Element of the North Devon Coast AONB National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV350734.

The curvilinear banks and ditches are not depicted on the Tithe map, but they are parallel to several field boundaries that are depicted, and their layout and spacing are typical of boundaries originating from medieval strip fields. The boundaries manifesting as cropmarks are likely to have gone out of use by the mid nineteenth century.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Tellus LAST RETURN 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV363955.

Earthwork banks and ditches are visible.

Hegarty, C., Houghton, E., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2020-2021, Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 2 (Culture Recovery Fund project) (Interpretation). SDV364011.

A series of curvilinear banks and ditches orientated approximately north-west to south-east and situated across several fields to the west of Upcott are visible as subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.
The visible earthworks do not correspond with any features depicted on the available 19th century historic maps, however they are in parallel with extant field boundaries. Two banks align with a bank and ditch transcribed by the Cornwall National Mapping Programme. One of the ditches aligns with a former field boundary shown on modern maps until the mid-late 20th century. Some of the earthworks have been centrally truncated by a field boundary orientated approximately north-east to south-west.
The historic landscape is characterised as medieval enclosures based on strip fields.
The earthwork banks and ditches are interpreted as medieval field boundaries that may have formed part of a strip field system, that passed out of use prior to circa 1840. It is possible some of the ditches may be modern drainage, leading to drains depicted both centrally and to the north of the field.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8356 - Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 2 (Culture Recovery Fund) (Ref: ACD2424)

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