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Summary

Dark trapezoidal cropmarks, visible on aerial photographs taken between 1969 and 2012, probably formed over the site of gun platforms associated with the eighteenth century battery at Berry Head Point.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017322: Berry Head Fort and battery and Hardy's Head Battery

Other References/Statuses

• Tide Project: 26/11/2021

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• GUN EMPLACEMENT (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1969, OS/69293, NMR/OS/69293 V 022 28-JUN-1969 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352593.

Two dark trapezoidal cropmarks are visible.

Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D., 1990, Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey, 21, Fig. 12, Pl. 27 (Report - Survey). SDV362493.

The sites of four gun platforms show as cropmarks.

Channel Coast Observatory, 2001-2012, Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography, Channel Coastal Observatory SX9456_20120918ortho.ecw 18-SEP-2012 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351226.

Three dark trapezoidal cropmarks are visible.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

Three dark trapezoidal cropmarks, most clearly visible on aerial photographs taken in 2012, probably formed over the site of gun platforms associated with the earliest battery at Barry Head Point, constructed in 1779-80. The gun platforms are planned by Pye & Slater (1990). Two are on the north side and the third faces south from the headland; the two northernmost platforms are also visible as dark cropmarks in 1969. Their size at 5 metres by 3 to 4.5 metres is similar to other contemporary gun beds in the area, and the cropmark patterning is unusual, as dark parallel linears can be distinguished. The clearest one comprises five linears, each circa 0.4 metres in width. These darker linears may have formed over the cuts for the earliest timber structures, or perhaps resulted from hollows created during the later phase of robbing out the granite. Additional possible cropmarks are centred at circa SX 9468256570, SX9470356560 and SX9467656333, but these are too indistinct to map or interpret with confidence.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351226	Aerial Photograph: Channel Coast Observatory. 2001-2012. Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography. Channel Coast Observatory. Digital. Channel Coastal Observatory SX9456_20120918ortho.ecw 18-SEP-2012. [Mapped features: #64895 ; #64896 ]
SDV352593	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1969. OS/69293. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). NMR/OS/69293 V 022 28-JUN-1969.
SDV362493	Report - Survey: Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D.. 1990. Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey. Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report. EMAFU 90.10. Hardcopy + Digital. 21, Fig. 12, Pl. 27.
	Linked documents:1

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)
• EDV7797 - Architectural Survey by DA Buildings Section 1988
• EDV7832 - Documentary research on the Berry Head Fort
• EDV7835 - Archaeological Survey of the Berry Head Forts

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