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Summary

A concentration of earthwork pits and trenches of Second World War date are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2016.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOMB CRATER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
• WEAPONS PIT (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 3234-35 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

The earthwork pits are visible.

Royal Air Force, 1954, RAF/540/1437 F22, RAF/540/1437 F22 008-09 07-OCT-1954 (Aerial Photograph). SDV358474.

The earthwork pits are visible.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A concentration of earthwork pits and trenches of Second World War date are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, on Colaton Raleigh Common. The earthworks are dispersed across an area of approximately 4.70 hectares of moderate northeast facing slope, along the northern fringe of the common. The earthworks are dominated by small circular to irregular shaped pits and trenches generally between 1.5 to 4m in length/diameter. A larger oval-shaped earthwork pit and banked feature, approximately 12m in length, is visible to the north of the pit concentration. The earthworks likely represent either artillery shell craters or weapon pits, or combination of the two, associated with Dalditch infantry camp located further to the south. The earthworks are likely to be more extensive than has been transcribed here owing to the subtle nature of the features. Other concentrations of similar such earthwork features are visible across Woodbury Common further to the southwest. A number of the earthwork pits appear to be visible on aerial photographs of 1954 and although the earthworks are not clearly visible after this date, subtle earthworks may well still survive.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR SY0488 Bluesky International DTM 24-APR-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

Earthwork pits are visible.

Sims, R., 2020, East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment (Interpretation). SDV363914.

A number of sub-circular earthwork pits associated with this Second World War training site are visible on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2016. They measure up to 4m in diameter.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV352504	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1412. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 3234-35 13-APR-1946. [Mapped feature: #71933 ]
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV358474	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1954. RAF/540/1437 F22. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/540/1437 F22 008-09 07-OCT-1954.
SDV359714	Cartographic: Bluesky International. 2016. LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects. Not applicable. Digital. LIDAR SY0488 Bluesky International DTM 24-APR-2016.
SDV363914	Interpretation: Sims, R.. 2020. East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment. Digital.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV8340 - East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment

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