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Summary

An interrupted rectilinear cropmark, visible on aerial photographs taken in 1999, may have formed over the levelled ditches of a Roman fortlet, but further work is required before firm interpretation can be made.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FORTLET? (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD (Between))

Full description

GetMapping, 1999, 076/99, Devon County Council GetMapping/076/99 0147-0148 24-JUL-1999 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356305.

An interrupted rectilinear cropmark is visible, although hard to define in places.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

An interrupted rectilinear cropmark, circa 100 by 75 metres in plan and covering 0.85 hectares, is indistinctly visible on aerial photographs taken in 1999. It is sited on a plateau between two watercourses, and its form and size are consistent with an interpretation as a Roman fortlet. Pale cropmarks 2-3 metres wide define the rectilinear feature, but are very interrupted and difficult to distinguish and in places agricultural lines obscure the cropmarks. Two pale linear features are visible to the west parallel to the western edge, and a narrow pale cropmark extending eastwards from the south-east corner may be associated, although these could have resulted from agricultural operations. Dark cropmarks 2 metres wide in the south-west corner may have formed over the remains of an external ditch, and a possible interior ditch is suggested by dark cropmarks along part of the northern boundary. Alternatively, the size and shape of the cropmark and its location on level ground on the edge of a settlement could make this a suitable site for a sports pitch, but known former landuse as arable and for pig rearing might make that this is unlikely. The cropmarks are also broader than would be expected of pitch markings, though seeking local clarification is advisable. It is not visible on other available aerial imagery and further work is required to define the character and date of this feature.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project Site Visit, 19-JAN-2017 (Site Visit). SDV359588.

No features were visible in this grasss field, with good visibility to the south and east.

Smart, C., 2017, Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon: Geophysical Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV361131.

This report presents the results of geophysical survey (magnetometer) of land at Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon. The site comprises a long triangular-shaped field immediately south of Cloverhayes, on the northwest edge of Smallridge hamlet. The purpose of the survey was to define the extent, nature and significance of any sub-surface archaeological remains whether corresponding to the recognised vegetation marks or not. The possibility of the site being once occupied by a Roman camp would have provided significant new evidence for the character of military movement through the south west of Britain in the middle decades of the first century AD.

It it is evident that there is no support in the results of the magnetic survey for the anomalies transcribed from aerial photographs. Specifically, there is no evidence for a rectilinear enclosure or Roman camp.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356305	Aerial Photograph: GetMapping. 1999. 076/99. GetMapping Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). Devon County Council GetMapping/076/99 0147-0148 24-JUL-1999. [Mapped feature: #75169 ]
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359588	Site Visit: Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project Site Visit. AC Archaeology. Photograph (Digital). 19-JAN-2017.
	Linked images:18
SDV361131	Report - Geophysical Survey: Smart, C.. 2017. Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon: Geophysical Survey. University of Exeter. Digital.
	Linked documents:1

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)
• EDV7536 - Geophysical Survey: Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon

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