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Summary

Two curvilinear positive anomalies identified during a geophysical survey that may manifest physically as a ditch. The ditch may relate to an enclosure of some kind.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DITCH (Early Iron Age to Post Medieval - 700 BC? (Between) to 1750 AD? (Between))

Full description

Edwards, M. + Trick, S., 2019, Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell (Report - Survey). SDV363319.

This reports presents the results of a magnetometer survey on land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell. The survey was commissioned by AC Archaeology on behalf of clients.
Group 17 is two curvilinear positive anomalies that possibly define an arc although their connectivity is not certain. They possibly manifest physically as a ditch, making it possible they relate to an enclosure of some kind.

Rainbird, P., 2019, Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Devon: Trench Evaluation (Report - Evaluation). SDV365465.

An archaeological trench evaluation was undertaken by AC archaeology during November 2019 on land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Devon. Work comprised the machine-excavation of six trial trenches totalling 240m long, with each trench 2m wide. These were mainly positioned to target anomalies identified by a previous geophysical survey.

The evaluation has established that the site is characterised by relatively-deep overlying soils and that some of the recorded geophysical anomalies are represented by a combination of archaeological and naturally-formed features, most of which were undated.

Trench 5 was located in the southwest part of the site and was positioned to examine one linear anomaly and two curvilinear examples identified in the interpreted results of the geophysical survey.
Five sherds of prehistoric pottery of probable Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age date were recovered from the subsoil (501). One curvilinear feature (F512) corresponded with the position of a curvilinear geophysical anomaly. It had a single fill composed of mid reddish brown silty sand, which contained a fragment of possible Roman pottery and a small number of poorly-preserved charred plant remains.

Davey, J. + Moore, D., 2022, Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Tiverton, Devon: Archaeological Strip Map and Excavate (Report - Excavation). SDV365494.

In May and July 2022, Archaeology England Ltd carried out a programme of archaeological mitigation on land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Devon (centred on NGR ST 0249 1409). This involved a Strip, Map and Sample excavation (SME) and environmental analysis of palaeoenvironmental samples retained from an earlier evaluation of the site undertaken by AC Archaeology (Valentin 2021). The current report represents a synthesis of the results of these two phases of work.

For the SME, the site was subdivided into three areas, Area 1, 2 and 3. Area 2 was located to hopefully record features associated with this ditch. Feature 013 was recorded, V shaped in profile. The orientation of the ditch roughly matched that of a curvilinear anomaly identified in the geophysical survey report (Edwards and Trick, 2019; anomaly 17).

It is possible that the eastern east-west aligned part of this anomaly does represent the line of an archaeological linear ditch, tentatively dated to the Romano-British period. However, there is no excavated evidence to confirm or deny the nature of the north-western part of this anomaly. No finds were recovered. The V-shaped profile of the ditch is consistent with a potential Romano-British origin for this feature.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8193 - Magnetomer Survey on Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell (Ref: 1909SAM-R-1-2)
• EDV8995 - Trench Evaluation: Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Devon (Ref: ACW1063/3/0)
• EDV8994 - Archaeological Strip Map and Excavate: Land at Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Tiverton, Devon (Ref: 2114)

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