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Summary

Oval enclosure with contemporary flanking banks. A probable Iron Age settlement.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthworks of Iron Age enclosure north of Northcott Wood

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX39SW/504

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Iron Age - 700 BC to 42 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, F22/58/1715/0132-3 14 (Aerial Photograph). SDV342648.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Camp (remains of)' shown.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Camp' shown.

Wall, J. C., 1906, Ancient Earthworks, 600-601 (Article in Monograph). SDV341465.

Earthwork, a circular mound surrounded by a ditch, at each side are the remains of a rampart. This feature had been recently ploughed over and all that remains is a slight rise. It appears to have been built of shale, a vast quantity of which covers the site. No pottery or flints have been found.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1951, SX39SW12 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV8634.

A circular mound surrounded by a ditch is clearly defined, it is impossible to ascertain the former height of the mound. At each side are the remains of a rampart.
A ploughed down ovoid enclosure, 34 metres north-south and 44 metres east-west, bank up to 0.3 metre high, vestiges of a ditch. A contemporary flanking bank runs east for 180 metres from the north of enclosure, and another westward. There is a probable entrance gap on the south east side. All the features are now under pasture, no surface finds were made. Probable Iron Age farmstead.
Other details: Plan.

Weston, S., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983 (Un-published). SDV343247.

Visited 1982.

Timms, S. C., 1983, Untitled Source (Personal Comment). SDV8636.

This site was given Ancient Monument no.65, Devon but does not appear to have been scheduled. It lies to north-east of Northcott Wood Camp which is Scheduled as Ancient Monument no.66.

Griffith, F. M., 1986, FZ8, 9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV342647.

Environment Agency, 2000-2019, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Environment Agency LAST RETURN 19-DEC-2004 (Cartographic). SDV363954.

Curvilinear ditches and banks are visible as earthworks.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2001-2002, Tamar Valley National Mapping Programme Transcriptions and Database Records (Interpretation). SDV346287.

The curvilinear banks and ditches were initially transcribed as part of the Tamar Valley NMP survey. Further details from the survey database, including aerial photograph references and interpretive text, are awaiting accessioning.

Environment Agency, 2011, LIDAR data JPEG images (2 metre resolution) (Cartographic). SDV348634.

Map object based on this source.

Knight, S., 2011, Site Visit to Lower Northcott Farm (Personal Comment). SDV347033.

Site visit 31st March 2011. Low earthworks clearly visible, in permanent grass.

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.

Curvilinear ditches and banks are visible as earthworks.

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.

Curvilinear ditches and banks are visible as earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2004 and 2013. The earthworks form an ovoid enclosure circa 52 by 44 metres, with a 50-metre-long section of bank extending to the north-west, flanked by ditches. A further section of bank and flanking ditch circa 75 metres in length is situated to the north-west. Sections of bank and ditch circa 210 metres in length curves round to the east to form part of a possible large enclosure.
A curvilinear ditch orientated north-east to south-west appears to extend through the earthworks, joining the feature to Northcott Wood Camp hillfort recorded to the south-west (MDV2760). This has been interpreted as a possible field boundary or trackway and may be contemporary to the monuments (MDV129965).
The earthworks have previously been transcribed as part of the Tamar Valley NMP Survey.
The earthworks are interpreted as a possible Iron Age settlement or farmstead that may have been associated with the hillfort to the south-west.

Horner, W., 28/05/2015, Earthwork North-east of Northcott Wood Camp (Personal Comment). SDV358515.

Lidar shows an additonal length of earthwork on the south side, and also a possible earthwork on the west side.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV1152 - SX39SW12
• EDV1153 - Unnamed Event
• EDV1154 - FZ8, 9
• 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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