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Summary

A complex of curvilinear earthwork banks, visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations of lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017, is interpreted as a probable relict field system of at least medieval, but potentially later prehistoric, date.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains of the World War II RAF Harrowbeer airfield, as well as medieval fields and farms, industrial tin working, sections of the Devonport and Plymouth Leats, and part of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway on Roborough Down

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NW/101
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV267328.

Aph=raf 106g uk 1190/3204-3205(27/2/1946).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV267329.

Des=rowe, a. E. /buckland monachorum landscape study/(1994)14/in pf. Large area of ridge + furrow extending n-s between hollow ways sx56nw/216 + sx56nw/221 (rowe).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV267330.

Des=rowe, a. /buckland monachorum: a west devon down & its history/(1999)29-30/copy in pf.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1190, RAF/106G/UK/1190 RP 3202-3203 27-FEB-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363067.

Curvilinear earthwork banks are visible.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Field system with some ridge and furrow visible on RAF 1946 aerial image at SX 510 689.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5068 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Curvilinear earthwork banks are visible.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2021, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A complex of curvilinear earthwork banks, up to 2 metres wide, is visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations of lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017, and is interpreted as a probable relict field system. A possible droveway is visible as two parallel banks widening from 7 metres in the south to 16 metres, with offshoots either side forming enclosure boundaries. It certainly pre-dates the Second World War airfield (MV55691), the perimeter of which appears to cut it, and is not depicted on the available historic mapping, so presumably went out of use by the mid-19th century. It could potentially be of later prehistoric date.
Previously the monument polygon incorporated trackways to west that are depicted on late-19th century maps, and elements of the hollow ways now recorded as MDV126174.
The possible ridge and furrow previously recorded in association with this field system is indistinctly visible as parallel dark linear cropmarks on a limited number of aerial photographs, most clearly on those taken in 2007. They are closely spaced at approximately 4 metres and run cross-contour, suggesting that they are more likely to be a result of post-medieval or 19th century deep ploughing for drainage. They have been separately recorded as MDV126178.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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