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Summary

Evidence of a small ring ditch and possibly associated linear ditched features was visible on aerial photographs of 1984 onwards as cropmarks of buried archaeological features on the gentle west-facing slopes overlooking the River Exe south of Netherexe Barton.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Prehistoric ring ditch south of Old Barton House

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1041373
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX99NW/159

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RING DITCH (Early Bronze Age to Roman - 2200 BC to 409 AD (Between))
• ROUND HOUSE (DOMESTIC) (Early Bronze Age to Roman - 2200 BC to 409 AD (Between))

Full description

DAP, 26/6/1984, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107967.

South of netherexe ring ditch recorded by f. Griffith as cropmark in june 1984. Diameter c 10m. Lies within sx99nw/53, fieldwalked by j. Uglow. Later photograph shows the site to be penanular (dap, 26/6/1984).

APH, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107969.

Site photographed from the air in 1995. Appears to have a surrounding ring of pits (aph).

NMR CITING MILLER, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107970.

Ap suggests the presence of a prehistoric or roman hut circle or round barrow site, visible as a penannular ring ditch (with se-facing 'entrance') c.400m s of netherexe. The cropmarks suggests tat this feature is located on a triangular 'island' between 2 probable palaeochannels. The find of 140 neolithic/bronze age flints in the vicinity may indicate a closer date for this feature (nmr citing miller).

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV107971.

Aph=dap/q 11(23/6/1984).

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV107972.

Aph=dap/ac 12(26/6/1984).

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV107973.

Aph=dap/dj 9a,10(26/7/1984).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107974.

Des=dprfp 1990.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107976.

Nmr=sx99nw81.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV107977.

Des=miller, a. /(29/2/1996)/rchme ap primary recording project.

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV107979.

Aph=dap/ms 1/(27/6/1989).

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV107980.

Aph=dap/vm 31-33(9/7/1992).

DPRFP, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV262469.

Vis=30/3/1990 (robinson) level ground in exe valley, nothing visible.(dprfp).

English Heritage, 1984, NMR 2163, NMR 2163/2, 5, 8-10, 15-16, 19-20, 26, 28, 33-38, 55-57, 84, 86 02-JUL-1984 (Aerial Photograph). SDV357051.

A ring ditch was visible as a cropmark.

Horner, B., 1995, DAP/XP, Devon County Council DAP/XP 9-11 27-JUN-1995 (Aerial Photograph). SDV321071.

Devon County Council DAP/XP 9-11 27-JUN-1995

Devon County Council, 1996, DAP/ZE, Devon County Council DAP/YE 2 5-JUL-1995 (Aerial Photograph). SDV338329.

A cropmark ring ditch and linear ditched features were visible. Map object based on this source.

English Heritage, 2010, NMR 27248, NMR 27248/022-024 28-JUN-2010 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359142.

A cropmark ring ditch and linear ditched features were visible. Map object based on this source.

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

Evidence of a small ring ditch was visible on aerial photographs of 1984 onwards as cropmarks of buried archaeological features on the gentle west-facing slopes overlooking the River Exe south of Netherexe Barton. The ring ditch cropmark was on average 1.6 metres wide and enclosed a roughly circular area on average 5 metres in diameter. A 2 metre wide south-east facing break in the cropmark might be evidence of an original entrance to the interior of the enclosed area. Cropmarks of narrower linear ditched features were visible for circa 35 metres to the south-west and north-east of the ring ditch.
It is difficult to confidently ascribe a date and function to ring ditches based on cropmark evidence alone. For instance cropmark ring ditches of varying diameters could be interpreted as either barrows of Bronze Age date or round houses of Iron Age to Roman date. In this instance, although the ring ditch is possibly wider than might be expected for a drip gulley, the possible entrance and linear cropmarks might support the interpretationof the ring ditch as a small enclosed round house of Bronze Age or later date.
Lidar date supports the interpretation of the above authority that the ring ditch was situated on a low rise in the floodplain of the Exe Valley.
Many of the aerial photographs consulted by the survey are copies of DAPs held by the Historic England Archive. In some cases these have been recorded as separate sources. This is because variations in the way the prints have been processed could result in images on which archaeological features are visible to a greater or lesser degree than on the originals.

Devon County Council, 2019, Google Earth Aerial Photograph Pilot Project, GE50 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363341.

(SX 93426 99602) Ring ditch and linears south of Nether Exe. Ring ditch MDV28636 and several linears are evident on the 2018 Google Earth aerial images. Field boundaries shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map are also visible. Bronze Age to Romano-British date.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV107967	Migrated Record: DAP, 26/6/1984.
SDV107969	Migrated Record: APH.
SDV107970	Migrated Record: NMR CITING MILLER.
SDV107971	Aerial Photograph:
SDV107972	Aerial Photograph:
SDV107973	Aerial Photograph:
SDV107974	Migrated Record:
SDV107976	Migrated Record:
SDV107977	Migrated Record:
SDV107979	Aerial Photograph:
SDV107980	Aerial Photograph:
SDV262469	Migrated Record: DPRFP.
SDV321071	Aerial Photograph: Horner, B.. 1995. DAP/XP. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). Devon County Council DAP/XP 9-11 27-JUN-1995.
SDV338329	Aerial Photograph: Devon County Council. 1996. DAP/ZE. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). Devon County Council DAP/YE 2 5-JUL-1995.
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
SDV357051	Aerial Photograph: English Heritage. 1984. NMR 2163. English Heritage. Photograph (Paper). NMR 2163/2, 5, 8-10, 15-16, 19-20, 26, 28, 33-38, 55-57, 84, 86 02-JUL-1984.
SDV359142	Aerial Photograph: English Heritage. 2010. NMR 27248. English Heritage. Digital. NMR 27248/022-024 28-JUN-2010.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

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