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Summary

A damaged subcircular enclosure of prehistoric origin situated on the moderate slope of Hamel Down in enclosed land N of Challacombe. Two thirds of the enclosure are visible but the E side merges into a maintained field wall which probably preserves and completes the line of the perimeter round to the SW, giving an internal area of c.0.18 ha. A prominent stony scarp in the field to the S is continuous with the enclosure and may be a fragment of a second enclosure or attached field. The enclosure is defined on the W, downhill side by a stony slope 0.8-1.5m high: on the N and NE it is a low, broken stony spread the remains of a wall] 3-4m wide and 0.3-0.8m high. No entrance is visible.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021394: Medieval strip fields, tinworks, prehistoric settlements, and a cairn on the lower western slopes of Hamel Down

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68SE154
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 917850
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SE/316

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1950, RAF/541/540, 4145 (Aerial Photograph). SDV285230.

National Monuments Record, 1977, NMR SX5479, 11 (Aerial Photograph). SDV226229.

National Monuments Record, 1977, SX6980, 1/33-35 (Aerial Photograph). SDV245035.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, P. Pattison (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(25/07/1990) SX 6958 8007: A damaged subcircular enclosure of prehistoric origin situated on the moderate slope of Hamel Down in enclosed land N of Challacombe.
Two thirds of the enclosure are visible but the E side merges into a maintained field wall which probably preserves and completes the line of the perimeter round to the SW, giving an internal area of c.0.18 ha. A prominent stony scarp in the field to the S is continuous with the enclosure and may be a fragment of a second enclosure or attached field.
The enclosure is defined on the W, downhill side by a stony slope 0.8-1.5m high: on the N and NE it is a low, broken stony spread the remains of a wall] 3-4m wide and 0.3-0.8m high. No entrance is visible.
The circuit is disturbed and pitted especially on the NW arc where perhaps stone was taken for the field wall nearby. At A there is a substantial cut into the slope for what seems to be a small, terraced-in, rectangular building. The interior measures c.8.2m by 2.2m and is sunken c.0.3m. Wall footings, visible as a low stony bank 1m wide and 0.3m high, define the W end while the remainder is an inward scarp only. This structure is of uncertain date and function but it clearly post-dates the enclosure.
B may be the remains of a building platform on the inside of the perimeter wall but it is difficult to be certain because of disturbance to the N side by ploughing and the passage of agricultural traffic.
C and D are small piles of cleared stone associated with Medieval and later land use.
E is a very slight scarp, possibly the remains of a strip lynchet of field system SX 67 NE 111.
The antiquity of the site is recognised by the field name "Pound" in 1787.
Visible on A.P's. Surveyed at 1:2500.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8658 - Challacombe, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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