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Summary

A ditch with Iron Age pottery in its fill was recorded during archaeological works along the route of a water pipeline. The quantity of pottery suggests a settlement in the vicinity and that the ditch maybe an enclosure or boundary ditch.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SY29SW/273

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DITCH (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 300 BC to 42 AD) + Sci.Date

Full description

AC ARCHAEOLOGY, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV131098.

No trace of the iron age settlement was noted by ac archaeology during excavation for a gas pipeline trench in 2001 (ac archaeology).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV131100.

Des=quinnell, h. /later prehistoric pottery survey/(1998)dbid:1425/in smr.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV131101.

Des=ac archaeology/archaeological observations during the construction of a natural gas pipeline at paccombe hill near beer/(september 2001)3/report in smr.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV131102.

Cottrell, t, + whelan, j.(ac archaeology)/archaeological observations during the construction of a gas pipeline at paccombe hill near beer/(june 2003)3/ac report 4901/2/1.

Quinnell, H., 1982, Prestonbury Castle (Report - Survey). SDV1356.

C.200 sherds of pot middle/late iron age, late iron age & conquest period, recovered by evaluation test pit, fieldwalking and watching brief. Held by h. Quinnell, exeter (quinnell).

Reed, S. J. + Watts, M., 1994, Archaeological Recording of SWW Branscombe to Gatcombe Water Main, 3-4 (Report - Watching Brief). SDV342842.

Fieldwalking identified a ditch associated with scatters of Iron Age pottery. Archaeological recording during cutting of the pipe trench through the ditch recovered more pottery, and it is likely that the 2 nearby pottery scatters were also originally within the top fill of the feature. The ditch was found to be v-shaped in profile. It was 3.2 metres wide and 0.72 metres deep. Although it was quite shallow, it probably represents the remains of a settlement enclosure or boundary ditch. This seems to be confirmed by the high concentration of pottery (over 200 fragments) found within the limited area under investigation. The pot comprised at least three types, including Glastonbury and Durotrigian wares. A small quantity of daub was also found.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003-2004, East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Archaeological Survey, Site No. 1666 (Archive - Survey). SDV351568.

'V' shaped ditch containing Iron Age pottery found during works for pipeline. Probable settlement enclosure or boundary ditch.
SMR.

Quinnell, H. + Reed, S., 2012, Archaeology and the Branscombe to Gatcombe Water Pipeline, East Devon, 87-88, 97-103 (Article in Serial). SDV351756.

A ditch was identified at Gatcombe Ash during field walking along the route of a water pipeline. Scatters of Iron Age pottery were found in the vicinity. Subsequent archaeological recording following the cutting of the pipeline trench through the ditch showed the ditch, which ran broadly north-south, to be V-shaped. It was 3.2 metres wide and 0.72 metres deep. More Iron Age pottery was recovered from the upper and side ditch fills.
The pottery was mostly Late Iron Age in date but also included sherds of Middle Iron Age South Western Decorated ware. A calibrated radiocarbon date of 196-42BC was obtained from residue on sherds of the Late Iron Age pottery. The quantity of pottery, the assemblage comprised some 211 sherds in total, suggests that the ditch, possibly an enclosure or boundary ditch, lay in the vicinity of a nearby settlement. The Late Iron Age pottery comprised mainly sherds of of Late Iron Age East Devon Plain ware (previously known as Durotrigian ware) which was made using local Upper Greensand derived fabric in the Exeter area from around 100BC. But the assemblage also included a number of sherds from a jar and a rim sherd from another smaller jar or bowl of imported Durotrigian ware from Dorset. Several pieces of baked clay, possibly the remains of daub or from a hearth were also found.
See report for further details.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds

• FDV6820 - DAUB (Iron Age - 700 BC to 42 AD)
• FDV6819 - SHERD (Middle Iron Age - 300 BC to 101 BC)
• FDV6818 - SHERD (Late Iron Age - 100 BC to 42 AD)

Associated Events: none recorded

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