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Summary

Small square enclosure visible as a cropmark ditch on aerial photographs of 1984, to the north of Putson Cross. The enclosure also showed as a strong anomaly on a geophysical survey of the area. Excavations revealed a pit and a possible grave within it and a palisade on the outside, opposite the entrance. Finds have been few but suggest an Iron Age-Romano-British date for the enclosure. However, OSL dating suggested that it was originally constructed in the Late Iron-Early Roman period and reused in the early medieval period.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Undated square enclosure north of Putson Cross
• SHINE: Undated square enclosure north of Putson Cross

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1038689
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS91SE/378

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Early Iron Age to X - 700 BC (Between) to 1000 AD (Between)) + Sci.Date

Full description

National Monuments Record, 1038689 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV341571.

Small square enclosure, of uncertain date, seen as cropmark. Other details: SS91SE50. Record last updated: N/A.

National Monuments Record, SS9813, 4-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341572.

Haines, C, 12/2012, Land East of Tiverton, Devon, Archaeological Evaluation (Report - Evaluation). SDV351667.

Devon County Council, 1984, DAP 3535, DAP 3525/02 05-JUL-1984 (BC) (Aerial Photograph). SDV357052.

The enclosure is visible as a cropmark ditch.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/BC (Aerial Photograph). SDV341573.

Map object previously based on this Source.

Miller, A., 1996, Untitled Source (Interpretation). SDV341570.

Rapid examination of aerial photograph suggests the presence of a small square enclosure, of uncertain date, visible as a cropmark, circa 120 metres north of Upper Putson Cottage.

Valentin, J., 2009, Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation, 4,5,8,11, Fig. 8, 14,App.1 A11 (Report - Assessment). SDV345204.

A sub square cropmark visible on aerial photographs was also recorded as a strong anomaly during a geophysical survey of the area (Area 4). An evaluation trench (T5) targetting the site revealed three ditch features, of which two were intercutting and a possible pit. No finds were recovered from any of the features.

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

An enclosure of probable prehistoric to Roman date is visible as a cropmark ditch on specialist oblique aerial photographs of 1984, to the north of Putson Cross. The well-defined rectilinear cropmark measures approximately 11.3m in length by 10.8m in width, with an entrance along its northeast edge approximately 1m wide. The enclosure is characterised by sharp, angular corners and broad ditches which measure approximately 2.6m in width. The enclosure was also visible as a strong magnetic anomaly during a geophysical carried out in 2009.

Austin, J., 2019, Land off Uplowman Road, Tiverton, Devon: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design (Report - Excavation). SDV364871.

Archaeological by Cotswold Archaeology in 2018 identified a sub-square ditched enclosure defined by a substantial ditch, approximately 11.25m north-east to south-west by 10.5m north-west to south-east externally. A 0.75m gap in its north-eastern side, flanked by rounded ditch terminals, may represent an entrance. The various fills of the ditch yielded very little artefactual material; a single sherd of likely late prehistoric/early Roman pottery, two small sherds of broadly dated Romano-British pottery and a single small Romano-British sherd. Residual worked flints were also recovered. Optically Stimulated Luminescence samples were taken from two deposits, and gave date ranges of 240 BC to AD 150 and AD 690 to AD 970. The later deposit is much later than the artefactual remains and possibly relates to a post-Roman recut of the feature.
A pit located broadly in the centre of the enclosure was the only internal feature. It was aligned north-east/south-west (on the same alignment as the enclosure ditch) and lay in line with the possible entrance gap. The pit was 2.38m long, 0.78m wide and 0.32m deep with steep sides and a flat base. The fill was sterile, with no skeletal remains, artefacts nor charcoal present, and has been dated by its apparent association with the enclosure. It is interpreted as a possible grave, with any evidence of burial having been removed by acid soil conditions.
A north-west/south-east alignment of nine postholes lay to the north-east of the enclosure, and parallel to it. These are undated, but have also been interpreted as associated with the enclosure, possibly forming a fence line outside its eastern entrance.
Towards the north-west of the site a curvilinear ditch extended south-westwards for almost 5m before terminating. West of this was an irregular pit. They appear to have had no direct relationship to the potential funerary monument. They were both sealed by colluvium and may reflect earlier activity within the excavation area.

Cobain, S., 2020, A Late Iron Age/Early Roman funerary monument at Tiverton, Devon (Article in Serial). SDV364326.

The presence of a square enclosure identified as a crop mark from the air in 1984 was confirmed by an archaeological investigation undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology on land off Uplowman Road in advance of residential development. The enclosure was 11.25 metres by 10.5 metres with an entrance, 0.75 metres wide in its north-eastern side. A pit (F503) and a possible grave (624) were recorded within the enclosure although no human remains were identified. An external row of postholes on the north-eastern side of the enclosure are thought to represent a contemporary palisade.
There were few finds, the only dateable material being a Late Iron Age-Early Roman rim sherd and two other sherds broadly dated to the Roman period.
In order to gain further dating evidence, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OLS) dating was carried out on middle fills from the ditch. One produced a date of 280BC-AD150 suggesting it was backfilled in the Middle-Late Iron Age to Early Roman period. However, another returned an early medieval date of AD670-970. Further analysis suggested the ditch had been recut at the boundary between the lower, more stony deposits and the upper silt-rich fills.
The enclosure is similar in morphology to other known funerary enclosures and the scientific dating, which suggests that it was originally constructed in the Late Iron-Early Roman period and reused in the early medieval period, has potential implications for the dating of these monuments.

Stansbie, D. + Cobain, S., 2021, A Middle/Late Iron Age to Early Roman Funerary Monument at Land Off Uplowman Road, Tiverton, 127-141; Figs 1-7 (Article in Serial). SDV364870.

Excavation by Cotswold Archaeology recorded a substantial sub-square enclosure of Middle/Late Iron Age to Early Roman date with a probable north-east facing entrance. Two pits were identified within the centre of the enclosure during evaluation (by AC Archaeology, 2009) and excavation. Pit F503, identified in evaluation, was oval, 0.9m by 0.52m by 0.18m deep. The second was rectangular, 2.5m by 0.72m by 0.32m deep. Neither contained finds or biological material, possibly because of locally acidic soil conditions. Both have been tentatively dated as Middle/Late Iron Age or Early Roman on the basis of their location within the enclosure. Nine post holes between 1.5m and 4.7m north-east of the enclosure may have formed a fence line or palisade.
There was no clear evidence of a distinct phase of early medieval occupation at the site. However, an Optically Stimulated Luminescence date from a ditch fill sample identified an early medieval sediment deposition date of AD 670-970, possibly indicating an Early Medieval recutting of the ditch. However, the possibility that this date may be anomalous and the recut may have occurred earlier, possibly in the Roman period, cannot be ruled out.
This funerary enclosure represents a rare discovery in the context of south-western England, but nevertheless stands in an increasingly well-known tradition of burial monuments. The remains show similarities to several burial monuments excavated in Devon and Somerset, comprising rectangular enclosures with inhumation burials within and outside the enclosures. A Late Roman to Post-Roman cemetery containing five examples is known from Kenn and a single example dating to the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD has been excavated in Exeter. Two square enclosures containing Roman pottery and human remains dating to AD 600-690 were recorded at Bishop’s Lydeard, Somerset.
The Uplowman Road example is significant in two main respects: firstly its apparently isolated nature is unusual, with other examples being located within known cemeteries, or close to significant buildings; secondly, ceramic and scientific dating from the fills of the Uplowman Road enclosure ditch dates its original construction and use to the Middle/Late Iron Age/Early Roman period. It is also substantially larger in terms of area and ditch depth than the five exaples from Kenn.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV341570	Interpretation: Miller, A.. 1996. RCHME Aerial Photograph Primary Recording Project. Digital.
SDV341571	National Monuments Record Database: National Monuments Record. 1038689. National Monuments Record Index. Unknown.
SDV341572	Aerial Photograph: National Monuments Record. SS9813. National Monuments Record Aerial Photograph. Unknown. 4-5.
SDV341573	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1984. DAP/BC. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).
SDV345204	Report - Assessment: Valentin, J.. 2009. Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation. AC Archaeology Report. ACD30/2/1. A4 Stapled + Digital. 4,5,8,11, Fig. 8, 14,App.1 A11.
SDV351667	Report - Evaluation: Haines, C. 12/2012. Land East of Tiverton, Devon, Archaeological Evaluation. Cotswold Archaeology Report. 12369. Digital.
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
SDV357052	Aerial Photograph: Devon County Council. 1984. DAP 3535. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DAP 3525/02 05-JUL-1984 (BC). [Mapped feature: #96245 ]
SDV364326	Article in Serial: Cobain, S.. 2020. A Late Iron Age/Early Roman funerary monument at Tiverton, Devon. Devon Archaeological Society Newsletter. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV364870	Article in Serial: Stansbie, D. + Cobain, S.. 2021. A Middle/Late Iron Age to Early Roman Funerary Monument at Land Off Uplowman Road, Tiverton. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 79. Paperback Volume. 127-141; Figs 1-7.
SDV364871	Report - Excavation: Austin, J.. 2019. Land off Uplowman Road, Tiverton, Devon: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design. Cotswold Archaeology. 889017_1. Digital.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4893 - Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment, Tiverton
• EDV4957 - Targetted Magnetometry Survey and Evaluation, Tiverton
• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV6190 - Archaological Evaluation, Land East of Tiverton, Devon (Ref: 12369)
• EDV8800 - Excavation: Land off Uplowman Road, Tiverton (Ref: 889017)

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