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Summary

Two circular marks visible on an aerial photograph may be the site of beacons. The field is named as Beacon Field on the Tithe Map.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Two prehistoric barrows north of Dawlish

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX97NE/14

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) BEACON (Unknown date)
• NON ANTIQUITY (XX - 1980 AD to 1980 AD)

Full description

Unknown, 1980, Mystery Sites Show up on Aerial Photos, 8 (Article in Serial). SDV346152.

Two rings visible on aerial photograph. The rings are possibly the sites of ancient beacons. The field is variously named as Beacon Field or Beacon View on the Tithe Map. John Swete's Diary of 1795 also indicates that the field is a known beacon site. On the other hand, there is a possibility that these markings could be ploughed out Bronze Age barrows.

Unknown, 1980, Ring Crop Marks (Worksheet). SDV346151.

Referring to an article in The Dawlish Gazette, the writer considers that the two circular features are more likely to be stone features than ring ditches as they show as pale marks on the aerial photograph. Fieldwalking produced no results.

Exeter Archaeology, 1997, SWWSL Environmental Review. Archaeological Survey Report. Burrows Reservoir, 2 (Report - Survey). SDV346155.

National Monuments Record, 2011, 925990 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV346153.

Two circular cropmarks seen on air photograph. They fall within a field named Beacon Field on the Tithe Map and there is a reference in 1795 to a beacon above Dawlish. Other details: SX97NE21. Record last updated: N/A.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

The cited cropmarks are not visible on any of the available aerial photographs available to the survey. The image as reproduced in the press has been reassessed and is of very poor clarity. Nonetheless, in the opinion of this authority the visible features are non-archaeological in origin, and are possibly geomorphological in origin.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV346151	Worksheet: Unknown. 1980. Ring Crop Marks. Worksheet.
SDV346152	Article in Serial: Unknown. 1980. Mystery Sites Show up on Aerial Photos. Dawlish Gazette. Newspaper/Magazine Cutting + Digital. 8. [Mapped feature: #110239 ]
SDV346153	National Monuments Record Database: National Monuments Record. 2011. 925990. National Monuments Record Database. Website.
SDV346155	Report - Survey: Exeter Archaeology. 1997. SWWSL Environmental Review. Archaeological Survey Report. Burrows Reservoir. Exeter Archaeology Report. 97.60. A4 Stapled + Digital. 2.
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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