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Devon & Dartmoor HER

ID:	SDV322415
Title:	An Excavation on the Defences of the Anglo-Saxon Burh and Medieval Town of Totnes
Originator:	Dyer, M. J. + Allan, J.
Date:	2004
Summary:	Salvage recording on the northern burh defences at Totnes recovered important evidence regarding their form and development suggesting that they they had, indeed, been larid out on a new site in the later 9th or 10th century. Cultivation soil extended 2.5m underneath the back of the rampart and contained a single sherd of Saxo-Norman pottery. The early medieval defences consisted of a rampart c9.0m wide and a large ditch c10.0 m wide and 5.0m deep. A primary organic deposit in the ditch dated to the 11th or 12th century suggests that some rubbish dumped in the ditch prior to c1200 had not been cleaned out. However, this does not necessarily mean that the defences were no longer being maintained. The ditch would still have been c4.0m deep and an overlying deposit containing 14th or 15th century pottery suggests that that scouring continued until this time but more dating evidence from a variety of sites needs to be examined before a clear picture of the abandonment of the defences can be seen. However, it is worth noting that there is documentary evidence of the infilling of the town ditch on the southern side of the town in the early 15th century.

MDV71012	Cobbled Surface, 17 South Street, Totnes (Monument)
MDV42291	Embankment, Rear of 48 High Street, Totnes (Monument)
MDV60108	Medieval Defensive Ditch and Rampart on south side of North Street, Totnes (Monument)
MDV71009	Medieval Ditch, 17 South Street, Totnes (Monument)
MDV71010	Post-Medieval Walls, 17 South Street, Totnes (Monument)
MDV71011	Post-Medieval Well, 17 South Street, Totnes (Monument)

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