Aerial Investigation and Mapping Report - English Heritage

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The mound is clearly visible on the 1947 RAF verticals. It is orientated approximatelynorthwest-southeast, and is located just below the crest of a chalk spur, overlooking theCuckmere valley to the northwest, west and south. It is close to the corner of a field, awall passing close by on its northeast-facing long side before curving round to thesouthwest. The shadow cast by the wall make it impossible to determine whether themound is indeed cut by the wall on its north eastern side, or if the mound has spread upto and against the wall. In 1947, the land the other side of the wall is pasture, but onmore recent photography it comprises woodland right up to the wall.The mound is extremely difficult to identify in later photography – the low sunlightevident on the RAF photographs is generally lacking. However, a low mound of broadlysimilar shape and size can just be made out on Google Earth imagery dating between2004 and 2009. Again, the relationship between mound and wall is difficult to resolve, butif the wall does cross the mound, very little of the latter could be on the woodland side. Itis also worth highlighting that both the 1947 verticals and the 2005 Google Earthphotography show a much slighter linear rise – perhaps a low bank or series of banks –sharing the orientation of the mound and running roughly parallel to the field wall to thesoutheast of the mound.Rathfinny FarmFigure 11 Cropmarks near Rathfinny Farm mapped from aerial photographs. Background mapping ©Crown copyright and database right 2013, all rights reserved. Licence number 100024900.© ENGLISH HERITAGE 17 22 - 2013
Although just outside the project area, this feature was mapped because of its potentialsignificance (Fig 11). Identified on aerial photographs taken in 1977, it comprises anincomplete sub-rectangular ditched enclosure which appears to be partly overlain by aring ditch, the latter presumably representing a plough-levelled Bronze Age round barrow.The enclosure presents a much fainter cropmark than the ring ditch, the lines of theditches also being incomplete on the available photographs, and is aligned WNW-ESE,measuring approximately 39 metres long, and tapering in width from 15.7 metres acrossits south-east end to 12 metres across its north-western end. Presuming it is earlier thanthe ring ditch, then a Neolithic date is possible. The rectilinear arrangement would beunusual but not unknown for a long barrow; alternatively it may represent a monument ofthe form usually referred to as ‘mortuary enclosures’ or ‘mortuary structures’.Long barrows - discussionThere is very little known about the long barrows in the project area and the few thatwere subject to early excavation lack any meaningful record of what was found.Consequently, identification must be based on morphological considerations. On thisbasis, both Money Burgh and the Camel’s humps look the most convincing cases. Hunter’sBurgh may be a round barrow, a long barrow, or both. The mound on Windover Hill maybe no more than a few centuries old. The sites at Litlington and Exceat are clearly in needof further investigation to confirm that they are archaeological features – geophysicalsurvey aimed at identifying ditches would be a useful starting point. Similarly the newdiscovery at Rathfinny Farm requires further investigation to confirm, first of all, that it isindeed earlier than the ring ditch.There are other aspects of Sussex’s long barrows that have been much discussed inrecent years, including their landscape context and setting. These would probably be bestaddressed by visiting all the sites on the ground within a study that takes in far more sitesthan those in the project area. Further work should address issues such as Litlington’slocation on a relatively gentle slope above a shallow coombe, or Windover Hill’sorientation – perpendicular to the scarp edge. Additionally, the matter of oval barrows,despite the doubts expressed in the published literature, might benefit from a wider study.© ENGLISH HERITAGE 18 22 - 2013
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCH REPORT SERIES no. 22-2013S
Page 3 and 4: Cover Photograph: Cuckmere Haven, t
Page 5: ARCHIVE LOCATIONEnglish Heritage,Th
Page 8 and 9: Figure 1 Revised project area......
Page 10 and 11: INTRODUCTIONThis report describes t
Page 12 and 13: Weald cut through the Downs forming
Page 14 and 15: Monument records in the NRHE AMIE d
Page 16 and 17: ‘Although there are up to 20…,
Page 18 and 19: Figure 5 Toms’ 1920 survey (left)
Page 20 and 21: Subsequent survey by the Ordnance S
Page 22 and 23: The evidence from aerial photograph
Page 24: on aerial photographs as differenti
Page 29 and 30: Figure 12 General view of the easte
Page 31 and 32: large sub-rectangular field that is
Page 33 and 34: cultivators of these lynchets’ (i
Page 35 and 36: Forest and Lullington Heath - 37 ly
Page 37 and 38: SHEEP AND THE DEVIL’S BOOKFrom th
Page 39 and 40: ‘Celtic’ fields immediately to
Page 41 and 42: The 1835 reference to the earthwork
Page 43 and 44: Figure 20 Medieval and post medieva
Page 45 and 46: Figure 22 An early example of by-pa
Page 47 and 48: absence of a winch on earlier maps
Page 49 and 50: Figure 23 Extents of South Camp, ba
Page 51 and 52: 1988, 234). The grouping of 40 huts
Page 53 and 54: indicating probable re-use for mili
Page 55 and 56: 30th January 1943. The wind velocit
Page 57 and 58: the town appeared to be rendered in
Page 59 and 60: Movement upriver was hindered by pi
Page 61 and 62: ground surface. A Diver site was lo
Page 63 and 64: mouth with lines of pontoons and
Page 65 and 66: Figure 33 Trenches aligned approxim
Page 67 and 68: The aerial photographs taken by the
Page 69 and 70: However, for his painting Coastal D
Page 71 and 72: war aerial photographs show a group
Page 73 and 74: Figure 40 Camouflage netting over t
Page 75 and 76:
Description of the current Long Man
Page 77 and 78:
which would certainly fit with sugg
Page 79 and 80:
separate from it. The toes of the t
Page 81 and 82:
other parts of the body, and indeed
Page 83 and 84:
lip of a large chalk quarry, was, a
Page 85 and 86:
something for which the likes of Pe
Page 87:
Hill and the Lavant Caves, both nea
Page 90 and 91:
to the present day…’ (Butler &
Page 92 and 93:
least was unsupported by evidence f
Page 94 and 95:
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
Page 96 and 97:
documentary sources or fieldwork. N
Page 98 and 99:
Barber M, Wickstead, H in press Dam
Page 100 and 101:
Drewett, P 1978 Neolithic Sussex, i
Page 102 and 103:
Lowry, B (eds) 2001 20 th Century D
Page 104:
ENGLISH HERITAGE RESEARCH AND THE H
show all

Aerial Investigation and Mapping Report - English Heritage

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?