Survey Summary
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GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY AT CLOVERHAYES, SMALLRIDGE EAST DEVON Dr Chris Smart, Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE October 2017 Contents Summary 3 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Site description 5 1.2 Land use 6 1.3 Geology and soils 6 1.4 Prevailing weather 6 1.4 Known limiting factors 6 1.5 Site history and archaeological potential 6 2. Aims 7 3. Method 7 3.1 Survey design 7 3.2 Data processing 7 4. Results and discussion 8 4.1 Results 8 4.2 Discussion 9 5. Significance 9 Acknowledgements 10 References 10 Appendix 1. Survey grid reference co-ordinates Appendix 2. Field boundary and gate post co-ordinates Figure 1. Site location Figure 2a. The site as depicted on the 1838 Axminster tithe map Figure 2b. The site as depicted on the 1890 Ordnance Survey 1st edition 25” to 1 mile Figure 2c. The site as depicted on the 1905 Ordnance Survey 1st edition 25” to 1 mile first revision Figure 2d. The site as depicted on the 1963 Ordnance Survey National Grid 1:10560 Figure 3. Greyscale shade plot of raw data Figure 4. Trace plot of raw data Figure 5. Greyscale shade plot of processed data Figure 6. Trace plot of processed data Figure 7. Interpretation of data 2 Summary Name of site: Land at Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon Parish: Axminster Grid reference (centre): NGR 329927 101191 Devon HER number: MDV 115825 (possible Roman camp) Date(s) of survey: 27th February to 1st March 2017 Author and lead surveyor: Dr Chris Smart (Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter) Assistant surveyor(s): Dr João Fonte, Dr Lukáš Holata, Jake Godfrey (Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter) Site: The site consists of a single field immediately south of Cloverhayes, an early/mid twentieth-century residence situated 400m northwest of the hamlet of Smallridge, in East Devon. The site occupies an elevated position, between 98m and 87m AOD, with extensive outward views particularly south towards Axminster. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) Project identified cropmarks that potentially reveal the position of a Roman camp or similar enclosure of archaeological interest. The field is laid to pasture but has evidently been cut for hay. It is used by the owners to graze horses. There is no indication that the site has been ploughed in recent years. Geology and soils: The site is located upon Cretaceous sandstone of the Upper Greensand Formation overlain by clay (British Geological Survey 2010) Survey type: Magnetometer (gradiometer) survey Equipment: Bartington Instruments Ltd. Grad601-2 Configuration: Dual sensor Area surveyed: 2ha Grid size: 30m by 30m Traverse method: Zig-Zag and Parallel Traverse interval: 1m Sample interval: 0.25m The survey and reporting was done in accordance with English Heritage guidelines Geophysical Survey in Archaeological Field Evaluation (2008). 3 Results: Geophysical survey (magnetometer) of land to the south of Cloverhayes has revealed evidence for a hitherto unknown area of possible settlement and enclosure, although the date of this cannot be deduced on morphological grounds alone. There are also traces of land division or drainage on a different orientation, but not conforming to the axis of the present-day historic landscape. Whilst no firm conclusions can be drawn about the age and character of the buried remains but it is evident that there is no support in the results of the magnetic survey for the anomalies transcribed from aerial photographs. Specifically, there is no evidence for a rectilinear enclosure or Roman camp. 4 1. INTRODUCTION This report presents the results of geophysical survey (magnetometer) of land at Cloverhayes, Smallridge, East Devon (Figure 1; ST 29927 01191). The site comprises a long triangular-shaped field immediately south of Cloverhayes, on the northwest edge of Smallridge hamlet. The survey was undertaken by Dr C. Smart and Dr J. Fonte, with assistance from Dr L. Holata and J. Godfrey, (Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter) between the 27th February and 1st March 2017. The survey was commissioned and funded by Devon County Council and the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as follow-up reconnaissance to the Historic England-funded Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) Project. The purpose of the survey was to define the extent, nature and significance of any sub-surface archaeological remains whether corresponding to the recognised vegetation marks or not. The possibility of the site being once occupied by a Roman camp would have provided significant new evidence for the character of military movement through the south west of Britain in the middle decades of the first century AD. 1.1 Site description The surveyed area consists of a single field south of Cloverhayes, an early/mid twentieth-century residence situated 400m northwest of the hamlet of Smallridge, in East Devon. Smallridge lay on the northern edge of Axminster parish, in close proximity to the County border between Devon and Dorset. The site is 2.5km north of the Roman, and later, medieval small town of Axminster and only 1km west of the Fosse Way. First-century Roman military activity is already known in this region, with a fort recorded at Woodbury Farm, Axminster (Silvester and Bidwell 1984; Weddell et al. 1993), and a substantial Roman road recorded crossing the river Axe heading west towards Exeter (ibid.). The historic settlement pattern of this region is characterised by a multitude of small farms dispersed between a number of hamlets and small villages such as Smallridge, Membury and Churchill. It is a rich agricultural landscape dominated by dairying and beef-production with some sheep rearing and arable cultivation. The site is situated on a promontory above a tributary of the River Axe, at an elevation of between 98m and 87m AOD. Not only is the site topographically advantageous for defence but there are also good outward views to Axminster and a direct line of site to the known Roman fort at Woodbury Farm. The fields in this area are enclosed by earthen banks with a rubble core, upon which grows scrubby hedges with some larger trees. These fields often have straight boundaries but also have more irregular components too, and have been classified in the Devon County Council Historic Landscape Characterisation as ‘post-medieval enclosures with medieval elements’. In terms of chronology it is suggested that there fields might originate in the medieval period but have undergone substantial reorganisation in the post-medieval period (http://map.devon.gov.uk/dccviewer/?bm=OSGreyscale&layers=Historic%20Environ ment;14&activeTab=Historic Environment&extent=210063;25600;338387;151675). The changes in boundary configuration seen on historic maps, and the lost boundary recorded in the geophysical survey (outlined below) attest the reorganisation of enclosures here. 5 1.2 Land use When surveyed the field was under permanent grass and had been used for grazing horses. 1.3 Geology and soils The site is positioned on Cretaceous sandstone of the Upper Greensand Formation overlain by clay (British Geological Survey 2010) 1.4 Prevailing weather Weather conditions were cool with a moderate westerly wind and frequent heavy rain showers throughout the period of survey. 1.5 Known limiting factors and potential causes of interference A number of factors may have influenced the clarity of magnetic survey results. A post and electric-wire fence had been installed along the southern and eastern boundaries and, whilst not live, may cause metallic interference. A five-bar metal gate marked the entrance to the field from the lane to the south. It was noted that whilst the field was under pasture that there was a spread of fine mixed mulch spread all across it. This included burnt wood, fragments of chipboard, some shredded plastic – all generally indicative of building waste. If this included ferrous debris, brick or tile (thermoremnant material) this might cause irregularities within the data. 1.6 Site history and archaeological potential 1.6.1 Archaeological background The historic landscape south of Cloverhayes comprises fields with a mix of straight and less regular boundaries, which might indicate that it is essentially medieval in origin but has been re-organised in the post-medieval period. Consultation of historic mapping shows two significant boundary changes within the site (Figure 2a-2d). The tithe map of 1838 shows the present day field as three separate enclosures – 434, 435 and 439 – and Cloverhayes has not yet been built. By 1890, when the Ordnance Survey 1st edition 25 inches to the mile map was drafted, the boundary between tithe field 435 and 439 had been removed. Neither this map series, nor the 1905 first revision, shows Cloverhayes but the two-field configuration of the site persists. Between 1905 and 1963, the latter being the date of the Ordnance Survey National Grid 1:10560 map, Cloverhayes was built. During this time there was also a reconfiguration of the two fields as the dividing boundary was shifted south to create two broadly equally sized fields. This new boundary was, based on its appearance on 2002 Google Earth imagery, formed by a wooden post and rail fence. The same overall configuration is still seen on modern OS digital Vectormap mapping, although the reality is that the dividing boundary has now been removed and what were once three fields, then two fields, is now one large field. Google Earth imagery shows that the post and rail fence was removed between 2010 and 2013. No previous archaeological investigations have taken place on the site and, other than the potential rectilinear enclosure identified by the Historic England-funded Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments NMP Project being undertaken by Cain Hegarty, Stephanie Knight and Richard Sims for Devon County Council (MDV 115825), there is no evidence to indicate the archaeological potential 6 of the site.