Summary : A henge monument surviving partly as an earthwork and partly as a cropmark, one of three at Thornborough in an approximate northwest-southeast alignment. The site comprises a sub-circular enclosure defined by a bank with inner and outer ditches. Like the other two henges in the group, the outer ditch is narrower, more irregular and noticeably segmented. The maximum external diameter is circa 244 metres. There are two entrances, one in the north west sector and one in the south east. Small-scale excavation took place as part of a research project focused on the Thornborough monuments (which began in 1994). In 1996, a trench focused on the outer ditch showed at least three phases of construction: the first comprised the digging of a shallow ditch and the erection of a simple external bank. Subsequently, at a point when the ditch seems to have been largely backfilled/silted but the bank was still extant, a narrower ditch seems to have been cut into the original ditch. The spoil appears to have been used to partially close off the nearby causeway. Finally, a narrow, steep-sided slot trench was dug into the inner side of the bank. A number of small posts were erected within it, but these seem more likely to represent some form of wattle fence rather than a palisade. This fence respected the original causeway, which by now was marked by five small single uprights. In 1997, a trench was opened over a terminal of the inner ditch, showing it to be a far more substantial feature than the outer eartwork. The project has included excavation at other sites in the vicinity, as well as extensive surface collection. The site is scheduled. NB This site was originally recorded as part of SE 27 NE 4. For details of Ordnance Survey field investigation, see the original OS card index. |