| Summary : A system of possible Prehistoric boundaries extends over Lake Down and is visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs. They probably form part of an extensive network of linear ditches around Wilsford Down and Normanton Down, which probably incorporates the North Kite enclosure (SU 14 SW 52). This suggests that the system on Lake Down also may have Bronze Age origins. What appear to be the main features of the system are two substantial, roughly parallel, ditches. These extend for approximately two kilometres, 280m to 350m apart, in a north-west south-east direction from Rox Hill across Lake Down, passing to the north and south of the Lake Down Bronze Age barrow cemetery (Monument Number 218330). The earthworks adjacent to the Lake Down barrow cemetery were surveyed at a scale of 1:1000 in May 2009 as part of English Heritage's Stonehenge WHS Landscape Project. Where these substantial ditches survive as earthworks, at the Rox Hill end, they are flanked by banks in places. The rest of the system is visible as cropmarks. Fragments of a possible third ditch, parallel to the main two ditches, is situated 570m to the south east but it is unclear if parts of this ditch are related to a field system which is described in SU 13 NW 4. This ditch is more certain at its eastern end, between Rox Hill and the road from Westfield Farm, where a series of ditches link it to the southern of the two substantial ditches. Two short lengths of ditch also extend from the northern of the two substantial ditches to the north west of Lake Bottom. |
More information : (SU 11653995 to SU 12523885) Ditch (NR)
(SU 11513938 to SU 12173880) Ditch (NR)
(SU 12413906 to SU 12523917) Ditch (NR). (1)
Two parallel ditches running NW to SE, about 400 yds apart, for a
total of 2300 yds. Part of an extended (see plan (3) ) system of
ditches on Lake Down. (2-3)
The ditches are well defined, of similar diameter, though the
more westerly has banks on both sides whilst the other only has
an extant bank to the north, and would seem to be associated with
the nearby field system (SU 13 NW 5). Published 1:2500 survey
revised. (4)
These linear earthworks have been identified as the southern part of a possible Bronze Age boundary complex which extended from the Longbarrow Cross Roads (SU 096415) to Rox Hill (SU 120386). The southern linear (SU 11653965 - SU 12523885) is a continuation of SU 14 SW 129 which has been identified as the main through boundary of the complex. The northern boundary (SU 11513938 - SU 12173880) runs parallel and has a further earthwork running northeast for a distance of 600m from SU 12423006. Its northern extent formed the west boundary to the North Kite enclosure (SU 14 SW 52). (5)
Extra reference. (6)
The part of the system of possible Prehistoric boundaries described above which extends over Lake Down is visible as earthworks and cropmarks and has been mapped from aerial aerial photographs. As an apparent extension of the system to the north, the system on Lake Down probably also has Bronze Age origins.
What appear to be the main features of the system on Lake Down are two substantial, roughly parallel, ditches. The northernmost is probably an extension of SU 14 NW 128 and extends from SU 1114 4000 to SU 1252 3875. The southern ditch is possibly an extension of SU 14 NW 129 and extends from SU 1091 4000 to SU 1220 3879. Both ditches extend sinuously for approximately two kilometres, 280m to 350m apart, in a north-west south-east direction from Rox Hill across Lake Down, to the north and south of the Lake Down Bronze Age barrow cemetery. Where these substantial ditches survive as earthworks, at the Rox Hill end, they are flanked by banks in places.
The rest of the system is visible as cropmarks. Fragments of a possible third ditch, parallel to the main two ditches, is situated 570m to the south east but it is unclear if parts of this ditch are related to a field system which is described in SU 13 NW 4. It extends from SU 1059 3947 to SU 1191 3853. This ditch is more certain at its eastern end, between Rox Hill and the road from Westfield Farm, where a series of ditches link it to the southern of the two substantial ditches. Two short lengths of ditch also extend from the northern of the two substantial ditches to the north west of Lake Bottom. A cropmark ditch, described separately in SU 13 NW 75, appears to cross under the northern of the two substantial ditches in the vicinity of the Lake Down barrow cemetery.
It is unclear whether what the function of the ditches was but they are probably boundaries and it may be significant that, on Lake Down, they divide the areas between the Lake Down (SU 13 NW 48), Wilsford Group (SU 13 NW 1) and Lake Group (SU 14 SW 51) barrow cemeteries. (7-14)
The earthworks adjacent to the Lake Down barrow cemetery (Monument Number 218330) were surveyed at a scale of 1:1000 in May 2009 as part of English Heritage's Stonehenge WHS Landscape Project. 388m of the southern linear boundary was surveyed. It comprises a broad ditch flanked to either side by narrower banks. The boundary varies in width between 7.6m and just over 12m, with an average width of 9m. The ditch varies in depth from circa 0.9m in the south-east to circa 1.1m in the north-west. The boundary kinks westward around Wilsford 81 (Monument Number 1119571), which suggests the boundary was constructed after the round barrow. The northern linear boundary comprises a ditch with a corresponding bank sometimes on its north-eastern and sometimes its south-western side. It was surveyed for 474m and varies in width from 7.4m to circa 8.2m (ditch), and 3.0m to 5.2m (bank). The ditch has a maximum depth of circa 0.8m and the bank a maximum height of circa 1.1m. The surveyed sections of both boundaries each have three breaches; in the northernmost boundary they appear to have been to accommodate relatively recent structures and are accompanied by ramps from within the ditch. (15)
These are the linears labelled 'a-a' and 'c-c' by the RCHM (Authority 5, fig 14); at its western end 'c-c' joins linears 'e' and 'h' at the Lake Barrows; here it is a well preserved earthwork with elevations of over 0.4m. (16)
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