More information : (SJ 5154 2705) Ancient Earthwork (NR) (1) Trench Hall Banks, the remains of a rectangular camp, (2) which J R W Whitfield thought was probably a cattle enclosure; Houghton, (4) on preliminary examination, tentatively concludes it is a Roman fort. (Not shown on Roman Britain (3rd Edn)) (2-4) The earthwork, which is grass covered, has been almost ploughed out though it is still traceable as a scarp 13.0m long and up to 0.7m high. It occupies part of a plateau, but its age and purpose could not be determined. (5) Remains visible. (6) The interior is flat and featureless and the banks are ploughed down and much damaged, and no certain evidence of an entrance is visible from the ground, though on the northwest and northeast traces of a ditch are to be seen. A surface scatter of post-Medieval material, and one sherd of Medieval (?) pottery were found. The regularity of the site may favour its interpretation as a Roman fort, but it could equally be a Medieval manor house site. It is impossible to tell in its present eroded condition. (7) The earthwork is not shown, but the field is called Trench Castlesteade in 1631. A house is shown in perspective at SJ 51502709 (near the north corner of the earthwork), with two smaller buildings to the west (SJ 51382712 and SJ 51442711). The adjacent field to the north west is called Wall Meadow. (There is a spring in the field (OS 1:2500) is it 'Well'Meadow?). (8) This earthwork occupies the NE end of a low but prominent ridge which dominates the gently undulating Roden valley. It is not however, situated on the highest point but on a slight terrace a little below it, but above steeper slopes into the valley floor. The field is regularly ploughed and the work has been reduced to a scarp with a maximum height of 0.9m at the west corner; there is no dateable slope in the middle of the wouth-west side which may indicate an entrance. There are faint traces of a ditch at the west corner. The earthwork has the form of a parallelogram and measures 106.0m in length from north-west to south-east by 54.0m transversely. The corners are rounded and the west corner has a radius of about 10.0m. The interior is smooth and there are no indications of the buildings shown in 1631. The field name Trench Castlesteade suggests a greater antiquity than a Medieval manor house site, but firmer evidence to support a Roman date is wanting. Surveyed at 1:2500 on MSD. (9)
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