| Summary : Bronze Age field system 12ha above Froggatt Edge. It comprises a network of low stony banks and small clearance cairns. The lower part of the system lies on level ground between Froggatt Edge and the foot of a natural north-south orientated scarp. Above this scarp the upper field system slopes gently down towards an area of marshy ground in the east. The upper part of the system is defined to the west by a number of linear banks above the natural scarp, and to the east by similar banks down the edge of the marsh. Perpendicular to these are a series of further banks, up to 88m in length which divide the upper field system. Discontinuous linear banks also extend across the lower area west of the natural scarp and together these form a regular pattern of level fields. Further north the system is less coherent with only isolated sections of linear banks, but this area seems to have been under cultivation at some time since. There are is a scatter of small clearance cairns, these cairns are distinct from four other larger, non clearance cairns (see SK 27 NW 60). This is one of three field systems in the area. Scheduled. |
More information : SK 251 765 (FCE) field system of Stoke Flat covers an area of around
12 hectares in the east of Bigmoor above Froggatt Edge. The system,
which comprises a network of low stony banks and small clearance
cairns (previously recorded as part of a group of probable burial
cairns SK 27 NW 60), extends for up to 600 m in a N-S direction and
measures almost 200 m transversely. Evidence of cultivation can be
seen within two topographically distinct areas: the lower part of the
system lies on level ground between Froggatt Edge and the foot of a
natural N-S orientated scarp. Above this scarp the upper field system
slopes gently down towards an area of marshy ground in the east.
The upper part of the system is defined to the west by a number of
linear banks that run N-S above the natural scarp, and to the east by
traces of similar banks down the edge of the marsh. Perpendicular to
these is a series of further banks, up to 88 m in length which compartmentalise the upper field system. Discontinuous linear banks
also extend across the lower area west of the natural scarp, and
together these form a regular pattern of level fields indicative of a
planned cultivation system.
Further north the system is less coherent with only isolated sections
of linear banks, but this area seems nevertheless to have been under
cultivation at some time since the landscape is characterised by a
scatter of small clearance cairns, numbering around 15 within the surveyed area; these cairns are distinct from four other larger, non-
clearance stone mounds (see SK 27 NW 60).
The above description is summarised from a detailed level 3 RCHME
1:1000 scale survey conducted in June 1987. The results of the survey
are held in the NMR archive. (1)
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