More information : A broad ditch and bank of possible medieval or post medieval date are visible as earthworks on air photographs and digital elevation models derived from Environment Agency lidar and Structure from Motion taken from 2017 specialist oblique photography.
The ditch extends south-west to north-east for approximately 70 metres and is located immediately north of Birdoswald Roman fort. At the south-west end the ditch is up to 15 metres wide, narrowing to 5 metres at the north-east. There is a slight upcast bank along the northern length of the linear. A post medieval or modern drain extends along the base of the ditch. This drain appears much more crisp in nature than the remainder of the earthwork so is presumably a later feature cut into the broad ditch.
When visited on the ground the earthwork was covered in tall grass and weeds so difficult to discern in any detail. The ditch cuts across the grain of the steep natural north-facing slope, and so may be interpretated as a hollow way taking a shallower route up in the hill.
It is worth noting that the ditch roughly aligns to the centre of the north wall of the Roman fort, so it is possible that it may relate to access to the fort from the north, or equally could be a much later medieval/post medieval hollow way as suggested by Biggins and Taylor following geophysical survey of the area in 1997. The 1603 map of Triermain and Walton Wood shows a road to a building on the line of Hadrian's Wall, as passing north of the actual wall-line, suggesting it passed north of the current road and somewhere in the field where this earthwork is situated.
(1-3) |