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| Monument Name |
Portingbury Hills |
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| SMR Number |
4583 |
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| Summary |
In Beggarshall Coppice, Hatfield Forest, 2 and a half miles north north west of the parish church. |
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| Media |
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| Associated Media |
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| Description |
In Beggarshall Coppice, Hatfield Forest, 2 and a half miles north north west of the parish church. A low, nearly square mound c100ft in diameter and 5ft high, surrounded by a shallow ditch. <1> The earthwork consists of an oval shaped flat-topped mound 54m long, 22m wide and 0.9m high. Surrounded by a ditch 10m wide and 0.6m deep. <2> Adjoining the mound on the east side is a small, irregular shaped area c40m long x 14.5m wide, enclosed by a ditch c3.5m wide and 0.5m deep. On the OS 6" 1923 edition a large rectangular, entrenched enclosure is shown to exist on the east side of the features described above It consists of a shallow ditch c8m wide x 0.3m deep along the centre of which a drainage ditch has been dug in recent years. There are doubts as to whether this large enclosure forms part of the original work. Trial excavations in 1964 and 1965 by West Essex Archaeological Group. A few sherds of iron age-RB type pottery and animal bones found. It was tentatively concluded that the work was non-defensive and post iron age in date. The earthworks centred TL 53262004 appear to post-date the enclosure centred TL 53382042 which forms part of a wider complex of coppice and woodland boundaries of probable medieval date <3> <4> Probably iron age with the `causeway' (the small irregular shaped area above) for which no date has been obtained. Difficult to date the site as it is all overgrown and all the ditches are not easily discernible. <5> 3 trenches excavated by West Essex Archaeological Group. Trench A cut through the mound and ditch, showed the ditch was 14ft wide and 6ft deep below the present surface. It was roughly U-shaped and had a 1ft layer of peat in the bottom, overlaid on either side by a grey primary silt, itself overlain by a thick layer of reddish-brown silt. Above was a layer of material, slipped from the mound. The whole was capped by a thick layer of humus. The bank of the mound was formed from compacted boulder clay over a greyish brown soil, over yellow-brown clay over natural boulder clay. Trench B cut across the ditch of the enclosure which was V-shaped with a slightly rounded bottom. Trench C was in the middle of the causeway. Natural was found 9" down. A number of large stones in the top surface but not enough to suggest a cobbled surface. Finds were minimal-4 small sherds, clearly iron age but not closely datable. They consisted of a heavily flint and quartz gritted sherd, found under the bank, the other 3, found under the 'slip':2 dark grey quartz gritted fragments with smoothed surfaces and a lightly calcite-gritted sherd in a soft, pale red fabric. Other finds: animal bones, calcined flint, charcoal, a small flint blade 4cm long with retouch along one edge. On the minimal evidence obtained it seems the main elements of the earthwork are iron age but there is no dating evidence for the enclosure or the causeway. <6> calculation of the ditch spoil, bank content and bank slip, using the theorem of Pappus suggests the bank was timber supported, possibly with a box rampart. <7> Other refs, including earlier accounts of the site: <8> <9> <10> <11> <12> Illustration <12> |
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| Monument Type(s) |
MOUND (Dated 700BC to 42AD)
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| Monument Class(es) |
EARTHWORK
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Period
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700BC to 42AD Iron Age
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| Status |
Scheduled Monument |
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| Administration Area |
HATFIELD BROAD OAK, UTTLESFORD, ESSEX |
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National Grid Reference
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Square: TL52SW
Ref: 534204 |
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| Finds |
POTTERY VESSEL (Dated 700BC To 42AD)
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| Events |
PART EXCAV by West Essex Archaeol Group
Field visit to 4583 by Paterson, H, FMW on APR-198
Field visit to 4583 by Chant, K, FMW on NOV-1983
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Sources
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Desc Text : DESC TEXT National Trust (West Essex Archaeol Group) typescript in possession of Miss Ireland
Desc Text : The History and Antiquities ofEssex (Salmon, N) p91 Dated : 1740
Desc Text : History and Topography of the County of Essex (Wright, T) Vol 2, p324 Dated : 1834
Desc Text : Field Meeting at 'The Grange', Bishop's Stortford,and..River Stort District (unknown) Vol 2, pp207-227 Dated : 1888
Desc Text : Essex (unknown) Vol 1, p305 Dated : 1903
Desc Text : An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex (RCHME) Vol 2, p122 Dated : 1921
Desc Text : TL52SW16 (unknown) Dated : 1950
Desc Text : SMR Form (unknown) Dated : 1960s to
Desc Text : TL52SW16 (unknown) Dated : 1975
Desc Text : Pappus andPortingbury (Huggins, PJ) Vol 10, pp225-226 Dated : 1978
Excavation report : Portingbury Hills or Rings (Wilkinson, P) Vol 10, pp221-224 Dated : 1978
Graphic material : Drawn plan from Rackham, O 1989 The Last Forest (Rackham, O) Dated : 1989
Desc Text : Hatfield Park Farm Proposed Golf Course (Oxford Wessex Archaeology) Appendix 1: Gazetter Dated : 2006
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