MDE11244 - Possible post-medieval crop marks at Crock Point (Monument)

A group of irregular circular cropmarks were noted on aerial photographs taken in 1946. No features were observed during field investigation in 1993. They may be stands of bracken, or features associated with clay pit excavations to the south.

Group of irregular circular features on promontory between Lee and Woody Bays. Archaeologically doubtful, probably stands of bracken. Show well on 1946 aerial photograph. [1,2] SS 6886 4919. There are no traces of these features, or reason for such an identification, in a pasture field just cropped for hay at time of the visit. This area, a small coastal headland, has, apart from a fringe of light bracken around the steeper southern slopes nearer the road, been mainly turned over to pasture. [3] This area is immediately to the north of Crock Pits where clay pits were excavated during the 17th and early 18th Century. The cropmarks may be associated with this activity. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5] In 2025 LiDAR analysis of the site strongly suggested that these features are representative of test pits associated with clay excavation. The LiDAR data showed a significant excavation, with a north to south extent of c. 75m and east to west of 70m, with the outer margins composed of straight, regular lines. The margins show slumping into the excavated area suggesting a pre 1800 date. The interior of the excavated area has an irregular appearance due to deeper, localised excavations to produce level areas at different elevations in order to search for clay strata. It has been suggested that these test excavations may be associated with the closure of nearby Crock Pits following a landslide and represent prospecting for new areas of clay exploitation. [6]