MEM15567 - Two 19th Century mounds in Yeanor Wood (Monument)

Two grass covered mounds were initially though to be of modern date but it has since been suggested that they may represent the remains of a viewpoint or structure associated with the designed landscape of Ashley Combe.

A grass covered mound of probable modern date is recorded on the gentle upper east facing slopes of the spur in Yearnor Wood. The earthwork is roughly oval in shape and measures circa 4 metres long and 2 metres wide, orientated east to west. A similarly sized mound immediately to the northwest can be seen to contain timbers and wire with similar fencing material scattered around it. [1] The site was subject to archaeological survey in 2018. The stony mounds were located and their position plotted using a handheld Trimble Yuma tablet with enhanced GPS. A 1:200 earthwork survey was undertaken to record the morphology of the remains. The mounds identified during the 2002 survey lie at the west end of the pinetum enclosure, centred at 285317 148039. A low mound, 4 metres long, 2 metres wide and 0.3 metres high lies on a platform, 14 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 1 metres high. A second mound, 4.7 metres long, 2.8 metres wide and 0.8 metres high lies to the southeast of the platform. The function of the mounds and platform is unclear and the area is somewhat obscured by scrubby vegetation at the time of the survey. It could represent the remains of a viewpoint or structure associated with the designed landscape of Ashley Combe; Ordnance Survey maps dating from 1962-3 show a sub-rectangular close to this site. [2]