MMO2268 - Possible late prehistoric field boundaries on Honeycombe Hill (Monument)

Earthwork banks visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1970s may be remains of field boundaries part of a wider prehistoric field system, which was otherwise not clearly visible on aerial photographs.

Earthwork banks visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1970s may be remains of field boundaries part of a wider prehistoric field reported on Honeycombe Hill, Wilmersham Common. The possible remains are located on the crest of Honeycombe Hill above Thurley Water, centred at circa at SS 8606 4241. The remains are very subtle in appearance on the aerial photographs available to the survey, but have been interpreted as comprising three earthwork banks of between approximately 55 and 100 metres in length. The shortest is centred at circa SS 8595 4240, aligned northwest to southeast. Almost 65 metres to the east of this, the most clearly visible earthwork, at approximately 3 metres wide and up to 70 metres long, is centred at circa 8606 4241. A possible dog-leg may descend Thurley Combe for a short distance at its northeastern end. The final earthwork may abut the dog-leg before extending southeastwards for almost 100 metres above Thurley Combe. If contemporaneous, these banks would be arranged at almost 90 degrees to each other, possibly indicating a rectilinear field system, and may be part of a wider field system recorded on Honeycombe Hill, potentially of prehistoric date. However, excepting the sources recorded here, evidence for this field system is not visible on the aerial photographs available to the survey. [1-4] 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]