MMO2965 - World War Two military training site on Red Stone Hill (Monument)

Small earthwork features visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s on Red Stone Hill, may be evidence of military training activities of Second World War date. The form of the features is unclear, but may be small spoil heaps created during the excavation of practise trenches, slit trenches or weapons pits. Although the particular purpose of the training is unclear, it is likely to be related to the broader activities of the Exmoor Firing Range. The earthwork evidence consists of possible oval or figure 8 shaped mounds circa 4 metres wide and up to 9 metres long. Some appear randomly spaced while others are clearly arranged in rows. A number of features smaller than two metres across or of unclear form are also visible in this area, but have not been transcribed, and therefore it is possible not all military features have been depicted. Most features are no longer visible on aerial photographs of 1964. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4] No evidence for slit trenches, nor any features corresponding with the WWII earthworks plotted by the NMP, is visible in LIDAR imagery, suggesting that the features have been destroyed by agricultral activity. [5] This record was enhanced by Cornwall HER for the Forestry Commission's Project K. [6]