MSO12685 - Medieval or post-medieval peat cuttings on Hadborough (Monument)

An extensive area of peat workings identified from aerial photographs and barely traceable on the ground. They appear as a series of linear trenches approximately 80 metres long and covering an area 800 metres east to west by 350 metres north to south. Only fragmentary scarps (0.3 metres high) and vegetation changes mark the positions of some on the ground. They may be medieval in origin but are more likely to be post-medieval in date. [1] A series of mounds (MSO8997) may be associated with the peat cuttings. [2] A study of the archaeology and history of peat exploitation on Exmoor’s moorlands provides additional background on the practice and sites. [3]