Gauls

NO 0798 3444 (NO03SE 15) An evaluation was undertaken, 18 April 2016, in advance of a proposed application for a cattle shelter to be located at the NE base of a mound. The semi-circular mound is tree covered, measures 46.5m N/S by 38.5m E/W and is c3m high. It is surrounded on three sides by a dry stone revetting wall. The work aimed to establish if the mound was of natural glacial origin or a man made prehistoric barrow, which could contain burials. Three evaluation trenches were excavated by machine around the base of the mound and one on the summit.

Trench 01 on the E side of the mound established that the deposits below the turf/topsoil in the field adjacent to the mound were of a natural glacial origin. A field drain and a probable stonehole were of 19th-century or later date.

Trench 02 on the mound’s N side revealed the construction of the encircling revetting wall and the deposit of small / medium field cobbles that overlie the wall. It also showed that the mound deposits were of natural glacial origin.

Trench 03 on the S side of the mound revealed that the revetting wall had been removed, but some of the stones had been left on the surface of the mound on the N side of the field boundary fence. It also showed that the mound deposits were of natural origin.

Trench 04 on the mound summit revealed that the subsoil or mound deposits were natural and had not been subject to any intrusive disturbance.

On the basis of the available evidence it is considered that the mound is a natural feature, landscaped in modern times with an enclosing/revetting wall.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Private individual

Ray Cachart – Alder Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES, Volume 18)