Monument record MWX43300 - Hay stack stances, south of the Stour, Ash

Summary

Three small circular features, visible as a mix of cropmarks and earthworks, are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. They are interpreted as hay stack stances and appear to have been fully plough-levelled by the 1960s as aerial photographs of this date show them as cropmarks.

Location

Grid reference TR 29442 62574 (point)
Map sheet TR26SE
County KENT
District DOVER, KENT
Civil Parish ASH, DOVER, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Three small circular features, visible as a mix of cropmarks and earthworks, are visible on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs [1]. The features lie in a NW-SE aligned line, measure c.7m in diameter and are c.10m apart. They are interpreted as hay stack stances, mounds for the drying and storage of hay in the damp environment of a riverside meadow. Similar features have been recorded across the floor of the Stour Valley between Upstreet and the coast and this part of the valley has a particularly dense concentration (see Related Monuments). They appear to represent an integral part of the medieval or post-medieval farming landscape in this area. The features appear to have been fully plough-levelled by the 1960s as Ordnance Survey vertical aerial photographs of this date show them as cropmarks [2].

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [3].


<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<3> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <3> Unpublished document: Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council. 2011. South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping.
  • <3> Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2011. South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report.
  • <3> Digital archive: Wessex Archaeology. 2009-10. South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (26)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • Non-Intrusive Event: South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Ref: 71330) (EWX10065)

Record last edited

Aug 15 2013 12:23PM