Monument record IKN 039 - Field boundary bank system of unknown date, visible as earthworks and cropmarks.

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Summary

A field boundary bank system of unknown date, visible as earthworks and cropmarks near Iken Wood, Iken

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 39320 56479 (131m by 176m)
Map sheet TM35NE
Civil Parish IKEN, SUFFOLK COASTAL, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

A probable field boundary bank of unknown date is visible on aerial photographs as earthworks and cropmarks to the west of Iken wood, Iken. Although the features are first visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1943, the heavy scrub in the area at this time makes an accurate description of the earthworks difficult (S1). The earthworks have been destroyed by ploughing by 1972, but the resulting cropmarks are relatively clear, and reveal that the features were a system of banks, probably field boundaries with either associated ditches or drifts of deep earth abutting them (S2). The main element appears to be a bank roughly 260m in length and zigzag in plan. It runs from circa TM39385639 to circa TM39255656, with possible smaller banks abutting or crossing it at right angles at circa TM39322652 and TM39355645. No banks or boundaries are visible in this location on the early maps available to this survey. It is therefore impossible to confidently ascribe a specific date range to the creation of the banks, and they could feasibly have been constructed at any time from late prehistory to the medieval period.

Sources/Archives (2)

  • <S1> Photograph: USAAF. USAAF Air Photograph. NMR US/7PH/GP/LOC132 5056-5057 30-Dec-1943.
  • <S2> Photograph: OS, AP. NMR OS/72057 98-99 24-Mar-1972.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Aug 6 2013 12:08PM

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