Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

In undulating pastureland. Marked 'Souterrain (Site of)' on the 1948 edition of the OS 6-inch map. On initial inspection in February 1984 no visible surface trace survived. However, during the course of farm development works in September 1994 a mechanical digger broke through one of the roof lintels when excavating an E-W running trench. Access to the souterrain was then possible through a small aperture. The souterrain (L 4.5m; Wth 1.2-1.55m), which was aligned N-S, extended off the SW end of the trench. It was filled with loose clay and varied in height from 0.25m at N to 0.5m at S. The side walls were constructed of random coursed drystone limestone and were battered slightly inwards towards the roof. A single course of corbels at the top of each wall provided support for the lintelled roof. In all five lintels were visible. There was no visible trace of a creep or a 2nd chamber. The broken roof lintel was exposed at a depth of 1.9m below the ground level and 5m away from the trench. Following the site inspection it was intended to backfill the trench. The souterrain itself would not be impacted by the proposed development.

Compiled by: Olive Alcock

Date of upload: 24 October 2019