Lower Short Ditch (Northern Part)

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a dyke, a defensive boundary or earthwork, dating from the later prehistoric/medieval period. The northern part of Lower Short Ditch, a 800m long cross ridge dyke, lies in Wales. The northern 30m stretch is better preserved than the adjacent parts to the south, as a trackway which runs along the top of the dyke in England, curves away to leave the dyke top at the border. The Welsh stretch is 30m long, 2m in height, with a 3m wide ditch on the west. It is afforested with planted conifers and fenced off. At the north end a trackway may have cut slightly into the terminus.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Cairns may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.