Scheduled MonumentsEnglandHamshill ditches and field system

Hamshill ditches and field system

England
List entry 1005600
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1005600
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
11.82 hectares
Grid reference
SU 06076 33199, SU 06322 32927
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Hamshill ditches and field system is a prehistoric field system located in Wiltshire. The monument comprises a network of linear ditches and associated earthworks that define an organised agricultural landscape of considerable antiquity. The site represents evidence of early farming communities and their management of the land, with the field boundaries suggesting a period of intensive land use and settlement. Such field systems provide valuable archaeological evidence for understanding prehistoric agriculture and social organisation in southern England.

Hamshill ditches and field system is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1005600. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Hamshill ditches and field system?

Hamshill ditches and field system is a prehistoric field system located in Wiltshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1005600.

Who is responsible for protecting Hamshill ditches and field system?

Hamshill ditches and field system is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1005600.

What other scheduled monuments are near Hamshill ditches and field system?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Faulston pigeon house (7.4 km), Bury Orchard ditch (8 km), Knighton Hill earthwork (8.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Hamshill ditches and field system

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Hamshill ditches and field system's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Hamshill ditches and field system

Hamshill ditches and field system stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.