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Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down is a linear earthwork consisting of a series of parallel banks and ditches situated on the South Downs in Sussex. The monument dates to the Iron Age and represents a defensive or territorial boundary system, with its multiple parallel lines suggesting a sophisticated approach to landscape management and control during this prehistoric period. The dyke's physical form comprises several distinct parallel ridges and furrows that cross the downland terrain, a configuration that distinguishes it from single-bank linear boundaries and indicates considerable investment of labour in its construction. Such cross dykes are characteristic of later Iron Age settlement patterns in southern England and likely served functions related to stock management, territorial demarcation, or defensive purposes within the broader Iron Age landscape.
Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1015958. View the official record →
Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down is a linear earthwork consisting of a series of parallel banks and ditches situated on the South Downs in Sussex. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1015958.
Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down 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 1015958.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Boxgrove Priory (9.1 km), Chichester Dyke, earthwork extending N 480yds (440m) from The Drive, Summersdale, near Chichester (9.6 km), Devil's Ditch, section extending 1200yds (1100m) through Little Tomlins Copse (10 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Multiple cross dyke on Heyshott Down stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.