Scheduled MonumentsEnglandRing ditches

Ring ditches

England
List entry 1006339
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1006339
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
8.91 hectares
Grid reference
SP 26495 01158
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Ring ditches is a Bronze Age monument located in Oxfordshire, England, comprising a circular ditch with an associated internal or external bank that typically enclosed a burial mound or ceremonial space. Such monuments are characteristic of the Bronze Age period, roughly 2200 to 800 BCE, and served primarily as funerary or ritual centres, often marking the graves of individuals of status within their communities. The earthwork survives as a cropmark or soil feature visible through soil variation and archaeological survey, though original dimensions and preservation condition vary according to local land use history. Ring ditches of this type are distributed widely across southern England and represent important archaeological evidence for Bronze Age settlement patterns, burial practices, and land organisation.

Ring ditches is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006339. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Ring ditches?

Ring ditches is a Bronze Age monument located in Oxfordshire, England, comprising a circular ditch with an associated internal or external bank that typically enclosed a burial mound or ceremonial space. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006339.

Who is responsible for protecting Ring ditches?

Ring ditches 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 1006339.

What other scheduled monuments are near Ring ditches?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Iron Age and Romano British settlement remains and associated features, 1km south east of Leaze Farm (3.9 km), Wyke monastic grange and section of 18th century turnpike road, 780m south of Tudor Farm (5 km), Badbury camp (6.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Ring ditches

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Ring ditches'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Ring ditches

Ring ditches stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.