Information for record number MWA1269:
Iron Age Settlement at Rattleburrow Plantation, Ettington

Summary The site of a double ditched enclosure. It is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. The enclosure may mark the site of an Iron Age settlement. Fragments of Iron Age pottery and a quern stone have been found here. The site is located at Rattleburrow Plantation.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Enclosure, Double Ditched Enclosure
Period: Iron Age (800 BC - 42 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ettington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 27 47
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Double-ditched subrectangular enclosure shows on air photos. A second fainter enclosure is visible to the S.
3 Site is on a hilltop close to Rattleburrow Plantation. There are downhill slopes in all directions except to the E where the ground is level. A very clear dark patch marked out the area of the enclosure. Much burnt stone, a few pieces of animal bone and two probable Iron Age sherds were found. This indicates an Iron Age settlement.
4 Further finds include a quern, three flint flakes and a few more Iron Age sherds. Finds come from both of the enclosures.
6 Iron Age sherds - predominantly shell-gritted, like the material from other Iron Age Sites in south Warwickshire.
7 From the available aerial photographs it appears that there is only one double ditched enclosure. The cropmark of the enclosures was very faint on the aerial photographs taken in 1961, and may have been mistaken for two enclosures. aerial photographs taken in 1994 clearly show one squarish double ditched enclosure with a possible entrance on the east side. The Warwickshire HER, record no. MWA6033, describes a second Site, where a quern and further sherds where found but otherwise appears to be describing the same enclosure as referred to in the record MWA1269. Hobley’s (Source 1) only provides one NGR (SP277477) so it is not clear where the second NGR further south (given in Source I) comes from.
8 Monument boundary altered to reflect NMP plot.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP2747
Author/originator: Pickering J
Date: 1961
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP2747:A,B
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Amanda Dickson
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Rattleburrow Plantation
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1987
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Field Survey Form
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Iron Age settlement at Rattleburrow Plantation
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Field Survey Form
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 30 1987
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1987
Page Number: 45
Volume/Sheet: 30
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: Archaeological Journal 1964
Author/originator: Webster G and Hobley B
Date: 1964
Page Number: 22
Volume/Sheet: 121
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 29 1986
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1986
Page Number: 56
Volume/Sheet: 29
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Cropmark Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.

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technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
period Iron Age About 800 BC to 43 AD

The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument DOUBLE DITCHED ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by two parallel ditches. Use with specific shaped enclosure where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument PLANTATION * A group of planted trees or shrubs, generally of uniform age and of a single species. back
monument SUBRECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier follows an almost rectangular course. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record