Information for record number MWA3366:
Prehistoric enclosures

Summary The site of a complex of enclosures. They are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. Undated ditches were observed during pipeline works across the cropmarks. The enclosures are located to the east of Townsend Road, Rugby. Flint scatter retrieved from cropmark area in 1997.
What Is It?  
Type: Enclosure, Ditch
Period: Late Bronze Age - Late Iron Age (1200 BC - 42 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Rugby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 48 75
(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
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 AP.
2 Undated enclosure complex shows on aerial photographs. This site evidently runs under a modern road and houses.
3 site no 141 in survey.
4 Possibly a later Prehistoric open settlement.
5 An archaeological watching brief during groundworks along the Rugby Town Reinforcement pipeline, which crossed the ditches located from aerial photographs, identified two groups of undated intercutting ditches. Both the feature groups comprised intercutting ditches, representing the re-definition of lengths of the cropmarked enclosure ditches. A single probable medieval roof tile fragment, possibly intrusive, was recovered.
6 Dating revised to between the late Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
7 During an archaeological observation at Rugby Cement Works, Lodge Farm, Long Lawford, there was a walkover survey of this cropmark site adjacent to the observation site and 13 pieces were found: 4 flakes, 3 blades, 2 retouched flakes, 2 scrapers (1 end scraper and 1 retouched flake) and 1 possible borer (two refitted pieces) , along with 1 natural piece. High proportion of tools. The end scraper suggests a Mesolithic date for some of the flint, although the absence of any further typological pieces in the asssemblage and the poor quality of the retouch work could indicate a much later date of production for much of the assemblage. The cropmark site is not likely to date from before Bronze Age.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP1356
Author/originator: JP
Date: 1965
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP1356: A, C, E;SP14
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: A426 Rugby Western Bypass Stage 2 Survey
Author/originator: Warwickshire Museum
Date: 1996
Page Number: 27
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological Observation at Rugby Cement Works, Lodge Farm, Long Lawford, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Coutts C
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: Archaeological Journal 1964
Author/originator: Webster G and Hobley B
Date: 1964
Page Number: 22
Volume/Sheet: 121
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Aggregates Assessment
Author/originator: Stuart Palmer
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C. Hingley personal comments
Author/originator: R C Hingley
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: Rugby Town Reinforcement. An Archaeological Watching Brief 2002
Author/originator: Conway M
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Enclosures visible as cropmarks near Rugby
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1984
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period Prehistoric About 500,000 BC to 42 AD

The Prehistoric period covers all the periods from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Iron Age.
This is a time when people did not write anything down so there is no documentary evidence for archaeologists to look at. Instead, the archaeologists look at the material culture belonging to the people and the places where they lived for clues about their way of life.

The Prehistoric period is divided into the Early Prehistoric and Later Prehistoric.
The Early Prehistoric period covers the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods.
The Later Prehistoric period covers Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age times.
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period Mesolithic About 10,000 BC to 4001 BC

Mesolithic means 'Middle Stone Age'. It is the period that comes between the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age).

The Mesolithic period is a period of transition from the way people were living during the Palaeolithic period as hunter-gatherers to the development of farming in the Neolithic period.
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period Bronze Age About 2500 BC to 700 BC

The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.

The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.

During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
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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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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument LODGE * A small building, often inhabited by a gatekeeper, gamekeeper or similar. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 CEMENT WORKS * A site where cement is manufactured for the building industry. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument FLINT SCATTER * A spatially discrete, though sometimes extensive, scatter of flint artefacts recovered from the surface, eg. by fieldwalking, rather than from a particular archaeological context. back
monument PIPELINE * A conduit or pipes, used primarily for conveying petroleum from oil wells to a refinery, or for supplying water to a town or district, etc. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record