Information for record number MWA8884:
Cropmark enclosure, Wishaw

Summary An enclosure of Prehistoric date which is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs. It is located 400m south east of Pool Hall.
What Is It?  
Type: Enclosure, Trackway?, Ring Ditch
Period: Late Prehistoric - Late Iron Age (500000 BC - 42 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Curdworth
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 17 93
(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 Cropmark enclosure shown on an AP at Curdworth on the Warwickshire/West Midlands border. The Cropmark is rectangular and appears to be double ditched in places, although one part of the double ditch may be an old field boundary.
2 Oblique aerial photograph.
3 Checking source
2, this was plotted on the wrong side of the road.
4
5 This enclosure is part of a complex visible on Bing Maps and Google Earth, specifically photographs taken in 2011. This complex includes a series of positive Cropmark enclosures, together with a possible trackway and possible ring ditch.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Curdworth
Author/originator: Birmingam City Council
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Microsoft Live Search maps (http://maps.live.com)
Author/originator: Microsoft
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph Transcript
Title: Sketch of aerial photograph
Author/originator: Hodder M
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Google Earth Aerial and Street View
Author/originator: Google Earth
Date: 1945-present
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm. Giles Carey
Author/originator: G Carey
Date: 2009-2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Oblique aerial photograph Oblique aerial photographs are taken at angles of less than 90 degrees to the ground. They are usually taken by a photographer through the window of an aeroplane. Oblique aerial photographs are particularly useful for identifying archaeological sites that survive as earthworks, standing monuments and cropmarks. See also vertical aerial photographs. 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 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 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 POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument BORDER * A strip of ground forming a fringe to a garden. Use more specific type where known. 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 RING DITCH * Circular or near circular ditches, usually seen as cropmarks. Use the term where the function is unknown. Ring ditches may be the remains of ploughed out round barrows, round houses, or of modern features such as searchlight emplacements. 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 FIELD BOUNDARY * The limit line of a field. back
monument TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record