Information for record number MWA12097:
Searchlight Battery at Ryton on Dunsmore

Summary The remains of a searchlight battery complete with ancillary buildings can be seen on aerial photographs
What Is It?  
Type: Searchlight Battery, Gun Emplacement, Accommodation Hut
Period: Modern (1914 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ryton on Dunsmore
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 38 74
(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 Local
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The remains of a searchlight battery complete with ancillary buildings which can be seen on aerial photographs were mapped as part of the English Heritage National Mapping Project. There are four circular structures protected with earth pilled against them. These would appear to house at least one large diameter searchlight, a direction finder and a controll point. The accomodation huts to the south of the site appear to be linked to the active elements by a ditch which may have contained communications cables. The site has four small pits arround its perimeter which may have contained fixed guns of some type. A rectangular bank in the western corner of the site may be a further hut base.
2 Searchlight projectors, communication cables, bomb craters and gun pits all mapped. See Figure 28, Appendix 10.2 (note: this site is incorrectly referred to as MWA12099 in this report).
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: 3G TUD UK 9 Frame 5316
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 20 Dec 1945
Page Number: Frame 5316
Volume/Sheet: 3G TUD UK 9
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Aggregates Producing Areas of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Magnus Alexander with S Palmer and L Chadd
Date: 2007
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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.
more -> 		back
monument ACCOMMODATION HUT * A hut used for the accommodation of members of the armed forces. back
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 BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument SEARCHLIGHT BATTERY * A site in which one or more searchlights were positioned to locate enemy aircraft or surface vessels for the benefit of batteries and night fighter aircraft. back
monument COMMUNICATIONS * This is the top term for the class. See COMMUNICATIONS Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HUT * A building of basic construction, usually smaller in size than a house and constructed from a variety of materials such as mud, turf, branches, wood, brick, concrete or metal. Use more specific type where known. back
monument GUN EMPLACEMENT * A fortified site in which a gun, mortar or cannon is positioned. 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 STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument BOMB CRATER * A depression in the ground caused by the explosion of a mine or bombshell. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record