Information for record number MWA3953:
'Park Pale', 650m E of Merevale Abbey

Summary A ditch that may be a section of Medieval park pale. It is visible as an earthwork and is situated 650m east of Merevale Abbey.
What Is It?  
Type: Ditch, Park Pale
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Merevale
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 29 97
(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 Earthwork remains of a ditch, 'Park Pale', running north to south, are marked on an OS map.
2 This has been plotted on the ridge and furrow plot for Merevale Parish (PRN 3948).
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph Transcript
Title: Bishop's Itchington parish
Author/originator: ARI
Date: 1990
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Bishops Itchington P
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 1:10 000 1990
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1990
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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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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monument RIDGE AND FURROW * A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument PARK PALE * A wooden stake fence, often associated with deer hunting. 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 EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record