Lambourn Downs NMP
This project was carried out as part of the National Mapping Programme (NMP) and covers an area of gently rolling chalk downland known as the Lambourn Downs and a strip of adjacent Vale of the White Horse, to the north of the Downs. The project comprised 24 complete 1:10,000 scale OS quarter sheets, covering 600 square km in total. A number of earlier surveys of parts of the area have been carried out. This survey enabled a revision of these and investigation of previously unsurveyed parts of the area to a consistent standard resulting in a 42% increase in the number of known sites. Most of these 803 new sites were agricultural in nature – lynchet banks, ridge and furrow and field systems being the most numerous. These field systems collectively covered an area of 255.5 square km (40.5% of the survey area) The survey revealed 92 new Bronze Age round barrows and 39 enclosures of Prehistoric date for which no previous record existed.
There is evidence of a rich history of both agricultural activity and settlement remains from later Prehistory through to the Post Medieval periods on the Lambourn Downs. Much of the upland area was intensively cultivated during the Romano-British period, and extensive co-axial field systems have been recorded in the higher regions. Following the decline of Roman influence the intensive agricultural production driven by the need to feed the Roman army receded. Field systems fell out of use, remaining largely uncultivated grassland until the 20th century. Though showing signs of plough damage, many were recorded as substantial earthworks on RAF photographs taken between 1939 and 1946. Continued deep ploughing and creation of larger fields has reduced many field systems to isolated fragments of bank and lynchet visible only as subtle earthworks and soilmarks on aerial photographs. Effectively, in just over half a century, virtually all traces of these field systems have been obliterated.
A second type of field system recorded took the form of large conjoined single ditches typically enclosing areas of between 200m x 600m and 400m x 1000m. These were seen as cropmarks and appeared to be completely separate from the systems of banked co-axial fields. These were found in 3 areas: Around Wayland’s Smithy Neolithic long barrow, adjacent to Alfred’s Castle Iron Age enclosure (left), and an area south of Grim’s Ditch. All three areas are believed to have their origins in the later Prehistoric and prevailed into the Romano-British periods, the systems at Alfred’s Castle having strong links with at least two Roman villas and those at Wayland’s Smithy appearing to be associated with an Iron Age/Romano-British settlement.
The survey recorded a number of examples of both enclosed and unenclosed Prehistoric settlements, mostly dating to the Iron Age. One such settlement discovered on the clay vale appears very similar to the Iron Age settlement of Claydon Pike. Also recorded were 12 cropmark examples of mid-late Iron Age ‘Banjo’ enclosures (right), all located in close proximity to one another in the central zone of the Lambourn Downs. The function of these sites is still not entirely clear, though excavated examples have revealed evidence of settlement activity.
An by article H Winton in the journal Oxoniensia for 2003 ("Possible Iron Age ‘Banjo’ Enclosures on the Lambourn Downs") discusses these enigmatic sites in more detail.
An internal report with further details on the findings of the project was produced and as with all the work of the Aerial Survey section this is available to everyone through English Heritage's public archive, the National Monuments Record, where you can obtain copies of any of our photographs, reports and publications.
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