Defended settlement, SW of Sandy House

Defended settlements are a rare monument type. They were an important element of the later prehistoric settlement pattern of the northern uplands and are important for any study of the developing use of fortified settlements during this period. Despite the fact that it has undergone cultivation, the defended settlement, 380m south west of Sandy House retains significant archaeological deposits. Analysis of aerial photographs has indicated the presence of a number of substantial ditches and internal features, which will inform us of the detail of its construction, use and abandonment. The importance of the monument is enhanced by the fact that it forms part of a wider group of monuments ranging from the Neolithic to the Anglo-Saxon period, which taken together will contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the development of settlement, subsistence and society in the region.

The monument includes the remains of an Iron Age defended settlement situated on a gentle east facing slope. The settlement is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs as a sub-oval enclosure approximately 90m by 110m across and covering an area of 0.8ha.. The enclosure is surrounded by three, and in places four, ditches. The ditches are inverted either side of the single entrance, which is located on the south west side. Aerial photographs also reveal a feature line within the innermost ditch, which is interpreted as the remains of a palisade or a bedding trench for a timber revetment of the inner rampart. Within the interior there are the remains of at least three circular houses.