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HER 622 - Cursus and associated features, Stanwell
Cropmark at Stanwell, near Heathrow Airport. Archaeological investigation of this feature, in the form of rescue and salvage excavation in advance of gravel extraction, road and pipeline construction, took place between 1981 and 1985. Material and stratigraphic evidence indicates that this feature is part of a Neolithic cursus which can be traced on aerial photographs as far north as TQ 0440 7778. At that point a possible rounded terminal is detectable but unfortunately this area was destroyed by gravel extraction some years ago. The southern terminal has not yet been found but on current evidence the cursus must be at least 3.6km in length. The excavations show that the two parallel ditches which form the cursus had an eroded "U" shaped profile and were remarkably similar in terms of size (max width 3.7m and depth 1.2m) and in the nature of their fill. No evidence of internal banks were detected nor any signs of activity between the two ditches which were approximately 20m apart. Finds were limited to a few small sherds of late Neolithic pottery from the upper fill of one of the ditches. The longest known section of the cursus lies within a large arable field to the south of Heathrow Airport, within an area of gravel extraction which has already destroyed the northern part of the field together with a section of the cursus. The pottery and ditches were subsequently dated to the early/mid Saxon period (HER 2944).
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|---|
| Protection Status |
|
| Condition | Good |
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| Grid Reference | TQ 054 742 |
|---|---|
| Parish | Stanwell |
| Parish (old) | Stanwell |
| District | Spelthorne, Surrey |
| Map Square | TQ07SE |
| Evidence Type | Monument Type | Date Range: |
|---|---|---|
| AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE CROPMARK SUB SURFACE DEPOSIT | CURSUS | Prehistoric Neolithic |
Related Records
| Details | Volume | Holding Information | Publisher Information | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ref: Research volume of the Surrey Archaeological Society Ref: 31/12/76 | 3 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 | |
|
Ref: Surrey Archaeological Collections Ref: 31/12/83 | 74 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 | |
|
Ref: Surrey Archaeological Collections Ref: 31/12/82 | 73 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 | |
|
Ref: Surrey Archaeological Collections Ref: 31/12/85 | 76 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 | |
|
Ref: Surrey Archaeological Collections Ref: 31/12/86 | 77 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 | |
|
Ref: Surrey Archaeological Collections Ref: 31/12/90 | 80 | Surrey HER1 part | 9-12, 188, 150, 125, 220, 1-62 |
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