Details

A series of linear earthworks on Wilsford Down. The monument includes : -
1 - a well defined ditch and bank with an overall width of 16m. The main
earthwork is joined from the south by another ditch c.12m wide and at its
eastern end it meets another ditch and bank running north-south.
2 - A boundary earthwork surviving as a bank and ditch with a maximum overall
width of c.12m. To the north of the scheduled area the feature is visible as a
cropmark.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The most complete and extensive survival of chalk downland archaeological
remains in central southern England occurs on Salisbury Plain, particularly in
those areas lying within the Salisbury Plain Training Area. These remains
represent one of the few extant archaeological "landscapes" in Britain and are
considered to be of special significance because they differ in character from
those in other areas with comparable levels of preservation. Individual sites
on Salisbury Plain are seen as being additionally important because the
evidence of their direct association with each other survives so well.
Boundary earthworks which include linear earthworks, so called ranch
boundaries, dykes and cross ridge dykes are particularly well preserved in the
Salisbury Plain Training Area. They provide important evidence of prehistoric
landholdings, land reorganisation and changing agricultural practices through
time.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Trust for Wessex Archaeology, (1987)
Wiltshire Library & Museum Service, (1987)

Source: Historic England