Details

The monument includes a section of the linear boundary known as the Battery
Bank, situated on Stokeford Heath, a plateau overlooking the Frome Valley to
the south and the Piddle Valley to the north. The earthwork forms part of a
group of similar monuments which extend (discontinuously) for a distance of
5.5km along the natural ridge separating these valleys.
The earthwork includes a linear bank, aligned broadly east-west, composed of
earth, sand and turf, with maximum dimensions of 230m in length, 6m in width
and approximately 0.45m in height. To the north of the bank is a ditch from
which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. To the
east and at intermittent central points, the ditch is visible as an earthwork
4m-5m in width and approximately 0.3m-0.4m deep. Elsewhere, the ditch has
become infilled but will survive as a buried feature.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The Battery Bank, of which this monument forms a part, is made up of a series
of linear earthworks which extend discontinuously over a total distance of
approximately 5.5km. The earthworks are aligned along the plateau dividing the
rivers Piddle and Frome. Although not firmly dated, the monument is likely to
be of Romano-British or Dark Age date; and given the wide gaps in its
alignment, demarcation is perhaps a more likely interpretation for the bank,
than stock control or defence. The name `Battery Bank' is likely to be a
misnomer, relating to the Napoleonic period when the bank may have had a role
in military training exercises.
As a well preserved monument representing Dark Age or earlier land division,
the Battery Bank is a comparatively unusual survival, and consequently all
surviving sections are considered to be of national importance. This section
survives particularly well, its location illustrating clearly the topographic
setting into which the monument was placed. Boggy ground at the east end of
the monument should ensure the preservation of waterlogged deposits.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Comp with Bokerley Dyke/Coombe Ditch, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Earthworks not certainly linked, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Forms part of 'Battery Bank', RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Group of uncertain date, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Rel of two groups uncertain, RCHME, National Monuments Record,

Source: Historic England