Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a prehistoric pit alignment and
associated features adjacent to the northernmost Blue Boar Farm on a gravel
plateau known as Lawford Heath. The pit alignment is part of a more extensive
alignment which has been recorded, intermittently, over a distance of about
2.5km. Immediately to the north east of the monument the pit alignment has
been destroyed by modern quarrying and to the south west, where the course of
the projected alignment is marked by a field boundary, the level of
archaeological survival is unknown. These areas therefore are not included
in the scheduling.

The pit alignment is visible on aerial photographs as two parallel lines of
sub-rectangular or circular cropmarks (areas of enhanced plant growth over
buried archaeological features) aligned north east-south west. The principal
line of pits is visible over a distance of approximately 220m as a series of
fairly regularly spaced cropmarks with a second line of pits represented by
smaller cropmarks lying immediately to the south. In addition two parallel
linear cropmarks, aligned north west-south east and measuring about 50m in
length, are visible approximately 50m to the south east of the double pit
alignment.

Archaeological investigations to the north and east of the monument,
undertaken during the 1990s prior to quarrying, revealed evidence of an
extensive complex of buried remains, including a series of pit alignments,
postholes and enclosures, dating from the Early Iron Age through to the
Romano-British period. These investigations indicate that the double pit
alignment dates to the Early to Middle Iron Age and represents a major land
division. The excavations also established the presence of additional
archaeological features, not visible on aerial photographs, indicating that
further buried remains will survive in association with the double pit
alignment and linear feature.

All fence posts, timber stores, waste containers and concrete runways are
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

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

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

A pit alignment is a linear arrangement of fairly closely spaced pits which
vary in shape from round, through oval, to rectangular. Nearly all pit
alignments have been discovered by aerial photography and sometimes occur as
part of a more complex linear earthwork including linear ditches, slots,
palisades and linear banks. Pit alignments are among a fairly wide range of
monuments of later prehistoric date and although little is known about their
function and significance, they are believed to be related to the division of
the agricultural and political landscape. Linear boundaries are of
considerable importance for the analysis of land use in the later prehistoric
period; all well-preserved samples will normally merit statutory protection.

The double pit alignment and associated features adjacent to the northernmost
Blue Boar Farm at Lawford Heath survive well as a series of buried deposits.
They are spatially associated with other prehistoric remains in the area.
Archaeological excavation nearby has demonstrated that additional buried
features associated with the alignment are likely to survive. The buried
remains will also provide valuable information relating to the landscape
within which they were originally excavated and will contribute to our
understanding of land use in later prehistoric society.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Gethin, B, Palmer, S, Archaeological observations at Lawford Heath Lane, Warwicks, (1997)
Webster, G, Hobley, B, 'The Archaeological Journal' in Aerial Reconnaissance Over the Warwickshire Avon, , Vol. 121, (1964)
Other
aerial photographs, Baker, A, 2333, 2334, 2337, (1962)
Palmer, S, (2000)
Palmer, S, Evaluation at Ling Hall: interim report, 1994,
Warwickshire SMR , WA7139, (1999)
Warwickshire SMR, WA7170, (1999)
Warwickshire SMR, WA7291, (1999)

Source: Historic England