Excavations at Brent Ditch 1992: An Interim Report

Two sections were excavated at Brent Ditch (TL 5145/4753) in advance of the destruction of a considerable segment due to road-widening activities. At this point the monument, presumed to be Anglo-Saxon, survives as a shallow linear depression running across cultivated land. Excavation revealed that the monument was much more substantial than previously thought. No bank has survived in this area though the ditch is well preserved. Its original profile was similar to those of Devil's Dyke and Fleam Dyke: exceptionally steep-sided and flat-bottomed. It had silted naturally with no signs of re-cutting and had consequently lost its sharp defensive profile quite soon after construction. Post-medieval cultivation has accounted for further accumulation of silts and its present shallow profile. Five Roman coins recovered from the basal fills (together with a fragment of human pelvis) indicate a post-2nd century date of construction.