Cothelstone Farm
Investigating a prehistoric settlement in the Quantock Hills, with Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme
The Quantock Hills National Park is a very special place. From Jurassic coastline and heathland summits, to pasture crossed by sunken lanes and hedge banked tracks it’s filled with natural beauty and cherished by nature lovers. But for those who love history, it’s also a landscape forged by thousands of years of human activity, where prehistoric, Roman, medieval, and Georgian influences have all left their mark.
Landmarks like Cothelstone Manor date back to the Norman conquest, while the surrounding area bears traces of more ancient activity – from medieval settlements to Roman enclosures.
Nearby, southwest of Cothelstone village, aerial photographs have revealed several enigmatic cropmarks, including three ancient enclosures or ring ditches. Are these cropmarks the remains of an ancient settlement? And are they the footprints of buildings, monuments, or animal pens used by ancient farmers? Most importantly, are they Roman – or do they date back to earlier prehistoric times?
Invited by the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme, DigVentures is leading a community dig to investigate these cropmarks, and gather any archaeological evidence that can tell us how old they are, and what they were for.
