MMO2550 - World War Two slit trenches north of Clanna Combe (Monument)

Evidence of military training of Second World War date above is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s on the south facing slopes above Clanna Combe, South Common. The evidence takes the form of 8 small rectangular slit trenches up to 4 metres long and 1 wide, arranged in a line in two groups of four, centred approximately on SS 8015 4427. The function of any of the slit trenches and the nature of the training activities which occurred here remain unclear. These features are located between areas of dense concentrations of craters probably associated with the firing ranges to the east and are difficult to differentiate from crater earthworks. However, they are unlikely to be related to the activities of Exmoor firing range. A second larger group of very similar features, probably part of the same training area, is visible approximately 400 metres to the north. The trenches cannot be seen on aerial photographs taken later than the 1940s, and probable have either been levelled or are obscured by vegetation. [1,2] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [3]