MSO7377 - Undated square enclosure at Thurley Combe (Monument)

A squarish enclosure with earth and rubble banks has been partially destroyed by the Exford to Wilmersham road. Suggested functions for the site include a later prehistoric or medieval settlement, or a post-medieval sheepfold.

At SS 8641 4236 a squarish enclosure is situated on a moderately steep southwest slope at 390 metres Ordnance Datum in Thurley Combe. The interior has not been levelled, and has sides of approximately 40 metres. The northern side has been formed by cutting into the hillslope, creating a lynchet 4 metres long and 0.7 metres high. The other sides have banks of earth and rubble, 3.5 to 4.8 metres wide and 0.4 metres high. There is no evidence of any internal structure and no entrance can be seen. However, the south west angle has been eroded by Thurley Combe stream, and by the Exford to Wilmersham road which has destroyed part of the west side of the enclosure and the north west angle. The earthwork is not ditched and has no defensive potential. With some form of hurdling it could conceivably be used as a fold but it is obviously older than the road, which existed in 1809. [1-3] The site shows clearly on aerial photographs. [4] A square bank defined enclosure at Thurley Combe, Luccombe parish, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs centred on circa SS 8642 4237. The bank appears to be roughly four metres in width and encloses an area approximately 40 metres long, north to south and 25 metres wide, west to east, although the southwestern boundary has been eroded by Thurley Combe stream and destroyed by the Exford to Wilmersham road. The authority above states that field investigation revealed that the interior has not been levelled. Aerial photographs of 1947 show possible internal features within the enclosure but individual features cannot be seen with any detail. The date and purpose of the feature remain uncertain but it could conceivably be a settlement of the later prehistoric date or the medieval period; further investigation is required. [5-7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8]