MG201

Upper Short Ditch  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Kerry  

319381  

287156  

Monument  

Linear Earthwork  

Early Medieval  

The monument consists of the remains of a dyke, a defensive boundary or earthwork, dating to the early medieval period. Upper Short Ditch forms a cross-ridge short-dyke standing c.500m long in total and crossing the Kerry Ridgeway and the boundary between Wales and England. It is aligned northeast-southwest, with a bank width of 9m and up to 1m high. The ditch is 5m across and up to 2m deep, lying on the western side of the bank. The northern, Welsh section, lies within coniferous plantation, whilst the area lying within England (SAM Salop 213) lies within pasture. Investigations in 2006 identified a sealed peat layer which has been dated to 540-660 AD. (CPAT Short Dykes Project 2006). The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of early medieval defensive organisation and settlement. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A dyke may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.