What is recorded here

Sixty metres of packed gravel still hold their shape beside the Brusna River, though the moat that gave the place its name has faded into grass and memory. The river loops around like a living thing, marking the boundary between the built world and the wild water. Someone stood at the NE corner, four metres from the drop, and watched the valley stretch in both directions. They knew exactly where the land ended and the river began.

In level, lowlying pasture flanking the SE bank of the Brusna River, located at a marked bend or loop of the river. There are good views to NE and SW along the line of the shallow river valley, with gently rising ground to NW and SE. Rectangular raised area or platform (28.4m NE-SW; 60m NW-SE) defined by remnants of an earthen bank, and enclosed by a fosse, with remnants of an outer bank. It is located on the E side of a rectangular bay of level ground bounded on the SE, NW and NE sides by a loop in the river. The NE corner of the site is a mere 4m from a steep slope that drops to the river bank. The substantial inner enclosing bank (Wth 4.2m-5.8m; int. H 1.2m; ext. H 0.7m on SE, 2m on S), of hard-packed gravelly soil, is well-preserved on the SE third of the site. It retains a low internal rim along the SW side, but is reduced to a well-defined scarp (H 0.95m to NE) on the NW and NE sides. Roughly in the middle of the NW side, a semicircular section (L c. 7m) of the enclosing scarp has been dug out. The broad, flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 3m; ext. D 1.5m) is well-defined, except on the NW side. Remnants of an outer bank (Wth c. 3m; ext. H 0.4m) survive on the S corner and along the SW side, and at NW, but it has been levelled elsewhere. The interior is level and featureless, with a slight slope down to NE. There is an eroded break (Wth 2.4m) in the inner bank at S. Grass cover, with a clump of blackthorn established in the SE quadrant of the interior. An enclosure (MA031-036----) is located on a prominent rise on the opposite bank of the river 120m to SW. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 29 June 2018

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.