Monument record MDO41230 - Post medieval extractive pits, Canford Heath, Poole

Areas of shallow surface post medieval extraction on Canford Heath arevisible on 1940s aerial photographs. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Areas of shallow surface post medieval extraction on Canford Heath arevisible on 1940s aerial photographs (1).

The features comprise several variously sized irregular scarped depressions of exposed ground, partly covered by scrubby vegetation in 1946 (1). The features are typically very shallow in depth and situated on the crests and upper slopes of low rises of ground. They are criss-crossed in places by paths and trackways; possibly vehicle tracks.

The features are presumed to be associated with post medieval extraction on Canford Heath ; the heathland on which the features are situated in 1946 (part of Canford Heath) is typically scarred by widescale post medieval extraction, which is characteristically shallow but with some areas of deeper extraction also present. However, in places the features may alternatively be the result of erosion through the passage of vehicles or people; the area may have been used for wartime military training and associated activities, which may have resulted in erosion scars. One of the larger areas in the east of the group is shown on the modern OS Mastermap as 'pit disused', suggesting it may have been worked into the earlier part of the 20th Century.

The site is still open heath on current Google Earth imagery and the features are still visible in places, although the area is under low heathland scub and vegetation. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP.

<1> Royal Air Force, 08-MAR-45, RAF/106G/LA/163 RP 3021-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16052.

Record last edited

Jan 6 2020 10:41AM