Monument record 0127302000 - PITSTONE HILL

Plan Form - LINEAR. NGR to Dykes Ia & Ib.
DYKE IA DOESN'T SEEM TO EXTEND AS FAR AS MAPPED BY DYER IN B1. BOTH DYKE IA & IB HAVE NO ACCOMPANYING BANK. DYKE II REFERRED TO BY DYER AS 'CAUSEWAYED DITCH'; NO REAL EVIDENCE FOR BANK/CAUSEWAYS - IS A SPUR OFF DYKE I. DYKE III NOT SEEN ON GROUND (B2). Detailed topographic survey carried out by TimeScape and Network Archaeology between January and March 1999 recorded surviving earthworks including 3 profiles across earthwork (B9).
Dyke II as referred to by Dyer. Ditch and bank forming short, curving length og 'Grim's Ditch' on Pitstone Hill. Climbs up slope from lower ditch to top of western escarpment. To NW terminates short of lower ditch system. To SE fades out adjacent to present footpath. Earthworks low and rounded, and much less prominent than lower ditch system. Bank up to 0.4m high, amplitude 0.75m (B10).
Dyer's Dyke Ia. NT SMR Nos 152751 & 152752. 152751: Cut to S by hollow-way, but probable terminal survives to S of hollow-way. Runs along contours and then down steep S side of combe which cuts into the hill at this point. Ditch over 1.0m deep, 1.5m-2.0m to top of bank. Ditch terminated at bottom of combe, but low bank continues across base of combe to link with bank accompanying resumption of Grim's Ditch to N (152752). Across base of combe bank only 0.3m high on upslope side but abrupt drop of 1.5m on downslope side. 152752: Ditch and bank of lower 'Grim's Ditch' at N end of Pitstone Hill. Break of 28m in ditch across bottom of combe, from end of 152751. Ditch and bank climb N slopeof combe and continue along W flank of 'Citadel'. Near N end, cut obliquely by farm track. N end terminates at S edge of steeper slope dropping into a broad combe. On open grass, well-preserved. Drop of 2.5m to base of ditch, rise of 0.75m to top of bank, fall of 2.0m to base of bank on downslope (B10).
Dyer's Dyke Ib, NT SMR No 152754. Ditch and bank of 'Upper Grim's Ditch', N end of Pitstone Hill. Runs N, swinging around head of combe. Break in bank around head of combe. Continues to N swinging around W flank of the 'Citadel' in a long curve. Well preserved, slightly narrower and shallower than the parallel length of the lower ditch. To S cut by hollow-way, but possible terminal to S of hollow-way. To N of hollow-way the ditch lies adjacent to a quarry pit and narrows in probably as a result of dumping of quarry spoil into the ditch. To N well preserved on open grassland, but earthworks slightly lower and more rounded as they approach N terminal. Possible terminal, NT SMR No 152753: on S side of hollo-way. Survives as a semi-circular terrace in S slope of cutting of hollow-way (B10)
NT SMR No 152750, not recorded by Dyer. Possible S terminal of lower 'Grim's Ditch' cut by hollow-way. Short length of ditch on S edge of hollow-way runs NW-SE and then turns abruptly through a right-angle to SW and terminates. Ditch 1.5m deep, bank survives on W side (B10).