View source for Black Ditches, Cavenham

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox SSSI
| name = Black Ditches, Cavenham
| image = Black Ditches, near Cavenham - geograph.org.uk - 34222.jpg
| image_caption = Black Ditches, southern section
| aos = Suffolk
| interest = Biological
| gridref = {{gbmappingsmall|TL774684}}<ref name=dsv/>
| coordinates = {{coord|52.2908|0.5985|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| displaymap = Suffolk
| map_caption = Black Ditches within Suffolk
|area=          1.6 hectares<ref name=dsv/>
|notifydate=       1984<ref name=dsv/>
|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271002411%27  ''Magic Map'']
}}
'''Black Ditches''' is an earthwork close to the village of [[Cavenham]] of [[Suffolk]], and part of it is a biological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI). The earthwork is 4.5 miles long between the [[River Lark]] at [[Lackford]] and the [[Icknield Way]]. It is described by the Suffolk Historic Environment Record as having no direct dating evidence but "by analogy with other linear earthworks in the region it is usually assumed to be post Roman".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Heritage Gateway - Results|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSF165&resourceID=1017|website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref>
Two sections of ditch remain visible, one to the north-east of the village and one to the south-east, covering a total of {{convert|4.5|mi|km}}.<ref name="ehditch">{{PastScape|mnumber=379628 |mname=Black Ditches|access-date=23 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="ehsch">{{NHLE|num=1006065|desc=Black Ditches|access-date=23 May 2017}}</ref> An {{convert|730|yd|m}} stretch south of Cavenham is designated as an SSSI.<ref name="dsv">{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1002411&SiteName=CAVENHAM&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=  |title=Designated Sites View: Black Ditches, Cavenham  | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date =  23 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="map">{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271002411%27|title=Map of Black Ditches, Cavenham|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=   23 May 2017}}</ref> Access to the Black Ditches is limited, with no public right of way.
==History==
[[Cyril Fox]] thought Black Ditches was the most easterly of a series of five earthworks that defended the East Anglian kingdom of the [[Wuffings]] along the [[Icknield Way]], the others being collectively known as the Cambridgeshire Dykes - [[Devil's Dyke, Cambridgeshire|Devil's Dyke]], [[Fleam Dyke]], [[Bran Ditch]] and [[Brent Ditch]].<ref name=fox>Fox.C (1923) ''The archaeology of the Cambridge region: a topographical study of the Bronze, Early Iron, Roman and Anglo-Saxon Ages, with an introductory note on the Neolithic Age'', pp.123-124. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ([https://books.google.com/books?id=CRo9AAAAIAAJ&dq=black+ditches+cavenham&pg=PA123 available online]).</ref> It is not as well preserved as the western defences.
A small excavation in 1992 found that the Black Ditches had a ditch on either side of the bank.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Heritage Gateway - Results|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSF13523&resourceID=1017|website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref> Only Iron Age pottery was recovered in this excavation.
The total length of the ditches is around {{convert|4.5|mi|km}} stretching from south of Cavenham towards [[Icklingham]], although there is no evidence of the ditch crossing the [[River Lark]] at Icklingham. The Icknield Way crosses the line of the ditch towards the central area. In this area the ditch is generally no longer visible.
The northern section of ditch remaining is around {{convert|0.65|mi|km}} in length running across the eastern edge of Cavenham Heath towards the River Lark. The section is less well preserved, although up to {{convert|1.75|m|ft}} high and {{convert|8|m|ft}} wide in places.<ref name=ehditch /><ref name=fox /> This section is not designated as an SSSI although it lies on the boundary of the Breckland Farmland SSSI. This section lies entirely within the parish of Cavenham.
The southern section of the ditch is {{convert|1.25|mi|km}} long, extending southwards in some form across Risby's Poor Heath.<ref name=fox /> This section forms the boundary of Cavenham and [[Lackford]] parishes before it enters [[Risby, Suffolk|Risby]] parish to the south.
==Plant and wildlife==
The [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] covers the southern section of ditch and is {{convert|1.7|ha|acres}} in area.<ref name=sssicite /> It is bordered on the west by the [[Breckland Farmland]] SSSI.
Black Ditches provides an example of chalk grassland on its banks.<ref name=sssicite>[http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002411.pdf Black Ditches, Cavenham] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003257/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002411.pdf |date=2015-05-05 }}, SSSI citation, Natural England. Retrieved 2013-01-29.</ref> A wide variety of species are present and the site is especially well preserved as it is believed that it has never been ploughed.<ref name=sssicite /> The dominant grass species are Crested Hair-grass ''[[Koeleria cristata]]'', Timothy Grass ''[[Phleum pratense]]'' and Common Quaking-grass ''[[Briza media]]''. Herb species include the locally rare Heath Sedge ''[[Carex ericetorum]]'' and Bastard Toadflax ''[[Comandra umbellata]]''. Scrub has developed along the edge of the ditch where it is sheltered by woodland.<ref name=sssicite />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{SSSIs Suffolk }}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon sites in England]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Linear earthworks]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Suffolk]]