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Originally thought to be a series of segments of ditch and bank crossing the landscape of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, investigations are beginning to show that this might not have been the case.
Grim’s Ditch is thought to have functioned as a boundary. Although some boundaries with large earthworks are defensive, this is unlikely over such an incredibly long distance. It is more likely that this boundary was territorial separating or enclosing land and settlements. It could also be an agricultural boundary separating areas of grazing and as a deterrent for livestock theft.
The Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire section of Grim’s Ditch runs dis-continuously for around 18km, and about half of this has Scheduled Monument status. Limited investigations into the sections of monument in the past have provided little definitive dating evidence, meaning there is speculation as to the date of the monument.
The recently completed investigations undertaken as part of HS2 have provided archaeologists with a unique opportunity to excavate a portion of Grim’s Ditch to try and answers this question using specialist scientific dating techniques.
At Grim’s Ditch, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) was utilised. Ditches by design are usually kept clean of debris which gathers inside meaning there is limited material present for dating. However, OSL dating can date buried deposits by measuring the amount of charge left in tiny grains of quartz in the sand from the last time they were exposed to sunlight. This can tell us the date these soil deposits were last uncovered – which would have been during the construction of the monument. This method is particularly useful at sites like Grim’s Ditch as it does not rely on archaeologists finding artefacts or organic material to date.
What’s in a name?
The first mention of the name ‘Grim’s Ditch’ occurs in a 13th century charter from Edward the Earl of Cornwall.
It is possible that the name Grim’s Ditch comes from the old Norse Grimr which is a reference to the god Odin. The name Grimr may have been given to the monument during Saxon times when local populations would have worshipped pagan gods.
Find out more
Explore the archaeological work undertaken to investigate this enigmatic site using our StoryMap. Learn about the process and keep up to date with the story as it unfolds here!
