ABSTRACT
The field in which the excavations took place (the Dial Knowe or Low Field) to the south of Hirsel House, sloped down to the west to lower lying wetter ground and the path alongside the walled garden of the house (Figures 1.4 and 1.5). On the south the ground rose towards a hilltop with a good view towards the present town of Coldstream, and on the east the ground dropped sharply down to the River Leet in a series of terraces which, before the ploughing, were clearly edged with stones, but still showed in outline on the Bettess contour survey. There is a crossing of the Leet at this point which could be ancient and which is now bridged. The dense plantations of trees along the east bank of the Leet appear, from the early maps (see Figures 2.2 and 2.8) to be largely post-18th century and there had also been recent tree planting in the excavation field which accounted for some of the gaps in the survey.
