Lynchet

A lynchet, also spelled linchet, is an earth terrace on the side of a hill, and is a feature of the ancient field systems of the British Isles. Lynchets are commonly found in vertical rows and are then usually called strip lynchets. They appear mainly in southern Britain, often near Iron Age forts and other earthworks, including Roman earthworks and Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows. Their size, spacing and number of rows indicate that many were made by people, most probably dug to make the best use of land for farming, though ceremonial uses are possible. The traditional theory holds that they form as soil slips downhill on a field ploughed over a long time, creating a positive lynchet where the new surface is higher and a negative lynchet where it is lower. The word is a diminutive of lynch, an old term for an agricultural terrace. In Loders, Dorset, they form an amphitheatre-like band above the village.