Monument record BUT 040 - Row of Post Medieval oyster beds.

The earthwork remains of a probable Post-Medieval oyster bed is visible on aerial photographs, centred on circa TM39194832 in the inter-tidal saltmarsh of the Butley River, Butley parish. The feature is visible as a row of rectangular banked enclosures arranged in a cellular configuration, each rectangular cell measuring approximately 12 x 6m in size. The partial remains of about 12 or 13 cells can be seen as eroded banks, with a partially silted up pit visible at the northern end. The pits are not marked on the first or second edition Ordnance Survey maps of circa 1884 and 1904, and the very eroded condition of the earthworks suggests that the earthworks predate these maps. A Post-Medieval date for this feature seems probable. (S1-4)