A lynchet or linchet is an earth terrace found on the side of a hill. Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. They are commonly found in vertical rows and more commonly referred to as "strip lynchets". Lynchets appear predominantly in Southern Britain and many are in areas close to Iron Age forts and other earthworks, including later Roman earthworks and earlier barrows from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

periods. The size, location, spacing and number of rows of many strip lynchets indicates that many were man-made. It is most likely that lynchets were dug to maximise the use of land for agriculture, although they may have had other, ceremonial uses. The word is the diminutive form of ''lynch'', now rarely appearing in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, indicating an agricultural terrace; it is cognate with the golf ''links''. However, both "lynchet" and "lynch" may also be used to refer to a strip of green land left between two pieces of ploughed land on non-sloping ground; or to a natural slope or terrace along the face of a chalk down. The traditional theory on the formation of lynchets is that they may form naturally on the downslope of a field ploughed over a long period of time. The disturbed

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

slips down the hillside to create a "positive lynchet" (where the new surface is higher than the original surface), while the area reduced in level becomes a "negative lynchet" (where the new surface is lower). Loders Lynchet theatre

In Loders, Dorset, lynchets form a terraced band structure similar to an amphitheatre overlooking the village. Lynchets also form part of the conservation area of the neighbouring village of Uploders, where they apparently form old hillside field systems in close proximity to an Iron Age fort and hill-top barrows. 19th-century maps indicate that cider orchards were planted on some lynchets in that area.

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