THE FIELD TO THE EAST OF THE MOAT AT BUSLINGTHORPE CONTAINED EARTHWORKS BEFORE IT WAS LEVELLED FOR ARABLE IN 1969. ALONG THE EASTERN BOUNDARY WAS A SUBSTANTIAL LINEAR DITCHED FEATURE, 1.5M-2M DEEP, WITH SLIGHT BANKING ON ITS WEST, AND DESCRIBED ON EARLY OS MAPS AS A 'MOAT' AND SHOWN AS A BROAD WATER- FILLED FEATURE TURNING WEST FOR A FEW METRES AT ITS SOUTHERN END ON THE 1841 TITHE MAP. TWO LINES OF BANKS OR DITCHES RUNNING WEST AT RIGHT ANGLES TO IT AT ITS NORTHERN END WERE ALSO RECORDED BY THE OS. IN 1841 THIS FIELD WAS NAMED 'PARK CLOSE'. IT MAY INDEED HAVE BEEN A SMALL DEER PARK OR MORE PROBABLY A GROUP OF PADDOCKS AND ORCHARDS. CERTAINLY THE MINIMAL FIND FROM FIELD-WALKING THERE - A SINGLE MEDIEVAL SHERD - CONFIRMS THE ABSENCE OF OCCUPATION. {1}{2}{3}~